Drama Terminology Flashcards
What are the characteristics of Absurdist theatre/Theatre of the Absurd?
Apparently impossible or ridiculous events make a statement about the strangeness and irrationality of existence
What is Brechtean Drama?
Drama that is designed to confront its audience directly through devices such as the alienation effect to put forward a point of view
What is Classical drama?
Drama that observes the rules of Classical Greek and Roman drama, following Aristotle’s codification of three unities’: Unity of time, unity of place and unity of plot
What do Aristotle’s three unities mean?
Unity of time - happens in 24 hours
Unity of place - only one scene throughout
Unity of plot - no sub-plots
What is a farce in drama?
A comedy featuring exaggerated situations and physical humour, usually based around the attempt to preserve respectability
What is meant by the term ‘realistic drama’?
An attempt to represent life on stage with the minimum interference from conversation.
What is meant by Shakespearean drama?
The name given to British drama of the Elizabethan and Jacobean period that ignored the rules of classical drama to use large time-spans, sub-plots and many scenes
What is catharsis?
Emotional release engendered by an intense experience
What is meant by the word ‘hamartia’?
A fatal moral flaw in a protagonist of a tragedy
What is the meaning of hubris?
Overwhelming pride in a protagonist of a tragedy
What is meant by the term ‘alienation effect’?
The use of devices that disrupt the illusion of realistic theatre, such as cast speaking or singing directly to an audience
What is an aside and what is its affect in drama?
A remark to the audience which other characters on the stage do not hear. It is a device used to make a character’s inner emotions evident
What is a monologue?
A speech delivered with only the character that is talking on stage
What is a soliloquy?
An act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud regardless of any hearers
