click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
WGU-IWC1-Part 6
Theater
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Melodrama | Drama with exaggerated characters and plot intended to appeal to the emotions |
Comedy | A work of theater wherein the sympathetic main characters experience a happy ending |
Exposition | An opening which introduces the characters and their circumstances, the setting, the mood, and the situation, giving the audience information essential for understanding the story |
Discovery | The moment when the main character becomes aware of an essential truth about himself or his situation; also called recognition |
Mis-en-scene | The visual element of drama |
Verisimilitude | The appearance of truth or reality in theater (state set, dialogue, etc.) |
Aside | A monologue delivered with another character present |
Suspension of disbelief | An audience's willingness to accept events onstage as true or plausible during a performance |
Tragic Flaw | A defect in the hero's character |
Theater of Alienation | Dramatic genre associated with Bertold Brecht which sought to create emotional distance by highlighting artificiality of the theater, so the audience would watch objectively and focus on ideas |
Performance Art | A type of experimental theater that bridges the disciplines of theater and the visual arts. |
Denouement | Moment when a drama's action comes to its proper conclusion and a resolution is near |
Theater | The art of writing and producing plays, a collaborative medium of artistic expression. |
Forshadowing | The deliberate introduction of information (verbally, visually or otherwise) suggesting an event that will take place later in the story |
Complication | Middle section of a drama where conflicts inherent in the situation are elaborated and developed, and dramatic tension builds until a moment of maximum intensity and intterest, called the climax |
Subtext | Unstated motivations, ideas, or tensions beneath the surface of a drama's text |
Tragedy | A drama with a unpleasant ending, generally involving the downfall ofa flawed protagonist, which often involves catharsis. |
Theater of Cruelty | Dramatic genre which assaults the senses through shocking scenes with a goal of alienation and entertainment |
Farce | A comedy characterized by broad often physical humor, superficial characters, and improbable situations. |
Catharsis | The purging of a spectator's strong emotions through experiencing tragedy |
Unities | Neoclassical requirements for theater: unity of time; unity of place; and unity of action |
Aesthetic distance | An audience's detachment of non-involvement with the characters of situations that allows for contemplation or reflection |
Chorus | In Greek drama, a group of actors who comment on the action and provide society's view of the events |
Drama | The enduring literary component of theater |
Protagonist | The main and most important character of a drama;Aristotle saw this character as one who chooses, learns, and changes |
Dues ex machina | The resolution of a plot by use of a highly improbable chance or coincidence; in Latin, "god from the machine: |
Soliloquy | Speech by the character in a drama expressing his or her inmost thoughts, heard by the audience but not by any other character |
Suspense | In drama, the creation of anticipation |
Low comedy | Comedy in which is often vulgar, rude, coarse and physical |
High comedy | Comedy which is subtle, sophisticated, tasteful, and intellectual |