Drama Terms

Soliloquy

A long speech by an actor delivered *alone* onstage. A soliloquy is meant to show a characters thoughts or feelings

Monologue

A long speech by an actor delivered on stage in front of other actors. A monologue is meant to give information or plot details

Foil

Characters with opposite character traits. Foils are meant to highlight ideas in the play through the characters behavior

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows information(about something happening in the play) that certain characters in the play do not.

Foreshadowing

When the author hints at what will later

Tragedy

A specific type of play where a high ranking or noble character, the Tragic Hero, experiences a reversal of fortune or faces some sort of downfall/demise as a result of his/her experiences

tragic flaw

a personality trait/characteristic that causes the tragic hero to behave or make choices that lead to their demise

Blank Verse

Lines of text (poetry) written in umrhymed imambic pentameter

Iambic perameter

Verse written in five-foot lines (has two syllables: first is unstressed and the 2nd is stressed… think of the word “again”)