--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any claim to actual identification as a…" description: "\"Any claim to actual identification as a drama must rest upon the construction of a plot independent of the assignment of affliction to the protagonist...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/david-mamet-1178_affliction_any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a_557957.jpg" --- # Any claim to actual identification as a drama must rest… ![“Any claim to actual identification as a drama must rest upon the construction of a plot independent of the assignment of affliction to the protagonist.” quote by David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/david-mamet-1178_affliction_any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a_557957.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/david-mamet-1178_affliction_any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a_557957.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/david-mamet-1178_affliction_any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a_557957.jpg) > “Any claim to actual identification as a drama must rest upon the construction of a plot independent of the assignment of affliction to the protagonist.” [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A drama must have its own plot, not just a protagonist’s suffering. **In simple terms:** Drama needs independent plot, not just a victim. Key Takeaway Focus on plot structure, not just character affliction. Themes drama structure character plot theatre Mood analytical critical Type theoretical analytical When to use this quote - writing a play - script analysis - theatre criticism - story development Key Concepts narrative theory dramatic construction Questions to Reflect On - How does plot independence affect audience engagement? - Can a story be drama without conflict? A Different Perspective A plot can be too abstract, lacking emotional connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affliction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) [Assignments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assignments/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) [Identification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identification/) [Identification Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identification-drama-4631506/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Plot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot/) [Plot Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot-independent-4631507/) [Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist/) [Protagonists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonists/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [It is the objective of the protagonist that keeps us in our seats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/it-is-the-objective-of-the-protagonist-that-keeps-us-in-our-seats/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [As long as the protagonist wants something, the audience will want something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-long-as-the-protagonist-wants-something-the-audience-will-want/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Make the audience wonder what's going on by putting them in the same position as the protagonist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/make-the-audience-wonder-what-s-going-on-by-putting-them-in-the-same/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I'd love to write something for a male protagonist. That's sort of the next frontier for me. I think it'd be really amazing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-d-love-to-write-something-for-a-male-protagonist-that-s-sort-of-the/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [I think in any movie really the two most interesting parts are the protagonist and the antagonist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cung-le/i-think-in-any-movie-really-the-two-most-interesting-parts-are-the/) [Cung Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cung-le/) > [Perfect heroines, like perfect heroes, aren't relatable, and if you can't put yourself in the protagonist's shoes, not only will they not inspire you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/perfect-heroines-like-perfect-heroes-aren-t-relatable-and-if-you-can/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [It would have been easier to have a male protagonist, but I didn't want people to assume that Nikki Hill was me in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-darden/it-would-have-been-easier-to-have-a-male-protagonist-but-i-didn-t/) [Christopher Darden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-darden/) > [In fact, some reviewers have said that as they got into the story they forgot that the protagonist is a black woman. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-darden/in-fact-some-reviewers-have-said-that-as-they-got-into-the-story-they/) [Christopher Darden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-darden/) > [American and Vietnamese characters alike leap to life through the voice and eyes of a tenyearold girl-a protagonist so strong, loving, and vivid I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitali-perkins/american-and-vietnamese-characters-alike-leap-to-life-through-the/) [Mitali Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitali-perkins/) > [It may sound very strange, but I love the freedom that writing a novel gives me. It is an unhindered experience. If I come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-may-sound-very-strange-but-i-love-the-freedom-that-writing-a-novel/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [Crime is a very hard genre to feminise. If you have a female protagonist she is going to be looking after her mum when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-mina/crime-is-a-very-hard-genre-to-feminise-if-you-have-a-female/) [Denise Mina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-mina/) > [You look like a protagonist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/you-look-like-a-protagonist/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [I always find something in common with my protagonist, particularly when I write in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-always-find-something-in-common-with-my-protagonist-particularly/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [Mindi Scott has a real talent for getting inside her protagonist's head. She sketches out Coley's story in grand swathes, and then paints in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/mindi-scott-has-a-real-talent-for-getting-inside-her-protagonist-s/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [We tend to think of orphans as being the protagonist of stories we read when we're kids, and yet here you are: you're