Drama Vocabulary

Antagonist

Antagonist

(N) One that contends or opposes another;adversary, opponent

Archetype

(N) The original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representative of or copies of

Aside

(N) A remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by characters in the play (can break the 4th wall)

Catharsis

(N) The process of realizing and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions

Comic Relief

(N) Comic episodes in a dramatic or literary work that offsets more serious sections

Conventional Character (Stock Character)

(N) generally used for stereotyping and doesn’t move the plot forward

Deus ex machina

(N) A person or thing that appears or is introduced suddenly or unexpectedly and provides contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty

Epigraph

(N) A quotation set at the beginning of a literary work or one of its divisions to set a theme

Farce

(N) A comic dramatic work using buffoonery or horseplay, and typically including crude characterization or ludicrously improbable situations

Flashback

(N) A scene that takes place before or earlier than the main story

Flat Character

(N) A simplified character who does not change or alter their personality over the course of the narrative

Foil

(N) Character meant to be contrasting another character

Foreshadowing

(V) A literary device used to hint at events yet to come;keeps readers guessing

Hubris

(N) Excessive pride or self confidence

In medias res

(Adv) Into the middle of a narrative; without preamble

Interior Monologue

(N) A piece of writing expressing a character’s inner thoughts

Parable

(N) A short fictitious story that teaches a moral lesson or religious principle

Parody

(N) A literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule

Point of View

(N) A position or perspective from which something is considered or evaluated

Protagonist

(N) The principal character in a literary work

Satire

(N) A literary work that ridicules someone or something, or sarcasm/irony is used to expose

Soliloquy

(N) A conversation to oneself, conversation in a way that is disregardful or oblivious of those around you

Stock Character

(N) A character in a drama or fiction that represents a type and that is recognizable as belonging to a certain genre

Syntax

(N) The grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence

Theme

(N) A subject or topic of discourse or of artistic representation