Drama and Romance Versus Gossip and Dragons

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Romance has been written since the classical English period making it a specific type of literature that has many superb novels to follow it. The first example of romance in literature is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight which was written by an unknown author in the 14th century. This story is about a man named Sir Gawain who displays the nature of bravery, courage, and chivalry to behead the Green Knight and rescue the lady of his dreams. The second example of a classical romance novel is Pride and Prejudice which is a great example of a romantic novel. This novel is about a mother who is very ambitious throughout the novel to marry her five daughters off to the men of her choosing, but one daughter is of independent nature and wishes to find her own true love. The newly written story, Fifty Shades of Grey, is a modern example of erotic romance. This story is about the relationship between two college students who have their ups and downs and finally go their separate ways due to incompatibility. Themes of dominance, sadism, submission, and masochism all play a role to create a story of modern love and modern chivalry (“Literary Romance”). These examples of romantic works are just a few of many extravagant stories that make romance an exceptional and exclusive genre.

Romance is a multifaceted genre with many distinctive characteristics within its themes. Known as the only genre that is capable of demonstrating complex and cumulative themes, it is also, “through romance, literature can highlight the cross-referenced as well as integrative nature of the written words.” When observing the theme of love throughout romance works there are a few prominent types: the classical story of Hero and Leander, or the more recent origin of love and tragedy (“Romance”). Specifically, a theme that has left an imprint on how romance is written is the story ending in a happy resolution; this theme was derived through late classical Greek romance and is still popular today (“Literary Romance”). The themes listed above are just a few of hundreds more making romance an extremely complex genre with many special characteristics.

It is now apparent that drama is simply not the latest gossip in the hallways of high school, nor is romance only about swords, and dragons. Both of these genres play an extremely important role in the development of literature today. Drama and romance are both very intricate, and to this day will develop based on society’s standards. Each genre has many distinct characteristics differentiating them from other genres. Since both genres developed in Greek time periods the popular themes and structures reflect that; the two genres also have many brilliant works that were written back in time that have influenced the drama and romance stories of today. Therefore, drama and romance each have matchless themes, characteristics, and origins making them remarkable additions to the world of literature.

Works Cited

“Drama” Literary Devices. Literary Devices. 2013. https://literarydevices.net/drama/. Accessed 4 April. 2017.

“Dramatic literature." Britannica School, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Aug. 2010. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/dramatic-literature/110455. Accessed 9 Apr. 2017.

"Romance." Britannica School, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Aug. 2008. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/romance/110451. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.

“Literary Romance” Literary Devices. 2013. https://literarydevices.net/Romance/. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.