E1 Drama Unit Vocab Set (#5)

Anon

"soon," or in a short period of time

Aside

a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for or heard by others on the stage

Soliloquy

a long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage

Monologue

a long speech made by one performer or by one person in a group directed at other people on stage

Dialogue

a conversation between two or more characters

Prologue

a speech addressed to the audience by an actor at the beginning of a play to introduce the story

Comedy

a drama that ends happily, often with a marriage between characters; frequently light-hearted and filled with humor

Tragedy

a drama that ends unhappily, usually with multiple characters' deaths, and features the downfall of the protagonist

History plays

the ten plays that cover English history from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries, each named after and focusing on the reigning monarch of the period

Problem play

a drama that deals with controversial social issues in a realistic manner to expose societal problems (ex: poverty, exploitation, crime, violence, etc.) and encourage deeper thought and discussion from the audience

Act

a major division of a play consisting of one or more scenes and defined by the play's rising action, climax, and resolution

Scene

a subdivision of an act that has continuous action in one time and place, and is marked off from the next scene by a curtain, a blackout, or a brief emptying of the stage

Line

the words spoken by an actor in a performance

Comic relief

a funny moment or comment intended to make a tragedy seem less intense and give the audience a moment to relax

Foil

a character that highlights another character's (usually the protagonist's) quality or qualities, typically by having contrasting or opposite characteristics

Stock character

a character that represents a certain type and that is recognizable across many narratives (ex: the mean girl, the jock, the nerd, the bully)

Blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

Iambic pentameter

a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable

Quartos

a small book, made by folding printed sheets twice to create four double-sided leaves or eight pages

Folio

a large book in which printed sheets are folded in half only once, creating two double-sided leaves or four pages

Setting

the time and place of a story

Deus ex machina

an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation

Exunt

a stage direction that means everyone leaves the stage

Stage Directions

the specific instructions a playwright includes concerning sets, characterization, delivery, actor movements, etc.

Citation format

Act Number, Scene Number, then Line Numbers, each separated by periods.

(Act.Scene.Line/s)

Ex: (1.2.3-4)