Drama Terms

Question 1

Act

Answer 1

a major division of a theatre work, including a play, film, opera, ballet, or musical theatre, consisting of one or more scenes.

Question 2

Anagnorisis

Answer 2

the point in a play, novel, etc., in which a principal character recognizes or discovers another character’s true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances.

Question 3

Aside

Answer 3

a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention, the audience is to realize that the character’s speech is unheard by the other characters on stage. It may be addressed to the audience expressly (in character or out) or represent an unspoken thought.

Question 4

Catharsis

Answer 4

the use of strong feelings in literature to engage the reader in a type of emotional purification. Often, tragedies like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Oedipus the King are high-stakes and emotionally powerful enough to leave the audience feeling purged of those emotions by the end of the play.

Question 5

Climax

Answer 5

the decisive moment, or turning point, at which the rising action of the play is reversed to falling action.

Question 6

Comedy

Answer 6

a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy ending.

Question 7

Comic Relief

Answer 7

the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious or dramatic work, often to relieve tension.

Question 8

Complication

Answer 8

a factor, condition, and/or element that adds difficulty to the plot or conflict in a play.

Question 9

Cosmic Irony

Answer 9

a literary device where the universe seems to have a sense of humor and purposefully creates situations that are opposite or satirical of the expected outcome, causing amusement

Question 10

Denouement

Answer 10

the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

Question 11

Resolution

Answer 11

The sorting out or unraveling of a plot at the end of a play, novel, or story where matters are explained or resolved

Question 12

Deus ex Machina

Answer 12

a person or thing that appears or is introduced into a situation suddenly and unexpectedly and provides an artificial or contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty.

“god from the machine”

Question 13

Dramatic Irony

Answer 13

performed irony where the audience learns more information than what the characters know about.

Question 14

Exposition

Answer 14

the introduction or beginning of a story that reveals important background information. This can include setting and details about characters.

Question 15

Falling Action

Answer 15

the period of time in a story that follows the climax and leads to the resolution. It can be used to clarify the events of the climax, ease any built-up tension, or wrap up loose ends. It is followed by the resolution, which provides the final conclusion to the story.

Question 16

Foil

Answer 16

a character who contrasts with another character, typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist.

Question 17

Gesture

Answer 17

a sign that communicates a character‟s action, state of mind and relationship with other characters to an audience.

Question 18

In Medias Res

Answer 18

the practice of beginning a narrative by plunging into a crucial situation

(example: a marvel movie starting off with a fight scene in the first few minutes)

Question 19

Inciting incident

Answer 19

the event that sets the main character or characters on the journey that will occupy them throughout the narrative.

Question 20

Monologue

Answer 20

a long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program.

Question 21

Motivation

Answer 21

what drives a character to say what he says and to do what he does.

Question 22

Props

Answer 22

an object used on stage or on screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, it is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct from the actors, scenery, costumes and electrical equipment.

Question 23

Resolution

Answer 23

the end of the story. It occurs after the CLIMAX. It is when you learn what happens to the characters after the CONFLICT is resolved.