understanding drama

Question 1

cleansing or purification of emotions, usually by empathizing with another’s problems

Answer 1

catharsis

Question 2

group of twelve or more members who sang and danced as a part of their commentary about a play

Answer 2

chorus

Question 3

an announcement, or commentary, about something to come

Answer 3

prologue

Question 4

a humorous play on words

Answer 4

pun

Question 5

a group or series of three plays or literary works related in theme or subject

Answer 5

trilogy

Question 6

a group or series of three plays or literary works related in theme or subject

Answer 6

tragic hero

Question 7

the main character who struggles throughout the play to accomplish his goals

Answer 7

protagonist

Question 8

a long speech given by one actor or character; soliloquy

Answer 8

monologue

Question 9

clown or prankster

Answer 9

buffoon

Question 10

form of literature that imitates the style of other writings in a humorous manner

Answer 10

parody

Question 11

who introduced costumed actors

Answer 11

Aeschylus

Question 12

Who used involved plots and internal struggle

Answer 12

Sophocles

Question 13

uses a monologue and his own version of myths

Answer 13

Euripides

Question 14

What do we know about earliest drama

Answer 14

almost five thousand years old
no one knows the origin
perhaps used by early man to explain glorious deeds of heroes

Question 15

What does drama do

Answer 15

acts as an emotional catharsis for the audience
expresses mankind’s feelings about himself
can be a form of social criticism
interprets mankind’s feelings about the divine

Question 16

Greek comedy and tragedy arose from….

Answer 16

religious ceremonies and rites.

Question 17

The first great Greek comedy writer was

Answer 17

Aristophanes

Question 18

According to the text, the first aim of Greek comedy was to _____.

Answer 18

entertain

Question 19

a type of figurative language involving a play on words using homonyms

Answer 19

pun

Question 20

an amusing literary composition imitating the style of another work

Answer 20

parody

Question 21

a literary work that aims to correct something by ridiculing it

Answer 21

satire

Question 22

a narrative having two levels of meaning: a surface, or literal, meaning and an underlying or figurative meaning

Answer 22

allegory

Question 23

the turning point of a play or story

Answer 23

crisis

Question 24

the words written by the author for the characters to speak

Answer 24

dialogue

Question 25

a device used to allow the audience to know something the characters do not know

Answer 25

dramatic irony

Question 26

play containing ridiculous events or mockery, based on obviously humorous situations

Answer 26

farce

Question 27

any type of writing with exaggerated emotional appeal; usually good struggles against evil

Answer 27

melodramatic

Question 28

a play given without words; actors use gestures to convey the situation or story

Answer 28

pantomime

Question 29

who used puns in his farces

Answer 29

Plautus

Question 30

a Roman writer of tragedy

Answer 30

Seneca

Question 31

a freed slave who wrote comedies

Answer 31

Terence

Question 32

Roman comedy dealt mainly with which themes

Answer 32

love
misunderstanding
mistaken identity
deception

Question 33

was essentially dormant outside the church

Answer 33

Drama from A.D. 500 to A.D. 900 _____.

Question 34

A monologue or speech made while an actor is alone on stage is called a(n) _____.

Answer 34

soliloquy

Question 35

A short speech directed to the audience and unheard by the other characters is called a(n) _____.

Answer 35

aside