Drama Terminology 11

Drama Terminology 11 General Terms 1. Dramatis Personae - the list of characters in a play so the audience knows who is who before the action begins. Provided at the beginning of the play’s script. 2. Play – the performed dramatic production seen on stage in live theater 3. Script – the words printed on paper spoken by the actors 4. Act - A chunk of the play’s action. Shakespeare’s plays always have five acts which are noted with a large Roman numeral. 5. Scene - A division of action within an act. Shakespeare’s plays have a variety of numbers of scenes which are noted with a small Roman numeral. 6. Line - A single line of writing in a play which are noted with Arabic numbers. 7. Stage Direction - A direction by the playwright to the actors in the script. It indicates how the actor should speak and/or move during a particular line or scene. 8. Monologue –A single fictional speaker – usually a performance actor - gives an extended speech, either as if alone on stage (like a Shakespearian soliloquy) or as if speaking to a fictional audience. The personality of the character and significant events in his/her life are revealed by the speech. If the speaker delivers the monologue to a fictional audience, the reader also gets information about the audience itself, because the monologue comments and questions allow the reader to infer information in that area. Also known as monodrama. 9. Dialogue – When two or more speakers speak to one another; the spoken exchanges that comprise a play. 10. Dramatic irony – When a character says something, but the audience knows more than the character does about other characters or events, so the statement comes across with a double meaning that the audience “gets” and the character doesn’t. It was dramatic irony when Juliet first saw Romeo and said if she couldn’t marry him, she would die, because the audience knows that by the end of the play she does marry him and dies anyway. The character’s expectations and the audience’s knowledge differ in dramatic irony. Terms Derived From Studies of Shakespeare 11. Soliloquy - When a character speaks his/her true thoughts and feelings while alone on stage. Soliloquies reveal the character’s real thoughts on a subject. 12. Aside - When a character says something privately to another character while other characters are also on stage. The line(s) are meant for one character’s ears alone. Sometimes asides are addressed to the audience. 13. Comic Relief - a humorous scene, incident, or remark within an essentially serious or even tragic drama. It evokes laughter as a release from the tension of the serious action and follows scenes of intense emotion. 14. Pun - this is a play on words in which a word or phrase can be taken to mean more than one thing. 15. Iambic Pentameter - A line of poetry which is ten syllables in length. The syllables follow a pattern in which an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed one (such as the word “giraffe”), so the line of poetry bounces gently along (soft hard soft hard soft hard soft hard soft hard. “O she does teach the torches to burn bright” from Romeo and Juliet is an example of iambic pentameter. 16. Blank Verse - Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare’s plays are mostly written in blank verse. Terms Derived From Studies of Classical Greek Tragedy 17. Tragedy - this is a drama that gives the audience an experience of catharsis or cleansing of emotions. The protagonist, a person of nobility, must make a moral decision that in turn influences the outcome of the drama. 18. *Tragic Hero - a tragic hero is a person of high estate who has the potential for greatness. The person is pre-eminently virtuous and just, but his/her misfortune is brought about, in part, by an error in judgement. The tragic hero has a flaw in his/her character, which contributes to his/her destruction. In traditional Greek tragedies, pride to excess is often this flaw, which is called hubris. The downfall of the tragic hero frequently involves the element of fate. Overall, the tragic hero has the potential for greatness; however, he does not achieve this greatness because of the combined forces of the tragic flaw and fate. Despite this shortcoming, the tragic hero meets his/her shortcomings with dignity. Once the tragic hero has committed himself to a course of action, there is no turning back. A chain of events occurs because of this commitment, leading to his/her final destruction. The audience empathizes with the tragic hero because of the contrast between the potential greatness of the hero and the reality of what actually occurs to him. 19. *Tragic Flaw: The protagonist of a tragedy has a serious fault, the tragic flaw, that leads to his/her downfall and death. 20. *Hubris: In traditional Greek tragedies, the tragic hero’s tragic flaw is often pride to excess, which is called hubris. 21. *Catharsis: The terror and pity felt by the audience of a tragedy produce catharsis, a cleansing or purifying of emotion. The audience should feel empty and limp after watching, reading, or otherwise participating in a tragedy; that feeling of emptiness is catharsis.