Elements of Drama

Question 1

Genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity

Answer 1

Comedy

Question 2

Genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character

Answer 2

Tragedy

Question 3

a dramatic work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television

Answer 3

History

Question 4

central character of a play, film, etc depicted as a noble figure who experiences a tragic downfall

Answer 4

Tragic Hero

Question 5

process of releasing and thereby providing relief from, strong, or repressed emotions

Answer 5

Catharsis

Question 6

a person or group of people who act as a narrator, commentator, or general audience to the action of the play; speak in unison

Answer 6

Chorus

Question 7

personality trait of a main character that leads to his or her downfall

Answer 7

Tragic Flaw

Question 8

A struggle between opposing forces

Answer 8

Conflict

Question 9

character who drives the action –> the character whose fate matters the most

Answer 9

Protagonist

Question 10

Principal opponent or foil of the main character/protagonist, in a drama or narrative

Answer 10

Antagonist

Question 11

final resolution in a poem or narrative plot, which unravels the intrigue and brings the piece to a close

Answer 11

Catastrophe

Question 12

an idea or point that is central to a story

Answer 12

Theme

Question 13

conversation between two or more people, or speech written down as a piece of a narrative text

Answer 13

Dialogue

Question 14

instruction written into the script of a play, indicating stage directions, movements of performers, or production requirements

Answer 14

Stage Directions

Question 15

verse line of 10 syllables with 5 stresses and no rhyme

Answer 15

Blank Verse

Question 16

monologue that is delivered when the character is alone

Answer 16

Soliloquy

Question 17

when fictional character breaks away from the events of a story to talk to themselves or directly to the audience

Answer 17

Aside

Question 18

literary device by which the audience’s or reader’s understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters

Answer 18

Dramatic Irony

Question 19

using words to mean the opposite of their literal definitions

Answer 19

Verbal Irony

Question 20

when the opposite of what is expected actually happens

Answer 20

Situational Irony

Question 21

narrative device in which suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped or planted

Answer 21

Foreshadowing

Question 22

type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama –> an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

Answer 22

Iambic Pentameter