Drama Terms Flashcards
Aside
Remark made by character, intended to be heard by audience
Allusion
Passing reference, without explanation, to literary or historical person, place or event
Archaic language
Words or expressions that have become obsolete in common speech
Comic relief
Humourous episode or scene in a serious story tragedy; provides relief from tension, heightens serious elements
Couplet
Two lines of verse with similar end rhymes
Melodrama
Play based on romantic plot and developed sensationally; constant appeals to emotion of audience
Prologue
A preface or introduction usually associated with drama
Sonnet
A lyric poem of 14 lines
Iambic pentameter
Poetic style used by Shakespeare. One unstressed syllable + one stressed; unstressed + stressed = iamb X 5 = pentameter = five feet in a line
Voice
Associated with the basic vision of a writer and their general attitude towards the world
Wit
Intellectual quality often given to characters in dramatic form to cleverly express an idea
Soliloquy
Speech of a character in a play delivered why they are alone; to make the audience aware of characters’ thoughts and other information
Pathetic fallacy
Idea that nature reflects our mood
Tragedy
Protagonist dies; have a tragic flaw; leads to their downfall and of others because of their status
