what makes a play great? it's not the subject matter

Structure vs. Subject Matter refers to two different ways of understanding a work of art, a play, a film, a novel or even an argument.

Structure

Structure is how something is organized.

Examples:

• The plot arrangement of a play (linear, non-linear, episodic)

• The sequence of scenes

• The use of flashbacks

• The rhythm and pacing

• The relationship between acts or chapters

A play about a family dinner could be structured as:

• A traditional three-act drama

• A series of disconnected vignettes

• A story told backward in time

The subject matter remains the same, but the structure changes.

Subject Matter

Subject matter is what the work is about.

Examples:

• Love

• War

• Family conflict

• Social injustice

• Ambition

• Grief

Two plays may both deal with grief, but one might be a comedy and the other a tragedy. Their subject matter is similar, but their structures are very different.

Why the Distinction Matters

Many critics and artists argue that structure often has a greater impact on the audience's experience than subject matter. Audiences have seen stories about love, death and family countless times; what makes a work feel fresh is often the way it is constructed.

For example:

• Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead share related subject matter, but their structures create radically different experiences.

• A regional theatre production may become exciting not because of a unique subject, but because of an innovative structural approach to familiar material.

A useful shorthand is:

Subject Matter = What is being said.

Structure = How it is being said.

Many artists believe audiences remember the how at least as much as the what.