lit drama terms

aside

words spoken by an actor directly to the audience that are not “heard” by the other characters on stage during a play

ex. othello - lago voices his inner thoughts a number of times as “asides” for the play’s audience

catastrophe

the action at the end of a tragedy that initiates the denouement of a play.

ex. hamlet - dueling scene act V

catharsis

the purging of the feelings of pity and fear that, according to aristotle, occur in the audience of a tragic drama. the audience experiences catharsis at the end of the play following the catastrophe

comic relief

the use of a comic scene to interrupt a succession of intensely tragic dramatic moments. the comedy scenes offering comic relief typically parallels the tragic action that the scenes interrupt. not common in greek tragedy but common in shakespeare’s tragedies

hamlet - gravedigger banter w/ hamlet act V

deus ex machina

a god who resolves the entanglements of a play by supernatural intervention. the latin phrase roughly translates “a god form the machine”/ refers to using artificial means to resolve the plot of a play

fourth wall

describes the invisible wall between the audience and the actors on-stage. (stems from proscenium theatres, 3 walls surrounded the set and the audience was the fourth wall) actors “break the fourth wall” when referencing the audience

gesture

the physical movement of a character during a play. gesture is used to reveal character and may include facial expressions as well as movements of other parts of an actor’s body. sometimes a playwright will be very explicit about both bodily and facial gestures, providing detailed instructions in the play’s stage directions.

hamartia (“tragic error”)

fatal error or simple mistake on the part of the protagonist that leads to the final catastrophe. (any error it can be basic and inescapable or just a slip-up)

hubris (“violent transgression”)

the sin par excellence of the tragic or over-aspiring hero. better understood as insolent daring, a haughty overstepping of cultural codes or ethical boundaries

implied stage action/direction

actions in a play suggested within the dialogue itself

monolouge

a speech by a single character without another character’s respone

nemesis (“retribution”)

the inevitable punishment or cosmic playback for acts of hubris

psychomania

a latin phrase that means spirit war. conflict in every human heart between good and evil; the conflict of the soul

recognition (anagnorsis)

the point at which a character understands his or her situation as it really is

reversal (paripateia)

the point at which the actin of the plot turns in an unexpected direction for the protagonist (a change in his or her situation from seemingly secure to vulnerable)

soliloquy

a speech in a play that is meant to be heard by the audience but not by other characters on the stage, if there are no other characters present, the soliloquy represent the character thinking aloud.

stage direction

a playwrights descriptive or interpretive comments that provide readers (and actors) with more information about the dialogue, setting, and action of a play. modern playwrights use substantial stage directions and earlier ones used them sparsely.

staging

the spectacle a play presents in performance, including the position of actors on stage, the scenic background, the props and costumes, and the lighting and sound effects.

subplot

a subsidiary or subordinate or parallel plot in a play or story

tragedy

a type of drama in which the characters experience reversal of fortune, usually for the words. in tragedy, catastrophe and suffering await many of the characters, especially the hero.

tragic flaw

a weakness or limitation of a character, resulting in the fall of the tragic hero.

ex. hamlet’s inability to take action

tragic hero

a privileged, exalted character of high repute, who by virtue of a tragic flaw and fate, suffers a fall from glory inro suffering.

aristotle’s principles of tragic heroes: (idk if we need to know these)

-person of stature or high position

-be a good person! he has to matter to us

-actions with far reaching effects

-character trait or quality which would normally be a virtue but under the special circumstances it proves to be a fatal flaw (hamartia)

-further error in judgement following misdeed

-distorted perception of reality

-suffers outwardly (isolation/alienation/attacks) and inwardly (tortured conscience)

-elicit pity and fear from the audience (catharsis).

-suffer reversal of fortune (peripeteia)

-recognizes his mistakes (anagnorisis)

-DIES!!!!!