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English Drama Exam
Literary terms, passage information, etc. covering the Drama unit
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Dramatis Personae* know def | a list of characters, typically at the beginning of a play |
| Setting* know def | the time and place that a literary work occurs (ex: Venice, Italy and Cyprus in Othello, 1937 St. Louis in The Glass Menagerie.) |
| Stage directions | instructions in the text of a play (usually in italics) that indicate the setting; the lighting; certain sound effects; or the tone, movement, and/or position of a character |
| Character | a fictional person or being in a literary texts |
| Dialogue | the conversation of characters in a literary work |
| Characterization | the methods by which an author/playwrights reveals a character (what a character says, does, or how he/she acts; what character does not do or say; what a character looks like; how a character interacts with others) |
| Soliloquy* know def | lines delivered by a character while alone on stage that reveal inner thoughts, emotions, or other information the audience needs to know (usually to one’s self) |
| Foreshadowing* know def | hints of what is to come in the future |
| Comic Relief | moments of humor in a literary work that are used to make a serious topic less intense or to make an audience feel more comfortable and engaged (ex: the clown in Othello) |
| Dramatic Irony* know def | a situation in which the audience of a play knows something that one or more characters do not (ex: Iago's schemes/plots) |
| Props* know def | articles or objects that are used on stage during a play (ex: the handkerchief in Othello, the bird, birdcage and quilt in Trifles, the glass animals/typewriter in The Glass Menagerie.) |
| Antagonist | a character or force against which another character struggles (the bad guy) (ex: Iago in Othello) |
| Protagonist | the most important or leading character in a work |
| Major Character* | one of the main characters (ex: Othello, Desdemona, Emilia in Othello; Tom and Laura in The Glass Menagerie; Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale in Trifles.) |
| Minor Character* | a character with a seemingly lesser role (some minor characters end up changing the plot (Ex: Bianca, Brabantio, Montano in Othello; George Henderson, Lewis Hale, Henry Peters in trifles, Mr. Wingfield in Glass Menagerie.) |
| Static Character* | a character that does not change (Ex: Amanda in The Glass Menagerie, Iago/Desdemona in Othello, the men in Trifles) |
| Dynamic Character | a character that changes through the plot of a play (Mrs. Peters in Trifles, Othello and Emilia, Laura and perhaps Tom in the Glass Menagerie.) |
| Plot | the arrangement of events in a fictional work |
| Rising Action* know def | a set of conflicts and crises that lead up to the climax in the plot of a play (ex: Iago's schemes, the women exploring the kitchen in Trifles; Laura's confession and bringing Jim to dinner in the Glass Menagerie) |
| Climax* know def | the point of greatest tension in a narrative (ex: Desdemona's murder, finding the bird in Trifles, Jim kissing Laura then revealing his engagement.) |
| Resolution* know def | what happens at the conclusion of a narrative work (after the climax) (ex: Othello's suicide/conviction of Iago, Tom leaving to be a merchant sailor, Mrs. Peters/Hale hiding the bird from authorities/solving the case.) |
| Tragedy | a play that portrays a serious conflict between human beings and some superior, overwhelming force. It typically ends sorrowfully and disastrously, an outcome that seems inevitable |
| Tragic Hero* | a privileged, exalted character of high repute, who, by virtue of a tragic flaw and fate, suffers a fall from glory into suffering. (Othello in Othello, possibly Tom?) |
| Tragic Flaw* | a weakness or limitation of character, resulting in the fall of the tragic hero (ex: Othello's jealousy for Desdemona.) |
| Symbol* | something that, although it is of interest in its own right, stands for or suggests something larger or more complex (The typewriter, Blue Roses, glass animals in Glass Menagerie; Handkerchief in Othello; bird/cage, quilt and fruit in Trifles.) |
| Narrator | a speaker through whom an author presents a narrative, often but not always a character in the work (ex: Tom in The Glass Menagerie) |
| Documentary Theater* know def | a genre of drama in which a speaker (or speakers) perform a series of monologues using the actual words of interview subjects (ex: Twilight: Los Angeles) |
| Who wrote Trifles? | Susan Glaspell. |
| Who wrote Othello? | William Shakespeare. |
| Who wrote the Glass Menagerie? | Tennessee Williams. |
| Who wrote Scenes from Twilight: Los Angeles? | Anna Deavere Smith. |
| Who are the three characters in Scenes from Twilight: Los Angeles? | Angela King, Mrs. Young-Soon Han, and Twilight Bey. Angela King is Rodney King's (the man who was beaten) Aunt. Mrs. Young-Soon Han is a former Korean liquor store owner. Twilight Bey is a gang truce organizer. |
| What is the possible setting of Trifles? | a rural area in the US in the early 1900s. |
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FaithMcBaith
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