Drama Terms

Dramatis Personae

"persons of the drama" / the characters of a play, novel, or narrative

aside

a remark or passage by character that is intended to be heard by audience but not other characters

soliloquy

act of speaking out one's THOUGHTS when alone

act

a major division in drama; typically 5 in a play

There are typically ___ acts in a play. Name them

5; Act I - exposition, Act II - rising action, Act III - climax, Act IV - falling action, Act V - resolution/denouement

scene

the division of an act of a play, typically changes when setting changes

When does the scene typically change?

When setting changes

dramatic monologue

a type of speech in which a speaker addresses a silent listener

foil

a character who contrasts and parallels a primary character in drama

Comedy

A type of drama where characters experience a reversal of fortune, usually for the better

In Elizabethan times, comedies were usually about people of _______ and had _____

low birth, happy endings

Shakespeare comedies usually end in

marriage

Tragedy

a type of play where characters experience a reversal of fortune, usually for the worse

In Elizabethan times, tragedies were usually about people of ______ and had ________

high/noble births, tragic endings

Shakespeare tragedies end in

deaths

Recognition

in TRAGEDY, point in which the character understands his/her situation as it really is

Reversal

in tragedy, the point in which the action in the plot turns into an unexpected direction for the protagonist

Dramatic irony

the difference between what characters on stage are aware of and what the audience is aware of

Tragic flaw + tragic hero

tragic flaw is a weakness or limitation of the character that leads the tragic hero to fall from glory to suffering with audience's sympathy

comic relief

the use of comic scene to interrupt a succession of intensely dramatic moments

stage direction

a playwright's descriptive or interpretive comments that provide readers + actors with info about dialogue, setting, and action of a play (ex: in hushed tones)

pun

a play on words that capitalizes on a similarity in spelling and/or pronunciation between 2 words with diff meanings

chorus

single or multiple characters (in Elizabethan drama) delivering a prologue or epilogue as well as occasionally making other remarks

deus ex machina

1. the machine that lowered "god" from above Shakespeare's stage 2. when a god (or other) comes into a complicated plot and fixes everything/saves heroes without foreshadowing

hyperbole

figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration to achieve an effect (serious, comic, ironic)

metaphor

a figure of speech comparing 2 seemingly dissimilar objects assigning a quality of one to the second

Levels of Seats

1. the pit/yard, 2. the lower gallery, 3. the middle gallery ("two penny rooms"), 4. the upper gallery

______ for housing machines, for lowering gots

The Hut

stage trap leading to

"hell"

Gallery above stage for musicians. What's after gallery?

The "heavens" then the "hut"