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drama terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Catharsis | describes the release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the end of a tragedy. |
| Closet Drama | play that is written to be read rathered than performed on state. In this kind of drama, literary art outweighs all other considerations. |
| Cothuri or Buskins | elevated shoes |
| Deus ex machina | method of rescuing characters from complications beyond their abilities to resolve. Latin: "god from the machine" now used to describe any improbable means by which an author provides a too-easy resolution for a story |
| Dialogue | verbal exchanges between characters. It makes the characters seem real to the reader or audience by revealing firsthand their thoughts, responses, and emotional states. |
| Dramatic Irony | creates a discrepency between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true. |
| Episodia | "episodes" in which characters engage in dialogue that frequently consists of heated debates dramatizing the play's conflicts |
| Exodus | last scene; follows the final episode and stasimon; resolution occurs here and characters leave the stage |
| Exposition | narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work, that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances. Exposition explains what has gone on before |
| Foil | a character in a work whose behavior and values contrast with those of another character in order to highlight the distinctive temperament of that character (usually protagonist) |
| Hamartia | term coined by Aristotle. "some error or fraility" that brings about misfortune for a tragic hero. closely related to to that of the tragic flaw. leads to the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy. |
| Hubris | excessive pride or self confidence that leads a protagonist to disregard a divine warning or to violate an important moral law. a very common form of Hamartia |
| Melodrama | a literary work that relies on implausible events and sensational action for its effect. conflicts typically arise out of plot rather than characterization; a virtuous individual must somehow confront/ overcome a wicked oppressor. Usually ends happily |
| naturalism | more philosophical. believes human beings are part of nature and subject to its laws. characters are generally portrayed as victims overwhelmed by internal and external forces |
| orchestra | "dancing place" where the chorus of a dozen or so men chanted lines and danced |
| parodos | chorus makes its first entrance and gives its perspective on what the audience has learned in the prologue |
| problem play | Henrik Ibsen presents a social issue in order to awaken the audience to it. usually rejects romantic plot. often provides solution. also shakespears' plays that do not fit into the categories of tragedy, comedy, or romance |
| prologue | opening speech or dialogue of a play, especially a classic Greek play, usually gives the exposition necessary to follow the subsequent action today: also the intro to literary work |
| Realism | literary technique that attempts to create the appearance of life as it is actually experienced. |
| Recognition | moment in a story when previously unknown or withheld info is relveaed to the protagonist, resulting in the discovery of the truth in the situation and usually a decisive change in corse for the character |
| Reversal | point in a story when the protagonist's fortunes turn in an unexpected direction |
| rising action | complication creates conflict for the protagonist |
| climax | action reaches a final crisis, a turning point that has a powerful effect on the protagonist |
| falling action | tensions are diminished into the resolution of the plot's conflicts and complications (also conclusion / denouement) |
| denouement | French word "unknotting" |
| skene | stage building that served as dressing rooms |
| stage directions | playwright's written instructions about how the actors are to move and behave in a play. The explain in which direction characters should move, what facial expressions they should assume, and so on |
| stasimon | choral ode in which the chorus responds to and interprets the preceding dialogue |
| tragedy | story that presents courageous individuals who confront powerful forces within or outside themselves with a dignity that reveals the breadth/depth of human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, and death |
| revenge tragedy | traced back to Greek/roman plays Seneca (Roman playwright) murder that has to be avenged by a relative of the victim. ghost appears to demand revenge ends in death of murderer, avenger, and many other characters |
| tragic flaw | error or defect in the tragic hero that leads to his downfall, such as greed, pride, or ambition. flaw may be the result of bad character, bad judgement, an inherited weakness, or any other defect of character. |
| tragic irony | found in Oedipus. Oedipus ends up hunting himself |
Created by:
jjjohnson