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English lit vocab
test 2 Drama
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Aeschylus | ancient Greek playwright who added a second character in drama |
| aphorism | a tersely phrased statement of a truth or an opinion. Example: “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” (Wilde 6). |
| aside | Comments made directly to the audience in the presence of other characters, but without their hearing. Usually a brief remark. Example: Gwendolen says of Cecily, “Detestable girl! But I require tea” (Wilde 38). |
| backdrop | A flat surface, the width of the stage, on which a scenic design is painted or projected. |
| beat | A momentary pause or delay in which there is a subtle shift in mood, thought or feeling. |
| catastrophe | The inevitable tragic result of the conflict of a tragedy, causing great harm or death to the protagonist. |
| catharsis | Purification or purgation of emotions (usually pity or fear), primarily through art. Audience is put in suspense or distress, followed by a purging or release of emotion after having their pity/fear aroused by the play. Considered healthy, good for the so |
| choragos | leader of chorus who may speak alone |
| chorus | In ancient Greek drama, a group of men speaking in unison and representing the community. Their speeches give necessary background information, hold dense poetic descriptions, describe what happens offstage, voice the larger audience’s likely responses t |
| comedy | A play that ends happily and in which the main character rises in situation. |
| comedy of manners | a work that ends “happily” (to some extent) that satirically portrays the manners and fashions of a particular class or set, often contains stock characters, stereotyped/two-dimensional characters. |
| comic characters | characters who are often predictable in their behavior, while the plots in which they appear aren’t predictable. The unexpected and the improbable are common. The audience laughs at one of these: a divide between a character’s speech and actions or bet |
| Dionysus (Dionysos, To Romans: Iacchus, Bacchus) | in Greco-Roman religion, a nature god of fertility, fruitfulness, and vegetation, especially known as a god of wine and ecstasy. “Dionysian” still refers to being wild, frenzied, ecstatic, orgiastic. This is opposed to being Apollonian (of the god Apoll |
| iambic pentameter | five units of iambs, iambs being two syllables, with the first deemphasized and the second being emphasized. Think of the word “beTWEEN” as one unit or “iamb.” This is the rhythm of everyday speech and the meter of all Shakespeare’s plays and most of his |
| juxtaposition | Occurs when a writer implies comparison or contrast by placing two things sideby side. These may be contrasting characters, statements of opinion, or scenes. Writers use juxtaposition to create dramatic or ironic contrast. Example: Cecily and Gwendole |
| monologue | a speech given by a single character, to others rather than speaking with others. In drama, it is the vocalization (speaking) of a character’s thoughts; in literature, the verbalization. |
| parados | the entryway for the chorus, on each side of the skene, leading to the orchestra |
| paradox | An apparently self-contradictory statement, the underlying meaning of which is revealed only by careful scrutiny. Its purpose is to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought. The statement “Less is more” is an example. |
| proskenion (paraskene) | the front wall of the skene/stage area, which could be used to help show a setting |
| peripeteia | reversal of fortune for the tragic hero or a comedy’s protagonist |
| recognition | The protagonist/tragic hero finally understands what has happened in their life, what was previously unseen or misconstrued. This knowledge reverses his expectations of the future. |
| satire | A work that exposes human folly, criticizes human conduct, and aims to correct it though ridiculing human weakness such as hypocrisy, folly, and celebrating virtue instead. We have to read this genre looking for what the writer shows as human faults. |
| skene | in ancient Greek theater, the elevated platform or stage area where individual characters spoke their lines and the main action occurred |
| speaker | The voice/persona relating the poem. Not necessarily the poet. |
| stichomythia | rapid-fire dialogue that brings the characters’ antagoniss to a climax. It is repeated throughout the play with variations, each scene usually developing a conflict. |
| recognition (anagnorisis) | the hero discovers something previously unknown or misconstrued. This is connected closely to the reversal of his expectations. |
| romantic comedy | portrays characters generously and is more genial in tone. The humor is sympathetic rather than ridiculing. |
| soliloquy | A speech given by a character in a play as if alone. S/he seems to address the air or be speaking thoughts aloud to him- or herself. A monologue. |
| Sophocles | ancient Greek tragic dramatist who lived during the Athenian Golden Age, the most generally admired of the Ancient Greek dramatists. Also a musician and military general who held political positions. Wrote Antigone. He competed with Aeschylus and Eurip |
| stanza | a grouping of lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph in prose writing. |
| strophe | The part of a Greek choral ode sung during the movement of the classical Greek chorus’s dance as they turn from one side of the orchestra to the other. |
| thymele | altar to Dionysus present on the orchestra section of the Greek amphitheater. |
| tragedy | (According to Aristotle) An imitation of an action that is serious, complete in itself, and of a certain magnitude. Inevitable catastrophe brings about the hero’s downfall. |
| tragic flaw | a faulty trait that brings about a characters' own downafall |
| tragic hero | a character that goes from a higher status and better circumstances to a lower status and worse circumstances |
Created by:
Ellah1123
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