sisedraama

Sisedraama is a term used in Estonian literary criticism to describe a mode of narrative or performance that foregrounds a character's internal emotional and psychological life rather than external action. The word combines sise-, meaning internal, and draama, meaning drama, and it is applied to works in which inner experience dominates the experience of the plot.

Characteristics include a focus on thoughts, memories, fears, and desires; minimal plot progression; and a heightened attention to perception and mood. Techniques commonly associated with sisedraama are interior monologue, stream of consciousness, free indirect discourse, flashbacks, and symbolic imagery. The material may be non-linear or fragmentary, and narration can be unreliable, aiming to convey the volatility of consciousness.

Historically, sisedraama has been discussed in Estonian criticism as a way to analyze works that emphasize character interiority over social action. It is often contrasted with external drama, which foregrounds plot, confrontation, and outward events. In film and theatre, sisedraama-like approaches may rely on close-ups, voiceover, or stage elements that highlight psychological states more than social interaction.

Usage is not limited to literature; it can inform analysis of films, plays, and prose where the psychology of a protagonist drives structure and meaning. As a descriptor, it remains flexible, overlapping with terms such as psychological realism or modernist interiority.

See also: inner monologue, stream of consciousness, free indirect discourse, soliloquy, psychological realism.