drama terms test

Question 1

tragedy

Answer 1

A serious play having an unhappy ending

Question 2

farce

Answer 2

when comedy involved ridiculous or hilarious complications without regard for human values, it becomes farce

Question 3

masques

Answer 3

were slight plays involving much singing and dancing and costuming. usually allegorical

Question 4

foreshadow

Answer 4

Lines that give a hint or clue to future events. It doesn’t tell the future but hint at it.

Question 5

comedy of manners

Answer 5

comedy which wittily portrays fashionable life

Question 6

chronicle plays

Answer 6

dealt directly with historical scenes and characters

Question 7

soliloquy

Answer 7

A single character on stage thinking out loud (a way of letting the audience know what is in the characters mind)

Question 8

aside

Answer 8

lines whispered to the audience or to another character on stage ( not meant to be heart by all characters )

Question 9

comedy

Answer 9

a light play with a happy ending

Question 10

personification

Answer 10

giving the quality-of-life to inanimate things

Question 11

problem play

Answer 11

drama of social criticism discusses social economic or political problems by means of a play

Question 13

crisis or climax

Answer 13

The turning point in the plot this occurs when events develop either for or against the main character and a crucial decision must be made

Question 14

comedy

Answer 14

lighter drama in which the leading characters overcome the difficulties which temporarily beset them

Question 15

poetic justice

Answer 15

The operation of justice and play with they are distribution of rewards for good deeds and punishment for wrongdoing

Question 16

catastrophe

Answer 16

the final event in a drama ( a death in a tragedy or a marriage in a comedy )

Question 18

irony

Answer 18

A method of expression which in the ordinary meaning of the word is opposite to the thought in the speakers mind

events contrary to what would naturally be expected

Question 19

metonymy

Answer 19

A figure speech where by the name of the thing is substituted for the attribute which it suggests
example: the pin (power of literature or the written word) is mightier than the sword

Question 21

simile

Answer 21

unexpressed comparison between two different things using like or as

Question 22

metaphor

Answer 22

and implied comparison between two different things; I going to find a person or object as the thing to which it is being compared. Example: it is east and Juliet is the sun

Question 23

nemesis

Answer 23

agent of retribution (The person who punishes)

Question 24

tragedy

Answer 24

the ruin of the leading characters

Question 24

fantasy

Answer 24

a sometimes play in comic spirit in which the author gives free reign to his fantasy allowing things to happen without regard to reality

Question 25

melodrama

Answer 25

like farce, melodrama pay almost no attention to human values, but it’s object is to give a thrill instead of a laugh. often good entertainment never any literary value.

Question 25

medieval mystery plays

Answer 25

dealt with bible stories and allegorical mysteries

Question 25

comic relief

Answer 25

A bit of humor injected into a serious play to relieve the heavy tension or tragic events

Question 25

dramatic irony

Answer 25

occurs when the audience knows something that the character on stage is not aware

Question 27

tragic flaw

Answer 27

A character trait that leads one to his/her own downfall or distraction

Question 28

allusion

Answer 28

an indirect reference by casually mentioning something that is generally familiar (many can be found through mythology bible and history)

Question 29

prologue

Answer 29

sets the scene for the play as a whole

Question 30

dialogue

Answer 30

conversation between or among characters

Question 31

props

Answer 31

movable objects used by actors on stage