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playwright

File:Benjamin_Jonson_by_Abraham_van_Blyenberch.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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playwright

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Also known as dramatist, playwrite, scriptwriter

thumb|Ben Jonson coined the term "playwright".

AI overview

A playwright is a person who writes plays—scripts for theatrical performances. The term matters because playwrights create the foundational works that make theater possible, shaping stories and characters that audiences experience on stage.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

~11 min read

Encyclopedic overview

14 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • History
  • Early playwrights
  • Aristotle's ''Poetics'' techniques
  • Medieval
  • Neo-classical theory
  • Cretan Renaissance theatre
  • 19th century
  • Contemporary playwrights in the United States
  • New play development
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • External links

thumb|Ben Jonson coined the term "playwright".

A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term playwright and is the first person in English literature to refer to playwrights as separate from poets.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “playwright” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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