Drama Terms Flashcards
Test (23 cards)
Act
a major division of a theatre work, including a play, film, opera, ballet, or musical theatre, consisting of one or more scenes.
Anagnorisis
the point in a play, novel, etc., in which a principal character recognizes or discovers another character’s true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances.
Aside
a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention, the audience is to realize that the character’s speech is unheard by the other characters on stage. It may be addressed to the audience expressly (in character or out) or represent an unspoken thought.
Catharsis
the use of strong feelings in literature to engage the reader in a type of emotional purification. Often, tragedies like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Oedipus the King are high-stakes and emotionally powerful enough to leave the audience feeling purged of those emotions by the end of the play.
Climax
the decisive moment, or turning point, at which the rising action of the play is reversed to falling action.
Comedy
a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy ending.
Comic Relief
the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious or dramatic work, often to relieve tension.
Complication
a factor, condition, and/or element that adds difficulty to the plot or conflict in a play.
Cosmic Irony
a literary device where the universe seems to have a sense of humor and purposefully creates situations that are opposite or satirical of the expected outcome, causing amusement
Denouement
the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
Resolution
The sorting out or unraveling of a plot at the end of a play, novel, or story where matters are explained or resolved
Deus ex Machina
a person or thing that appears or is introduced into a situation suddenly and unexpectedly and provides an artificial or contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty.
“god from the machine”
Dramatic Irony
performed irony where the audience learns more information than what the characters know about.
Exposition
the introduction or beginning of a story that reveals important background information. This can include setting and details about characters.
Falling Action
the period of time in a story that follows the climax and leads to the resolution. It can be used to clarify the events of the climax, ease any built-up tension, or wrap up loose ends. It is followed by the resolution, which provides the final conclusion to the story.
Foil
a character who contrasts with another character, typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist.
Gesture
a sign that communicates a character‟s action, state of mind and relationship with other characters to an audience.
In Medias Res
the practice of beginning a narrative by plunging into a crucial situation
(example: a marvel movie starting off with a fight scene in the first few minutes)
Inciting incident
the event that sets the main character or characters on the journey that will occupy them throughout the narrative.
Monologue
a long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program.
Motivation
what drives a character to say what he says and to do what he does.
Props
an object used on stage or on screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, it is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct from the actors, scenery, costumes and electrical equipment.
Resolution
the end of the story. It occurs after the CLIMAX. It is when you learn what happens to the characters after the CONFLICT is resolved.
