Terms for Drama

1. Terms for Drama English I

2. act • subdivision of a play • Example: Act I Act II Act III Act IV Act V

3. scene • further subdivision of an act • (acts are made up of scenes) • Example: scene i, scene ii, scene iii, scene iv Act I, scene i Act I, scene ii

4. dialogue • conversation of the characters in the play

5. comedy • a play that ends happily

6. tragedy • a play that ends unhappily

7. protagonist • the hero or leading character with whom the audience sympathizes

8. antagonist • the character who opposes or competes with the protagonist

9. theme • important central idea or message about life presented through the play • The message = Theme

10. plot • the chain of events that make up the play

11. soliloquy: • a character’s speech, alone on stage, that expresses his or her thoughts and feelings to the audience • (SOLO – ALONE …thinking aloud)

12. monologue • a long speech given by ONE character in a play, story or poem (directed to other characters)

13. aside • a remark made by one character to another, or to the audience; unheard by other characters

14. dramatic foil • a character whose personality traitscontrastwith and highlight those of another character in a play (opposite characters in a scene/play together)

15. dramatic irony • a contradiction between what a character thinks or says and what the audience knows to be true.

16. character flaw • a character’s personality trait that contributes to his or her downfall(weakness)

17. blank verse • poetry written unrhymed iambic pentameter (one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable)