ABSTRACT
Among the genres of literature, drama is more concretely social than other forms by virtue of its performance before a live audience. Theater is a cultural institution that depends on patronage; the dramatist composes for an audience whom he imagines gathered into a tangible group. The Sanskrit term dṛśya-kāvya, which literally means “visual poetry,” may be rendered “public literature” to contrast it with lyric and epic forms whose structure takes less direct notice of the audience.
