drama (test 2)

Question 1

what is drama?

Answer 1

A literary work usually intended for performance onstage before an audience

Question 2

what is tragedy?

Answer 2

A serious drama that relates the events in the life of a protagonist, whose error in judgment results in their downfall and culminates in catastrophe

Question 3

what is comedy?

Answer 3

A play, light in tone, designed to amuse and entertain, that usually ends happily, often with a marriage

Question 4

what is satire?

Answer 4

Literary expression that uses humour and wit to attack and expose human folly and weakness

Question 5

what is a parody?

Answer 5

An imitation of a piece of writing, copying some features such as diction, style, and form, but changing or exaggerating other features for humorous effect

Question 6

what is metafiction?

Answer 6

Self-reflexive fiction that examines the nature and status of fiction itself and often seeks to test fiction as a form

Question 7

what is mise-en-scene?

Answer 7

Arrangement of all the elements on stage at a given moment or throughout a performance. Elements include decor, lighting, props, casting, acting style, costumes, and blocking

Question 8

what are props?

Answer 8

Objects that are used by performers onstage or are necessary to complete the set

Question 9

what is blocking?

Answer 9

Pattern and arrangement of performers’ movements onstage with respect to each other and to the stage space, usually set by the director

Question 10

what is realistic?

Answer 10

A type of theatre dedicated to the reproduction of life and the creation of the illusion of nature, especially as it appears to the eye and ear; usually deals with ordinary people in ordinary situations, moving in scenery that closely imitates reality

Question 11

what is presentational?

Answer 11

A type of theatre in which there is little or no illusionism in the acting and staging (as opposed to representational or naturalistic theatre)

Question 12

what is dialogue?

Answer 12

A conversation between two or more characters in a literary work

Question 13

what is monologue/soliloquy?

Answer 13

A speech in which a dramatic character reveals what is going through his or her mind by talking aloud to herself or himself

Question 14

what is aside?

Answer 14

A convention in drama whereby a character onstage addresses the audience to reveal some inner thought or feeling that is presumed inaudible to any other characters in earshot

Question 15

what is style?

Answer 15

Individuality of expression, achieved in writing through the selection and arrangement of words and punctuation

Question 16

what is diction?

Answer 16

Words chosen in writing or speaking

Question 17

what is syntax?

Answer 17

Sentence structure or word order; the relationship between words and among word groups in sentences

Question 18

what is denotation?

Answer 18

The literal dictionary definition of a word

Question 19

what is connotation?

Answer 19

The associations that attach themselves to a word, deeply affecting its literal meanings

Question 20

what is concrete imagery?

Answer 20

Imagery based on that which can be touched, seen, tasted, heard, or felt; not abstract

Question 21

what is figurative imagery?

Answer 21

Words that carry suggestive or symbolic meaning beyond the literal level. The most important example is the metaphor, but other examples also include similes

Question 22

what is a metaphor?

Answer 22

A figure of speech that makes an imaginative comparison between two literally unlike things

Question 23

what is a simile?

Answer 23

A verbal comparison in which a similarity is expressed directly, using like or as

Question 24

what is tenor?

Answer 24

The subject of a figure of speech like a simile or a metaphor; usually, the part of a figurative image that is actual and present (“literal”). In a simile it is the part that comes before “like” or “as”

Question 25

what is the vehicle?

Answer 25

The image, activity, or concept used to illustrate or represent the tenor, or subject, of any figure of speech; usually the part of a figurative image that is imaginative and absent (“figurative”). In a simile it is the part that comes after “like” or “as”

Question 26

what is a symbol?

Answer 26

Something that suggests or stands for an idea, quality, or concept larger than itself. A symbol is different from a metaphor since what is given—the symbol—is the vehicle of the meaning or tenor which is usually only implied

Question 27

what is an allegory?

Answer 27

A form of symbolism in which ideas or abstract qualities are represented as characters or events in a story, novel, or play

Question 28

what is an allusion?

Answer 28

A reference to some character or event in literature, history, or mythology that enriches the meaning of the passage

Question 29

what is a motif?

Answer 29

A pattern of identical or similar images recurring throughout a passage or entire work

Question 30

what is tone?

Answer 30

The attitude a writer conveys towards their subject or audience

Question 31

what is verbal irony?

Answer 31

A major discrepancy or difference between the literal meaning of a statement and its intended meaning