Drama exam

Eye rhymes

have similar spelling but different sounds. In other words, they look as if they

should rhyme but they don’t.

Alliteration

he same consonant sounds appear at the beginning of nearby

words

Assonance

the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words

Rhyme

A rhyme, generally speaking, is when the ends of two or more words sound the same, e.g.,

cold and fold. Rhyme is most often used in poetry where repeating patterns can create

pleasing rhythmic and sometimes melodic effects.

Vocal Tone

The sound of the voice. Tone is influenced by breath, the vocal chords, the structure of the larynx, the resonators and the organs of speech.

Power and Intensity

• Achieved through the combination of tone, tone colour and emphasis.

• Can invest strong dramatic or emotional feeling in a phrase, sentence or

• passage in order to convey conviction, sincerity and/or passion.

• Power and intensity need to be used judiciously. Overuse can become wearing for both performer and audience.

Gustatory imagery

recalls the taste of things.

Olfactory imagery

Smell

Tactile imagery

Touch, holding things

Auditory or Sound imagery

Helps us hear sound in a scene

Visual imagery

Appeals to our sense of sight and helps us to see a scene in our mind.

Imagery

A literary device that writers use to create pictures, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile feelings in your imagination. Appeals to our senses.

Sonnet

A fourteen-line poem that follows a strict rhyming scheme and was traditionally written in iambic pentameter.

Petrarchan sonnet

a-b-b-a

a-b-b-a

c-d-e

d-c-d

Shakespearean sonnet

a-b-a-b

c-d-c-d

e-f-e-f

g-g

Recital

An exploration of a theme or the works of an author. The most important part of the recital is the script that introduces the theme/author, links the extracts together and neatly concludes the performance.

How to improve resonance

It is most important to realise that shouting is not resonance. Resonance comes from learning how to drive your own sound waves through your nose, mouth and throat.

Resonance

The enlargement of the basic tone in the resonators (or hollow cavities) in the neck and head. Sound waves that have been generated in the larynx are collected in the frontal cavities so that the original tone is given fullness and quality.

Tone colour

The adjustment of tonal quality to convey emotion

Breath control

• Breath is the fuel on which our voices run, the motive power of speech, the sustaining medium of the voice.

• Having control of your breath enables you to project your voice; to vary pace, power and intensity; to enhance your tone and phrasing; and to be comfortable finishing lines and sentences.

• enhances stamina and facilitates relaxation and physical control.

Emphatic pause

Pause before or after a word

Caesural pause

Pause that occurs within the line of a verse, usually (but not always) marked by punctuation

Suspensive Pause

Enjambment

Rate

Overall speed of your speech. Standard is 160WPM

Pace

The various speeds at which you speak within the overall rate, and is used to add variety and interest, and to convey mood and momentum

Lyric

• A short subjective poem expressing the emotion or inner feeling of a poet.

• Often the musicality of the words is more important than the actual meaning of the poem.

Inflection

The upward and downward glide or slide of the voice.

Vocal Projection

The technique involved in achieving audibility by controlling particularly the volume and clarity of your voice.

Pitch

Refers to where one’s voice falls on the musical scale.