Exam 4

Question 1

• written in italics

- indicate where the playwright wants the actors to move

Answer 1

Stage Directions

Question 2

-“medium of drama is not words, but persons moving about on a stage using words.”

Answer 2

Ezra Pound

Question 3

• pointed out the most important element of drama is the fable
• heart of dramatic story is the argument

Answer 3

Aristotle

Question 4

chief characters in a play

Answer 4

protagonist and antagonist

Question 5

minor character with whom a major character sharply contrasts

Answer 5

foil

Question 6

-trusted friend or servent to whom a major character speaks frankly and openly;

Answer 6

Confidant

Question 7

-stereotypes that are useful for advancing the plot and fleshing out the scenes; particularly in comedies

Answer 7

stock characters

Question 8

-everyman are clearly labeled by their names and are personifications of human attributes

Answer 8

allegorical characters

Question 9

-chief element of the play

Answer 9

plot

Question 10

-takes place in roughly a 24 hour period. action is continuous

Answer 10

unified plot

Question 11

• a plot that spreads its action out over a long period of time
• one setting, no subplots
• observes the 3 unities

Answer 11

episodic plot

Question 12

the three unities

Answer 12

-virtually insisted on as ironclad rules

Question 13

-starting point from which the dramatist leads the audience into a plot

Answer 13

Point of Attack

Question 14

-writer can begin in the middle of things

Answer 14

In Medias Res

Question 15

• the revelation of facts, circumstances and past events

- establishing the essential facts about the characters

Answer 15

Exposition

Question 16

-the building of interest through complication of the conflict. In this stage, the protagonist and antagonist move steadily

Answer 16

Rising Action

Question 17

-unraveling of the plot, where events fall into place and the conflict moves toward final resolution

Answer 17

Falling Action

Question 18

• the play’s conclusion

- the explanation or outcome of the action

Answer 18

denouement

Question 19

Denouement means

Answer 19

untying

Question 20

-ties up everything neatly and explains all unanswered questions the audience might have

Answer 20

closed denouement

Question 21

-speech made by a single character on the stage alone

Answer 21

soliloquy

Question 22

-a brief remark (delivered to the side of a raised hand) that an actor makes directly to the audience that the other characters cant hear

Answer 22

Aside

Question 23

• popular type of drama in the late Middle Ages

- sermon on sin and redemption

Answer 23

morality play

Question 24

• late 19th century
• more subtle in didacticism (educational or moralizing)
• uses theater as a forum for the serious debate of social issues

Answer 24

problem play

Question 25

• does not merely present social problems

- goes further, actually advancing programs of reform

Answer 25

drama of ideas

Question 26

heart of the play

Answer 26

characters

Question 27

-inevitable destruction of a noble person by means of a character flaw

Answer 27

classical tragedy

Question 28

• described modern hero

- emphasizes a clash between the character and the environment

Answer 28

Arthur Miller

Question 29

-leaves a few tantalizing loose ends

Answer 29

Open denouement