an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/we-tend-to-think-of-orphans-as-being-the-protagonist-of-stories-we/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) ## More by David Mamet > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Culture exists and evolves to relegate to habit categories of interactions the constant conscious reference to which would make human interaction impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/culture-exists-and-evolves-to-relegate-to-habit-categories-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [When I started out I was a failed actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-i-started-out-i-was-a-failed-actor/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-must-have-a-pie-stress-cannot-exist-in-the-presence-of-a-pie/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“We cannot live in peace without Law. And though law cannot be perfect, it may be just if it is written in ignorance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-cannot-live-in-peace-without-law-and-though-law-cannot-be-perfect/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/films-have-degenerated-to-their-original-operation-as-carnival/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The Oscars demonstrate the will of the people to control and judge those they have elected to stand above them (much, perhaps, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-oscars-demonstrate-the-will-of-the-people-to-control-and-judge/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I know very well what it is to be out of work and to be cheated by employers and I know what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-know-very-well-what-it-is-to-be-out-of-work-and-to-be-cheated-by/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Hitchcock denigrated American films, saying they were all 'pictures of people talking' - as, indeed, most of them are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/hitchcock-denigrated-american-films-saying-they-were-all-pictures-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/life-in-the-movie-business-is-like-the-beginning-of-a-new-love-affair/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“How was her crumbcake? oh.. from the store... …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/how-was-her-crumbcake-oh-from-the-store/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/a-dramatic-experience-concerned-with-the-mundane-may-inform-but-it/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The product of the artist has become less important than the fact of the artist. We wish to absorb this person. We wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-product-of-the-artist-has-become-less-important-than-the-fact-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [In a world we find terrifying, we ratify that which doesn't threaten us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/in-a-world-we-find-terrifying-we-ratify-that-which-doesn-t-threaten-us/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) [Explore all 278 David Mamet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## More Affliction quotes > [I don't feel insecure about any of this work anymore. Maybe I don't have what I had when I was younger. I'm not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/i-don-t-feel-insecure-about-any-of-this-work-anymore-maybe-i-don-t/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-nothing-in-afflictions-which-ought-to-disturb-our-joy/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Henceforth, I'll bear Affliction till it do cry out itself, 'Enough, enough, and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/henceforth-i-ll-bear-affliction-till-it-do-cry-out-itself-enough/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Aimee Parkison offers a distinct new voice to contemporary fiction. Her seductive stories explore childhood as a realm of sorrows, and reveal the afflictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-anshaw/aimee-parkison-offers-a-distinct-new-voice-to-contemporary-fiction/) [Carol Anshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-anshaw/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [We are infinitely more than our limitations and afflictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/we-are-infinitely-more-than-our-limitations-and-afflictions/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [God measures out affliction to our need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/god-measures-out-affliction-to-our-need/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [Afflictions make the heart more deep, more experimental, more knowing and profound, and so, more able to hold, to contain, and beat more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/afflictions-make-the-heart-more-deep-more-experimental-more-knowing/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Religion prescribes to every miserable man the means of bettering his condition; nay, it shows him that the bearing of his afflictions as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/religion-prescribes-to-every-miserable-man-the-means-of-bettering-his/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Revolution will free society of its afflictions, while science will free the individual of his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/revolution-will-free-society-of-its-afflictions-while-science-will/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) [Browse all 598 Affliction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any claim to actual identification as a drama must rest upon the construction of a plot independent of the assignment of affliction to the protagonist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mamet" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a-drama-must-rest-upon-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affliction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a-drama-must-rest-upon-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/david-mamet-1178_affliction_any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a_557957.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/david-mamet-1178_affliction_any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a_557957.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/david-mamet-1178_affliction_any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a_557957.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Any claim to actual identification as a drama must rest upon the construction of a plot independent of the…” — David Mamet", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Mamet", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Any claim to actual identification as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a-drama-must-rest-upon-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/any-claim-to-actual-identification-as-a-drama-must-rest-upon-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```