Drama Terms

Question 1

Stage directions

Answer 1

An instruction in the text of a play, especially one indicating the movement, position, or tone of an actor, or the sound effects and lighting

Question 2

Blank verse

Answer 2

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter

Question 3

Script

Answer 3

the written text of a play, movie, or broadcast

Question 4

Foil

Answer 4

literary device designed to illustrate or reveal information, traits, values, or motivations of one character through the comparison and contrast of another character

Question 5

Tragedy

Answer 5

a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character

Question 6

Tragic hero

Answer 6

the central character of a play, film, etc., depicted as a noble figure who experiences a tragic downfall

Question 7

Tragic flaw

Answer 7

a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine

Question 8

Recognition [Gr. anagnorisis]

Answer 8

In a literary work, the startling discovery that produces a change from ignorance to knowledge

Question 9

Catharsis

Answer 9

a stirring/purging of emotions

an experience in which the audience or reader experiences the same emotions that the characters are experiencing on stage or on the page

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions

Question 10

Comedy

Answer 10

a play characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity

Question 11

Satiric comedy

Answer 11

Satiric comedy is a form of humor that ridicules and criticizes human behaviors, political policies, and social norms. It exposes the discrepancies between the ideal and reality and often uses exaggeration and mockery to highlight faults and issues in society

Question 12

Romantic Comedy

Answer 12

a movie or play that deals with love in a light, humorous way

Question 13

Tragicomedy

Answer 13

Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. It is a literary device used in fictional works, and can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a serious play with a happy ending. The characters in tragicomedy are often exaggerated, and there might be a happy ending after a series of unfortunate events. The genre is incorporated with jokes throughout the story to lighten the tone.

Question 14

Plot

Answer 14

Plot is the sequence of interconnected events within the story of a play, novel, film, epic, or other narrative literary work. More than simply an account of what happened, plot reveals the cause-and-effect relationships between the events that occur.

Question 15

Exposition

Answer 15

Exposition is a literary device that is designed to convey important information, within a short story or novel, to the reader. Writers utilize exposition to provide essential backstory for characters, plot, and other narrative elements.

Question 16

Rising action

Answer 16

occurs after the exposition (introduction) and before the climax, and it builds tension and interest by presenting and developing the major conflict in the text

Question 17

Climax

Answer 17

the decisive moment or turning point at which the rising action turns around into a falling action. It is the culmination of the rising action and represents a turning point in the plot

Question 18

Falling action

Answer 18

the section of the plot following the climax, in which the tension stemming from the story’s central conflict decreases and the story moves toward its conclusion

Question 19

Denouement

Answer 19

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 20

Character

Answer 20

a person in a novel, play, or movie

Question 21

Dialogue

Answer 21

The exchange of spoken words between two or more characters.
Conversations between characters.
Asides spoken to the audience.

Question 22

Masks

Answer 22

Theatrical practice which calls on performers to either literally or symbolically wear masks onstage to enhance character work and portray heightened emotions

Question 23

Staging

Answer 23

The process of selecting, designing, or modifying the performance space for a play

Question 24

Blocking

Answer 24

the precise staging of actors to facilitate the performance of a play, ballet, film or opera

Question 25

Stage Business

Answer 25

small actions and behaviors performed by actors on stage that are not part of the main dialogue but help to enhance the storytelling, define character, and engage the audience

Question 26

Theme

Answer 26

A central, unifying idea that emerges as characters pursue their goals

Question 27

Chorus

Answer 27

a group of performers who either participate in the action of a play, or more often, summarize and provide commentary on recent action, using music, dance, and poetry.

Question 28

Choragus

Answer 28

any wealthy Athenian citizen who paid the costs of theatrical productions at festivals during the 4th and 5th centuries bc.

Question 29

Skene

Answer 29

(in ancient Greek theatre) a three-dimensional structure which formed part of the stage or set

Question 30

Orchestra

Answer 30

the semicircular space in front of an ancient Greek theater stage where the chorus danced and sang

Question 31

Stichomythia

Answer 31

dialogue in which two characters speak alternate lines of verse, used as a stylistic device in ancient Greek drama

Question 32

Hamartia

Answer 32

A tragic flaw or error that reverses a protagonist’s fortune from good to bad

Question 33

Hubris

Answer 33

A character trait that features excessive pride or inflated self-confidence, leading a protagonist to disregard a divine warning or violate an important moral law.

Question 34

Soliloquy

Answer 34

An act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play

Question 35

Aside

Answer 35

An aside in a play is a short comment or speech: Delivered directly to the audience or to oneself. Other actors on the stage appear not to hear it. Only the audience knows that the character has said something to them. Through an aside, a character comments on what happens in the play

Question 36

Groundlings

Answer 36

the nickname for those audience members who stood at the theatre. In Elizabethan theatres, the stage was surrounded by some space before the terraced rows of seats began, and the groundlings stood, crowded together, on the bare earth, pushed right up against the stage

Question 37

Acting troupe

Answer 37

(Also known as a theatrical company) a group of performers, such as actors or dancers, who work together and often travel together to perform in various venues

Question 38

Medieval mystery play

Answer 38

A form of vernacular drama in Europe during the Middle Ages. They focused on representations of Bible stories, originally performed in churches and later moved to public squares and marketplaces.

Question 39

Medieval miracle play

Answer 39

A kind of vernacular drama of the European Middle Ages. It presents a real or fictitious account of the life, miracles, or martyrdom of a saint. Miracle plays were a popular form of medieval English drama that depicted religious stories and events, particularly biblical narratives and the lives of saints. They were performed during the Middle Ages to educate and entertain the largely illiterate population

Question 40

Medieval morality play

Answer 40

An allegorical drama popular in Europe especially during the 15th and 16th centuries, in which the characters personify moral qualities (such as charity or vice) or abstractions (as death or youth) and in which moral lessons are taught

Question 41

Medieval interlude play

Answer 41

Came in between events to provide witty entertainment to the audience. They were usually very short and used the topics of politics or religious issues done in a rather funny manner; therefore, they are considered as secular farces.

Question 42

Dramatic question

Answer 42

A one-sentence summary of the protagonist’s central conflict over the course of a story. This question is established near the beginning of the story, and then each major plot point and choice the protagonist makes will bring them closer to answering it

Question 43

Dramatic irony

Answer 43

a plot device that creates a disconnect between a character's understanding and the audience's knowledge of a situation; when the full meaning of a situation or speech is understood by the audience but not by the characters on stage

Question 44

Comic relief

Answer 44

comic episodes in a dramatic or literary work that offset more serious sections

Question 45

Realism

Answer 45

a literary movement that depicts reality as it is, without romanticizing or idealizing it

Question 46

Naturalism

Answer 46

a late 19th-century literary movement in which writers focused on exploring the fundamental causes for their characters’ actions, choices, and beliefs

Question 47

Cause célèbre

Answer 47

an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy

Question 48

Theatre of the absurd

Answer 48

drama using the abandonment of conventional dramatic form to portray the futility of human struggle in a senseless world

Question 49

Expressionistic

Answer 49

a style of performance that emphasizes emotional experience over physical reality, often using exaggerated forms, abstract sets, and intense characters to convey inner feelings and societal issues

Question 50

Motif

Answer 50

An element or idea that recurs throughout the work, often in the form of related symbols. Motifs help develop the central themes of the play

Question 51

Stream-of-consciousness

Answer 51

a literary style in which a character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue