Dramatic Terms And Devices Flashcards
Dramatic irony
Dramatic irony occurs in a piece of literature when the audience knows something that some of the characters in the narrative do not.
Expressionist theatre
Expressionism is a theatrical style that stresses meaning through production elements such as light music setting and even dance.
Hubris
Excessive pride or self confidence
Peripeteia
A sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances especially in reference to a fictional narrative.
Pathos
A quality that evokes pity or sadness
Motif
A dominant or recurring idea in an artistic work
Melodrama
A sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exiting extents intended to appeal to the emotions
Tableau vivant
A silent and motionless group of people arranged to represent a scene or incident
Leitmotif
A recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition associated with a particular person idea or situation
Hamartia
A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine
Catharsis
The process of releasing and thereby providing release from strong or repressed emotions
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is an application of the theory of natural selection to social political and economic issues. In its simplest form social Darwinism follows the mantra of “the strong survive” including human issues.
Denouement
The final part of a play film or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved
Naturalism
Theatre that attempts to create an illusion of reality through a range of dramatic and theatrical strategies
Plastic theatre
The use of all stage resources; lighting, sound, music, movement, sets and props, in order to generate a theatrical experience greater than realism
