Farces

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Drama \Dra"ma\ (dr[aum]"m[.a] or dr[=a]"m[.a]; 277), n. [L.
     drama, Gr. dra^ma, fr. dra^n to do, act; cf. Lith. daryti.]
     1. A composition, in prose or poetry, accommodated to action,
        and intended to exhibit a picture of human life, or to
        depict a series of grave or humorous actions of more than
        ordinary interest, tending toward some striking result. It


        is commonly designed to be spoken and represented by
        actors on the stage.
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              A divine pastoral drama in the Song of Solomon.
                                                    --Milton.
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     2. A series of real events invested with a dramatic unity and
        interest. "The drama of war." --Thackeray.
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              Westward the course of empire takes its way;
              The four first acts already past,
              A fifth shall close the drama with the day;
              Time's noblest offspring is the last. --Berkeley.
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              The drama and contrivances of God's providence.
                                                    --Sharp.
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     3. Dramatic composition and the literature pertaining to or
        illustrating it; dramatic literature.
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     Note: The principal species of the drama are {tragedy} and
           {comedy}; inferior species are {tragi-comedy},
           {melodrama}, {operas}, {burlettas}, and {farces}.
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     {The romantic drama}, the kind of drama whose aim is to
        present a tale or history in scenes, and whose plays (like
        those of Shakespeare, Marlowe, and others) are stories
        told in dialogue by actors on the stage. --J. A. Symonds.
        Dramatic