Unit 8 Lesson 7: Dramatic Structure

Question 1

climax

Answer 1

the turning point in a play’s action

Question 2

exposition

Answer 2

exposition – the presentation of background, setting, and other information that the audience needs to understand a play

Question 2

dramatic structure

Answer 2

dramatic structure – the organization of a story or drama’s plot

Question 2

rising action

Answer 2

rising action – a series of events that build toward the climax, in which the conflict grows more complicated

Question 2

falling action

Answer 2

falling action – the events that tell what happens after the climax and show its impact

Question 3

resolution

Answer 3

resolution – the solving of the problem or outcome of the conflict at a play’s center

Question 4

soliloquies

Answer 4

soliloquies – monologues that relay characters’ thoughts

Question 5

structure

Answer 5

structure – the way parts of a play are organized

Question 6

Elements of dramatic structure include:

Answer 6

• Exposition that introduces the audience to the characters and physical setting as well as important historical or cultural context. Exposition also hints at one or more conflicts, or problems, between individual characters, between groups, or within a single character.
• Rising action that develops and deepens the conflict.
• A climax, when the energy between characters during the rising action has reached its most intense and exciting point.
• Falling action that describes what happens in the aftermath of the climax.
• Resolution, or how the conflict is solved.

Question 7

stage directions

Answer 7

stage directions – instructions that tell what characters do or think and how they do so and provide information about lighting, scenery, and other effects

Question 8

structure

Answer 8

structure – the way parts of a play are organized