Drama Terms

Drama

work designed to be represented on a stage by actors; a serious play dealing with an important topic

Dramatic Form

How a script is organized: the speakers, their lines, and stage directions

Dramatis Personae

The list of characters at the start of a play.

Play

A live performance of a story on stage in a theater.

Script

The written text of a play that actors read and perform.

Act

A large section of a play. Shakespeare's plays have 5 acts.

Scene

A smaller part of an act where the setting or action changes. Shakespeare's are usually marked by Roman Numerals

Line

One single sentence or row of text in a play.

Pathetic Fallacy

When nature or objects reflect the mood or a character's feelings (ex: stormy weather during sadness).

Stage Direction

Instructions in the script telling actors how to move, speak, or how the stage should look.

Monologue

A long speech by one character (either to others or alone) that reveals their thoughts.

Dialogue

A conversation between two or more characters.

Interior Monologue

A character's inner thoughts as they naturally flow in their mind.

Pathos

Writing that evokes feelings for the audience, usually pity or sympathy.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something the character doesn't, creating a double meaning.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter.

Aside

A quick comment to one character or to the audience that others on stage "don't hear."

Comic Relief

A funny moment in a serious play to reduce tension.

Iambic Pentameter

A 10-syllable line with a "soft-hard" beat pattern (da-DUM ×5).

Prologue

An introduction that gives background before a play begins.

Pun

play on words in which a word or phrase can be taken to mean more than one thing.

Soliloquy

A speech where a character is alone and reveals their true thoughts and feelings.

Chorus

A group that comments on the events of the play for the audience.

Comedy

A play that ends happily. Shakespearean comedies often involve confusion and end with marriage.

(Modern comedies are funny)

Tragedy

A serious play where a high-status character faces downfall, causing the audience to feel fear and pity.

Tragic Hero

A noble character who has great potential but is ruined by a personal flaw and fate.

Tragic Flaw

The character's weakness that causes their downfall.

Hubris

Excessive pride that leads a character to ignore warnings and fall.

Catharsis

The emotional "release" the audience feels after a tragedy (like a cleansing of emotions).