Drama Terms
- Drama- a literary form that recreates human life and emotions; uses dialogue; a play.
2. Playwright- the author of a drama
3. Script- the play in written form
4. Blank verse- unrhymed line of iambic pentameter
5. Pun- a play on words that has more than one meaning, often has a serious meaning
6. Pathos- suffering or deep feeling; when an audience experiences sorrow or pity
7. epiphany- a spiritually uplifting time when a character recognizes his/her flaws
8. Catharsis- working through emotions
- The story the play tells:
8. Theme- main idea
9. Plot- series of events that support the theme
10. Protagonist- the main character; the hero
11. Antagonist- usually a bad person who opposes the main character
- The organization of a play:
12. Prologue- an introduction
13. Act-division of a play
14. Scene- division of an act
15. Stage directions- instructions on a script
16. Dialogue-the lines; what the characters say
17. Cue- a signal for an actor to speak
18. Actor- a person who plays a role in a drama
19. Character- a role played by an actor
20. Flat- forms a background for a play; backdrop; a piece of scenery or background
21. Props- anything used on the stage, except costumes and sets; stands for property
22. Set- flats, scenery, and props for a scene or act
23. Director- the person in charge of the performance
24. Green room- a place for the actors to relax
25. Motivation- whatever causes a person to act in a certain way.
- Aside- when a character speaks directly to the audience without being heard by the actors
- Concealment- allows a character to be seen by the audience but remain hidden from the other actors
- Soliloquy- when an actor speaks his/her thoughts aloud alone on stage (solo); a monologue
29. Comedy- a drama where the hero wins; funny; white flag
- Tragedy- a drama that lets the audience experience how the hero suffers but learns from his agony; a drama where the hero loses; sad; black flag
- History- based on actual historical event or person; red flag
31. Tragic hero- a person born into nobility with the potential to be great, but the person has a tragic flaw which leads to making a serious error in judgment, resulting in the person’s death.
- Classic tragedy- had three elements that create unity: time, place, and action
- Shakespearean Tragedy- always has five acts
- Literary devices used by Shakespeare and other dramatists:
- personification
- simile
- metaphor
- Hyperbole-deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.
- Satire-literary work that ridicules the foolishness and faults of individuals, an institution, or society.
- Imagery-descriptive language to create word pictures.
- Foreshadowing-clues that suggest events that have yet to occur.
- Flashback-means by which author presents material that occurred earlier. May be memories, dreams, accounts of past events.
- Irony-the expected or seemingly evident does not happen or is not said; a contradiction between what is said and what is meant.
- Foil- a character who contrasts with another character, usually the protagonist, and, in so doing, highlights various facets of the main character's personality.
- Allusion-a passing or casual reference
- Dramatic irony- when a character’s words or actions carry a deeper meaning that even he/she does not understand; when the audience knows something that the actor doesn’t
