What is a Play?

Question 1

Genre (2)

Answer 1

• French word meaning “category” or “type.”

- The choice of genre reflect’s the writer’s point of view towards his subject

Question 2

Tragedy (classic)

Answer 2

the protagonist goes down in defeat

Question 3

Comedy (classic)

Answer 3

he overcomes the dramatic obstacle and attains his major objective

Question 4

Protagonist

Answer 4

the principal character (the “hero”) in a play

Question 5

Antagonist

Answer 5

protaggonist’s primary opponent (the “villain”): the dramatic obstacle

Question 6

Major objective

Answer 6

a character’s primary desire or goal

Question 7

Shakespearean tragedy

Answer 7

the protagonist (hero) always dies

Question 8

Shakespearean comedy

Answer 8

the protagonist (hero) often gets married

Question 9

Drama (popular definition)

Answer 9

a serious, but not tragic, play dealing with the middle or lower class

Question 10

Comedy

Answer 10

a light amusing play with a happy ending, usually a farce

Question 11

High comedy (2)

Answer 11

• usually serious and provokes “thoughtful laughter”

- the action is both possible and probable and the comedy grows out of the character, not the situation

Question 12

Low comedy (2)

Answer 12

• is “riotous laughter”

- the action is possible, but not very probable and the play is dominated by situation (plot), not character

Question 13

Ladder of comedy (6)

Answer 13

• Ideas
• Character
• Wit
• Situation
• Pain
• “Dirty” joke

Question 14

Comedy of Wit

Answer 14

the audience laughs at the lines delivered by the actor

Question 15

Comedy of Pain

Answer 15

the humor comes from a character hurting themselves

Question 16

Farce

Answer 16

a wildly humorous play which emphasizes situation (or plot) over character or idea

Question 17

Melodrama (2)

Answer 17

• a serious play with a trivial theme

- the conflict is usually between the forces of good and evil

Question 18

Bourgeois Drama

Answer 18

a serious play which deals with the domestic problems of the middle and lower class

Question 19

Docu-drama

Answer 19

dramatizes an actual event often using real names, dates, and places and generally drawing its text from court room transcripts or committee hearing reports

Question 20

Opera

Answer 20

a dramatic work which is entirely sung

Question 21

Musical

Answer 21

a dramatic work which includes both dialogue and songs

Question 22

Dance

Answer 22

a dramatic work which tells a story (or creates a mood) through music and movement

Question 23

Readers Theatre

Answer 23

a form of presentation where the actor uses his voice, facial expressions and upper body movement to create the character

Question 24

Aristotle’s Six Elements of Dramatic Structure (6)

Answer 24

• Plot
• Character
• Thought (or theme)
• Diction (or dialogue)
• Music (or rhythm)
• Spectacle (scenery, lights, costumes, special effects).

Question 25

3 types of conflict (3)

Answer 25

• Man and the Universe
• Man and Man
• Man and Himself

Question 26

Play’s Story

Answer 26

what happens in the drama

Question 27

Play’s Plot

Answer 27

how the playwright presents that story to the audience

Question 28

Exposition

Answer 28

tells the audience what happened before the play began

Question 29

Climatic play

Answer 29

the plot begins near the end of the story

Question 30

Episodic play

Answer 30

the plot begins near the beginning of the story

Question 31

Climax (2)

Answer 31

• point of highest dramatic tension where the conflict of the play is resolved
• near the end of the last act

Question 32

Mini climax

Answer 32

falls near the end of each act (except the last act) or scene

Question 33

4 levels of dramatic characterization (4)

Answer 33

• Physical
• Social/economic
• Psychological
• Ethical/moral

Question 34

Character’s “spine” or main objective

Answer 34

character’s major goal or super-objective

Question 35

6 functions of dramatic dialogue (6)

Answer 35

• Give information (exposition)
• Reveal character
• Direct attention (foreshadowing a future action)
• Reveal theme or ideas
• Establish the level of reality
• Establish the tempo and rhythm of the play.