Dramatic Elements

Question 1

writing that is meant to be performed by actors for an audience

Answer 1

drama/play

Question 2

speeches, often short, made to the audience or to himself, or even to another character, but out of earshot of the other characters on stage

Answer 2

aside

Question 3

a long speech that reveals a character’s true thoughts or feelings, unheard by other characters, usually while alone on stage

Answer 3

soliloquy

Question 4

lengthy speech that one character addresses to others on stage

Answer 4

monologue

Question 5

conversation between two or more characters

Answer 5

dialogue

Question 6

a speech at the beginning of the play that usually introduces the subject matter of the drama

Answer 6

prologue

Question 7

a character who by contrasts illuminates the hero’s qualities

Answer 7

foil

Question 8

a writer or speaker says one thing, but really means something completely different

Answer 8

verbal irony

Question 9

a play on the multiple meanings of a word, or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings

Answer 9

pun

Question 10

a speech, usually offered in verse, in which an actor addresses the audience at the end of the play

Answer 10

epilogue

Question 11

literally “in the middle of things,” occurs when a story or a scene begins in the middle of things before the plot has been laid out

Answer 11

in media res

Question 12

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

Answer 12

comic relief

Question 13

a humorous play with a happy ending

Answer 13

comedy

Question 14

the hero suffers a major downfall due to some weakness or flaw

Answer 14

tragedy

Question 15

a MAJOR division within a play, much like chapters in a novel

Answer 15

act

Question 16

the divisions within an ACT

Answer 16

scene

Question 17

italicized comments that identify the setting, props or costumes, or more information about character and how he moves or says a line

Answer 17

stage directions

Question 18

a protagonist/noble character who has a personal flaw that leads to his or her downfall

Answer 18

tragic hero

Question 19

the character/personality defect that causes the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy - Hamartia

Answer 19

tragic flaw

Question 20

a literary reference to a well-known work of art, music, history or literature - usually Greek/Roman mythology or the Judeo-Christian Bible

Answer 20

allusion

Question 21

in a tragedy, a break in the seriousness for a moment of comedy or silliness (often servant class create this)

Answer 21

comic relief

Question 22

a 10 syllable line divided into five iambic feet

Answer 22

iambic pentameter

Question 23

a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase

Answer 23

oxymoron