In the 4th century BC, Aristotle expressed his understanding of the essence of drama in Poetics. He believes that all art is imitation, and drama is to imitate the actions of various creatures. Two centuries later, India's first drama theory work, Dance Theory, also pointed out: "Drama is imitation." /kloc-after the 0/9th century, there have been different opinions about the essence of drama, including audience theory, conflict theory, radical change theory, situation theory and laboratory theory.

The audience said: identifying with the audience is a necessary condition and the essence of drama. French drama theorist F. Sasay is the representative of this concept. He asserted that no matter what kind of drama works, it is for the audience. "Without the audience, there would be no drama", therefore, all the organs of drama must adapt to the audience's appreciation.

Conflict theory: represented by the French drama theorist Brent. At the end of 19, Bruntel pointed out that the stage is the place where people's conscious will is exerted, and the exertion of characters' conscious will is bound to encounter obstacles, and the subject must fight against them in order to overcome them, which constitutes a "will conflict", and the essence of drama lies in this. J.H. Lawson, an American drama theorist, attributed the essence of drama to "social conflict in which consciousness and will play a role". He believes that because drama deals with social relations, people's conscious will is bound to be restricted by social inevitability, so the real drama conflict must be social conflict. This concept can be expressed in one sentence: "There is no drama without conflict."

Disaster theory: British drama theorist W Archer denied Brent's "conflict" theory. He compared the novel with the drama, thinking that the novel is a "gradual" art, while the drama is a "crisis" art, and the drama deals with the dramatic changes in people's fate and environment, which is the essence of the drama.

Situation and Laboratory Theory: As early as18th century, the French philosopher D Diderot regarded "situation" as the basis of drama works. When Hegel talked about the characteristics of drama, he also linked "situation" with "conflict" and emphasized the ontological significance of situation. The existentialist philosopher and playwright J.-P. Sartre called his drama "situational drama" and described the object of the drama as people's choice in the situation. B Brecht regards drama as a scientific method and thinks that drama is a laboratory to test human behavior in a specific situation. This concept also defines the essence of drama from a specific angle.