Drama Lit Test 3 Flashcards
Drama
The art of composing, writing, acting, or producing plays; a literary composition intended to portray life or character or enact a story,
usually involving conflicts and emotions exhibited through action and dialogue; designed for theatrical performance.
Act
A major unit or
division of a play.
scene
A small section or
portion of a play.
Stage Directions
Instructions in the script that tell the actors
what to do and where to move on stage; may
also provide information about the setting.
Dialogue
Spoken
conversation used
by two or more
characters to
express thoughts,
feelings, and
actions.
Monologue
A long speech
made by one
actor; a
monologue may
be delivered alone
or in the presence
of others.
Comedic Relief
A break in the tension of a tragedy provided by
a comic character, a comic episode, or even a
comic line.
One-Act Plays
Gives a brief glimpse into a specific moment in time, which makes use of a minimal number of well-developed characters to focus on during a single incident.
Tragic Hero
a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat
Dramatic Irony
A type of irony where the reader or audience knows something that the characters do not, resulting in increased tension.
Sure Thing (play)
Taking place over ten minutes, it focuses on the chance meeting of two characters, Betty and Bill, who have their conversation constantly interrupted and reset by the use of a ringing bell that rings every time one of them responds negatively to something the other says. Dealing with themes of sexism, inner life and thoughts, and the role of fate and chance in what relationships influence our lives
Bloody Mary (play)
No one will stop to help Mary (main character) who is bleeding out on the side of the road. Joe (shoe salesman) stops and helps her. He ties a tourniquet on her stomach & Mary tries to touch him, but he yells at her to stop. Joe said every time he is touched he loses a limb. He’s only been touched twice & has lost 2 limbs. He touches Mary & Mary’s arm falls off & Mary places it onto Joe because he needed a helping hand so she gave it to him. The 1 act play ends with Mary & Joe getting a slice of pie (FATE)
While the Auto Waits (play)
Mr. Parkenstackers meets a girl int he park & tries having a conversation with her only she refuses to tell him her name. She acts like she is famous then a waitress runs up telling the girl her shift is in 10 mins. The girl acts like she does not know the waitress & the waitress starts yelling at the girl to get to her shift. The girl leaves embarrassed, leaving her book behind. She realizes “Mr. Porkenblogger” is actually Mr. Parkenstackers from the Society Pages & that he is rich. The man tries to tell the girl she left her book, but he is late for his dinner reservations & tells the chauffeur not to cancel his dinner & that he is coming.
Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”
Jack Worthing sets out to marry a rich woman in good standing, Gwendolen Fairfax. She tells him she’s had dreams of marrying a man by the name of Earnest, Jack lies and says his name is Earnest in the city & Jack in the country & that he is an orphan w/ a disowned troubled brother. Cecily Cardew is staying at Jack’s country house waiting to be of age to marry. Algernon Moncrieff is Jack’s best friend and brother. He finds out about Cecily from Jack and goes out to his country house to pay Cecily a visit without Jack. Algernon is taken with Cecily & tries to woo her even though they are technically cousins. Jack lies and says his brother is dead, but Algernon pulls up saying his name is Earnest. Gwendolen’s mother does not want her to marry Jack and does not buy Jack’s family history, she then forbades the marriage. Jack & gwendolen write love letters to eachother, Gwendolen leaves her family to surpise “Earnest” at his country house. Cecily & Gwendolen meet and figure out both men they are in love with claim to be named Earnest. They find out both are lying & Gwendolen’s mother comes to the country house to bring her daughter back and find out the truth. CONCLUSION: Miss Prism identifies it, and Lady Bracknell reveals that Jack is Algernon’s older brother, son of Ernest John Moncrieff, who died years ago in India. Jack now truly is Ernest, and Algernon/Cecily, Jack/Gwendolen, and Chasuble/Prism fall into each others’ arms as Jack realizes the importance of being earnest.
August Wilson’s Fences
Rose is married to Troy, who recently got out of prison for murder. Troy’s best friend from prison is Bono. Troy lives with Rose & their son Corey who has scholarship offers for football. Troy used to play baseball, but his career failed & now he frequently cheats on Rose. Troy forbids Corey from playing football in college and wants him to get a trade job. Troy drinks a lot with Bono & Bono tells him he needs to stop cheating on Rose & finish building her a fence & Bono will get his wife a new fridge. Troy forces Corey to stop everything to help him build the fence. Troy does not understand why Rose is so adamant about having a fence. Gabe, Troy’s brain injured brother lives down the street with a neighbor & frequently comes over. Troy is in control of Gabe’s money from the military & uses it to pay the mortgage on his & Rose’s house. Troy could not read the papers, thinking he was paying to get Gabe out of jail, when really he signed papers for Gabe to go to a mental institution. Troy refuses to sign Corey’s scholarship papers, so Corey gets a Trade job. Troy’s other son from a marriage before rose, Lyons comes over on Troy’s pay day for 10$ Troy refuses and Rose convinces him to give Lyons money, even though he is a struggling musician. Lyons comes back and gives Troy more than the 10$ he borrowed. Troy gets Robertta pregnant, Rose finds out. Robertta dies in child birth & Rose takes the little girl in. CONCLUSION The ending of Fences reveals that Troy, the stern father, dies of a heart attack and Cory, bitter towards his father, refuses to attend the funeral. The titular fence in Fences represents entrapment for Cory, while for Rose it signifies a desire to keep her family together
