Drama Terms Flashcards
aside
a brief speech that excludes at least one character from hearing
catharsis
the purging of the feelings of pity and fear that, according to aristotle occur in the audience
comic relief
the use of a comic scene to interrupt a succession of intensely tragic dramatic moments
dialogue
the lines spoken by the characters
deus ex machina
A god who resolves the entanglements of a play by supernatural intervention. The latin phrase means literally “a god from the machine”. The phrase refers to the use of artificial means to resolve the plot of a play
everyman
a character found in medival morality plays, intended to allegorically represent mankind; thus, any literary character intended to function more or less as a stand in for mankind
foil
a character meant to parallel another character in most ways so that some important differences can be highlighted
fourth wall
the imaginary wall of the box theater setting, supposedly removed to allow the audience to see the action
hamartia
Aristolte’s term for a tragic error
melodrama
a form of play that intensifies sentiment, exaggerates emotions, and releases sensational and thrilling action with four basic sharply contrasted and simplified characters: the hero, heroine, comic ally, and villain
monologue
a long speech by one character that has an intended audience
morality play
a common medieval european dramatic form in which the adventures of allegorical characters taught the audience christian values
reversal
the point at which the action of the plot turns in an unexpected direction for the protagonist
soliloquy
a long speech by one character with no intended audience
stage directions
a playwright’s descriptive or interpretive comments
