Drama Terms Flashcards
Antagonist
Opposes the main character
Act
Division of a play
Aside
A remark by a character only heard by the audience
Catharsis
Purging of emotion, any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration
Stock character
Common literary character or stereotype
Static Charcter
Stays constant throughout the text, doesn’t change
Comic relief
Inclusion of humorous character, scene,or witty dialogue in otherwise serous work(relives tension)
Dues ex machina
“God from machine” a contrived plot device
Epilogue
A short poem or speech directly spoken to the audiences after the action of the play is finished
Foil
A contrasting character used to highlight particular qualities of another character(usually the main character)
Hero
Main character, often with heroic qualities
Verbal irony
When a person say something but means the opposite
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something the characters do not
Situational
A situation in which the outcome is different than expected
Monologue
A speech given by a character on stage, usually when alone
Prologue
A separate introductory section of a play
Protagonist
Main character
Scene
Division of acts
Soliloquy
A speech given by and act alone on stage-reveals character’s inner thoughts/feelings
Tragedy
When main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, ofter as a result of a tragic flaw
Tragic Flaw/Hamartia
A flaw that brings main character to ruin(often pride)
Pun
A play o words- when words sound alike but have different meanings
Malapropism
Mistune use of a word in place of a similar sounding one, often unitentionally amusing
