Dramaturgy research essay

Dramaturgy is often referred to as being a very ‘slippery’ and indefinable word; though there are standard definitions available for us to find, we cannot seem to comprehend these definitions without exceptions arising.

Immaturity is the inability to use one's own understanding without the guidance of another’. As a result, dramaturgy acted under the banner of the Enlightenment, freeing theatre from the limitations placed upon it by societies which were entrenched in tradition.

Dramaturgy is a sociological model developed by Canadian-American sociologist, Erving Goffman. It uses the metaphor of theater to explain human actions in terms of social communications (1959). Impression management deals with the managing of emotions amongst other traits to create an ideal presentation.

For example, the online Oxford English Dictionary defines dramaturgy as either being a ‘dramatic composition; the dramatic art’ or as ‘dramatic or theatrical acting.’ However, words such as ‘composition’ can be highly vague, leaving itself open to broad interpretations and debates via the scholars of drama and theatre studies.