Keywords Flashcards
Altruism
Doing something selfless for someone else
Anagnorisis
Epiphany, moment of realisation experienced by every tragic hero
Antagonist
The chief opponent of the protagonist
Anti-hero
Character who isn’t a normal hero
Capricious
Prone to sudden changes in mood
Conscience
A person’s moral sense of right and wrong
Dialogue
Conversation between two characters in a play
Domestic
A drama set in a household
Dramatic foil
A character that only exists to contrast to another
Dramatic irony
When the audience knows the full significance of something but other characters don’t
Duplicity
Deceitful behaviour
Foreshadowing
An indication of a future event
Hamartia
Hero’s fatal flaw that leads to their inevitable downfall
Hindsight
Understanding of a situation only after it has happened
Hypocorism
A nickname that shows affection or closeness
Irony
Saying something using language that normally signifies the opposite meaning
Juxtaposition
Putting two ideas next to each other for contrasting effects
Nadir
The lowest point, a time of great depression or adversity
Omniscient
All knowing
Protagonist
The principal character
Proxemics
Spacing on stage between characters
Soliloquy
The act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud regardless of any hearers
Suspense
Anxious uncertainty about what may happen
Tension
A sense of awkwardness
Tragedy
A play telling the downfall and death of the main character
Zenith
The highest point, the peak of culmination
