THE PROGRAM | MON, TUES, WED, THURS. Drama is the specific mode of fictionrepresented in performance.[1] Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyricalmodes ever since Aristotle's Poetics (c. 335 BCE)—the earliest work of dramatic theory.[2] The term "drama" comes from a Greek word meaning "action" (Classical Greek: δρᾶμα, drama), which is derived from "I do" (Classical Greek: δράω, drao). The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy. They are symbols of the ancient GreekMuses, Thalia, and Melpomene. Thalia was the Muse of comedy (the laughing face), while Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy (the weeping face)