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Drama
AP Lit - Drama Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| act | A major section of a play, divided into varying numbers of shorter scenes, Shakespearean works usually have 5 per drama, modern works usually have 1-3 per drama. |
| antagonist | The major character in a narrative or drama who works against the hero or protagonist. |
| aside | A comment made by a stage performer that is intended to be heard by the audience but supposedly not by the other characters. |
| catastrophe | The point at which the circumstances overcome the central motive, introducing the close or conclusion. |
| catharsis | The release of purging of unwanted emotions - specifically fear and pity - brought about by exposure to art. |
| character | Broadly speaking, a person in a literary work. The actions of these are what constitute the plot of a story, novel, or poem. |
| dynamic | In literature or drama, a character who undergoes a permanent change in outlook or character during the story; also called developing. |
| flat | An easily recognized character type in fiction who may not be fully delineated but is useful in carrying out some narrative purpose of the author. |
| round | A character in fiction whose personality, background, motives, and other features are fully delineated by the author. |
| static | A literary character who remains basically unchanged throughout a work. |
| stock | A character in literature, theater, or film of a type quickly recognized and accepted by the reader or viewer and requiring no development by the writer. |
| climax | The turning point in a narrative, the moment when the conflict is at its most intense. |
| comedy | One of two major types of drama; assumes many forms, such as farce and burlesque, and uses a variety of techniques, from parody to satire. |
| comic relief | The use of humor to lighten the mood of a serious or tragic story, especially in plays. |
| conflict | The issue to be resolved in the story. It usually occurs between two characters, protagonist and the antagonist, or between the protagonist and society, or the protagonist and himself or herself. |
| crisis | The point in a play or story at which hostile elements are most tensely opposed to each other. |
| denouement | In literary criticism, it denotes the resolution of conflict in fiction or drama. |
| dues ex machine | A Latin term meaning "god out of a machine." In Greek drama, a god was often lowered onto the stage by a mechanism of some kind to rescue the hero or untangle the plot. |
| epilogue | A concluding statement or section of a literary work. |
| exposition | Writing intended to explain the nature of an idea, thing, or them. |
| falling action | Denouement. |
| farce | A type of comedy characterized by broad humor, outlandish incidents, and often vulgar subject matter. |
| foil | A character in a work of literature whose physical or psychological qualities contrast strongly with, and therefore highlight, the corresponding qualities of another character. |
| hamartia | In tragedy, the event or act that leads to the hero’s or heroine’s downfall. |
| hero | The principal sympathetic character (male or female) in a literary work. |
| hubris | Excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance. |
| monologue | A composition, written or oral, by a single individual. A speech given by a single individual in a drama or other public entertainment. |
| prologue | An introductory section of a literary work. It often contains information establishing the situation of the characters or presents information about the setting, time period, or action. |
| protagonist | The central character of a story who serves as a focus for its themes and incidents and as the principal rationale for its development. |
| rising action | The part of a drama where the plot becomes increasingly complicated. |
| scene | A subdivision of an Act of a drama, consisting of continuous action taking place at a single time and in a single location. |
| soliloquy | A monologue in a drama used to give the audience information and to develop the speaker's character; usually delivered while the speaker is along on stage; typically a projection of the speaker's innermost thoughts. |
| tragedy | A drama in prose or poetry about a noble, courageous hero of excellent character who, because of some tragic character flaw or hamartia, brings ruin upon him or herself. |
| tragic flaw | In a tragedy, the quality within the hero or heroine which leads to his or her downfall. |
| villain | A character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot. |
Created by:
s1ushie
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