Drama Elements & Shakespearean Language

Studying ew

acts

large units of action

scenes

short units of action

stage directions

specify such things as the details of the setting and scenery; how the characters should look, peak, behave; and when and where actors should appear on stage- describes location

cast

characters listed at the beginning of a play- sometimes the cast list includes a brief description of one or more characters

two types of drama

tragedy and comedy

tragedy

drama in which the main character, called the tragic hero suffers a fall from good fortune

tragic hero

main character of a tragedy

tragic flaw

causes the main character to suffer a fall from good fortune

comedy

drama that details with light and amusing subjects or with serious subjects in a light familiar, or satirical manner

satire

a kind of comedy that ridicules people, practices, or institutions in order to reveal their failings

farce

a kind of comedy that places flat, one-dimensional characters in ridiculous situations

drama

written to be preformed by actors in front of an audience

dialogue

the words the characters speak (talk between two characters)

chorus

an actor or a group of actors who speak directly to the audience

aristotle’s six elements

plot, diction/language/dialogue, music/rhythm, theme, spectacle, and character

plot

what happens in a play

diction/language/dialogue

the playwright’s word choices and the actor’s enunciation (pronunciation) while delivering their lines

music/rhyme

the sound, rhythm and melody of the speeches

theme

what a play means, as opposed to what happens

spectacle

the scenery, costumes, and special effects in a play

character

the person an actor represents in a play

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

iambic pentameter

ten syllables per line, and every second syllable is stressed

three dramatic devices

monologue, soliloquy and aside

monologue

the character speaks directly to another character- dialogue

soliloquy

a character speaks his or her innermost thoughts when no other characters are on stage

aside

a character says something to the audience that other characters arent supposed to hear

foil

a character that proves a strong contrast to another character

summarize

starting the main ideas of a work of passage in your own words in a logical sequence

three types of figurative language

simile, metaphor, and personification

simile

compares seemingly unlike things using the words like or as

metaphor

compares seemingly unlike things without using like or as

personification

an animal or object or idea that is given human characteristics

inference

the use of reason and knowledge to form ideas about character’s motivations

irony

refers to a contrast or discrepancy between appearance and reality

three types of irony

situational, verbal, dramatic

situational irony

exists when an occurrence is the opposite of what is expected

verbal irony

occurs when a person says one thing and means another

dramatic irony

exists when the reader or audience knows something a character does not

theme

a piece of literature that is the dominant idea- often a universal message about life

figurative language

descriptive language used to imply ideas, including metaphor, simile and personification

imagery

“word pictures” that appeal to the five senses

sound devices

elements that appeal to the ear, enhance rhyme, and create a musical quality

word play

puns or other instances of language that rely on double meaning