drama terminology

Question 1

verbal irony

Answer 1

contrast is between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant

Question 2

suspension of disbelief

Answer 2

a willingness to suspend one’s critical faculties and believe the unbelievable; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment

Question 3

denouement/ resolution

Answer 3

the final part of a play in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained/resolved
usually occurs after the climax.

Question 4

exposition

Answer 4

the first stage of a fictional/ dramatic plot, in which necessary background info

Question 5

catharsis

Answer 5

the purging of the feelings of pity and fear

-according to Aristotle the audience should experience it at the end of a tragedy

Question 6

conflict

Answer 6

can be external (between characters) or internal (within a character)

Question 7

comic relief

Answer 7

a moment of relief w. a lighthearted scene, after a succession of intensely tragic moments

Question 8

Deus Ex Machina

Answer 8

when an external source resolves the entanglements of a play by supernatural intervention

Question 9

diction

Answer 9

• a style of speaking
• in drama it can:
  1) reveal character
  2) imply attitudes
  3) convey action
  4) identify themes
  5) suggest values
• we can speak of the diction particular to a character

Question 10

dynamic character

Answer 10

undergoes an important change in the course of the play- not changes in circumstance but internal changes
-opposite is a static character (one who remains essentially the same)

Question 11

falling action

Answer 11

this is when the events and complications begin to resolve themselves and tension is released. we learn whether the conflict has been resolved or not

Question 12

foil

Answer 12

a secondary character whose situation often parallels that of the main character while his behaviour/ response contrasts w/ that of the main character

Question 13

hubris

Answer 13

arrogant, excessive self-pride or self-confidence, and a lack of some important perception or insight due to pride in one’s abilities- leads to a downfall

Question 14

in media res

Answer 14

• “in the midst of things” (Latin)
• refers to opening a plot in the middle of the action, and then filling in past details by means of exposition/ flashback

Question 15

Cosmic irony

Answer 15

• aka irony of fate
• is characterised by 4 elements:
  1) it involves a powerful deity (or fate itself) w. the ability and desire to manipulate events in a character’s life
  2) the character subject to this irony must believe in free will- so whether or not he acknowledges the deity’s existence, he persists in attempting to control events
  3) the deity toys w/ the character in such a way that the outcome is clear for the observer, but the character hopes for escape
  4) cosmic irony always involves a tragic outcome

ultimately the character’s struggle against destiny will be in vain

Question 16

linear plot

Answer 16

are usually based on causality (one event causes another to happen)

Question 17

monologue

Answer 17

a speech by a single character w/o another character’s response

Question 18

reversal or peripeteia

Answer 18

the point at which the action of the plot turns in an unexpected direction for the protagonist- from failure to success or vice versa
- EoG’s and Lear’s moments of enlightenment are moments of peripeteia- they learn what they did not expect to learn

Question 19

rising action

Answer 19

an event/conflict/crisis/ set of conflict and crises that constitute the part of a play’s plot leading up to the climax

Question 20

soliloquy

Answer 20

a speech meant to be heard by the audience but not by the other characters on the stage

Question 21

Theatre of the Absurd

Answer 21

a type of drama that conveys a sense of life as devoid of meaning and purpose

Question 22

tragic flaw

Answer 22

hamartia

Question 23

Freytag’s pyramid

Answer 23

exposition
rising action
climax
falling action
denouement

Question 24

antihero

Answer 24

a protagonist who doesn’t have the heroic qualities of the traditional protagonist

Question 25

morality play

Answer 25

an allegorical drama in which vices and virtues are personified in the battle for the protagonist’s soul

Question 26

naturalism

Answer 26

• a style of drama that developed in the late 19thC
• an attempt to represent real life on stage faithfully and w/o artifice; the actions of characters tended to be dominated by determinism (societal/ environmental forces)

Question 27

reversal

Answer 27

when an action produces the opposite of what is desired/expected

Question 28

tableau

Answer 28

a technique in which actors create a frozen picture, as if the action were paused

• e.g. Lear w/ his dead daughters is a tableau
  plural: tableaux

Question 29

tempo

Answer 29

the pace of a scene or a play

Question 30

tension

Answer 30

the state of anxiety the audience feels because of a threat to a character in a play

Question 31

tragedy

Answer 31

in greek theatre, a play depicting man as a victim of destiny
according to aristotle, the purpose of a tragedy is catharsis