Product Description

Lajos Egri examines a play from the inside out, starting with the heart of any drama: its characters. For it is people - their private natures and their inter-relationships - that move a story and give it life. All good dramatic writing depends upon an understanding of human motives. Why do people act as they do? What forces transform a coward into a hero, a hero into a coward? What is it that Romeo does early in Shakespeare's play that makes his later suicide seem inevitable? Why must Nora leave her husband at the end of A Doll's House? These are a few of the fascinating problems which Egri analyzes. He shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise - a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behaviour - and to develop his dramatic conflict on the basis of that behaviour. Premise, character, conflict: this is Egri's ABC. His book is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in a literary creation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #98154 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Lajos Egri was born in the city of Eger, Hungary, and wrote his first three-act play at the age of ten. For more than thirty-five years he has written and directed plays in Europe and the United States. He was director of the Egri School of Writing in New York City for many years.

Customer Reviews

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Don't buy this as your first introduction to dramatic writing. But if you've read Syd Field and the others, this one will take you way beyond. It might be daunting, but it will sure open your eyes to the demands of writing good drama.

Useful info, but you might prefer something more modern
Don't be fooled by the recent publication date of this edition: the work dates from the 1940s. I found the style to be hard going and the examples to be somewhat trite, and I confess that after I read my copy, it ended up in a charity shop. If you consult Egri's entry on Wikipedia (as of today, at least!), you will find a link to the first chapter which will help you decide for yourself on its likely relevance to your needs.

Woody Allen Recommended This Book
Woody Allen said of Lajos Egri "I still think his 'The Art of Dramatic Writing' is the most stimulating and best book on the subject ever written, and I have them all." (Part One, 'Woody Allen - A Biography' by Eric Lax).
This is how I found out about Egri's book and were I to try to give it the full praise it deserves I'd quickly run out of superlatives.
Even if you have no intention of getting into writing I would recommend this work because of the way it will transform your understanding not only of plays, but all narrative art forms. You will put down the book enlightened, empowered and aware of how little many supposed authorities in the field of writing (especially in higher education) grasp about the fundamentals of play-, novel- & screen-writing.
For someone who wants to be a writer this work will prove invaluable. I won't go into the specifics of Egri's approach (which involves the distinction between an idea and a premise and the narrative's role in the 'proving' of premses) since it wouldn't be possible in the space available, but urge you to get a copy now.
Will Taylor