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drama terms

Terms in this set (32)

aside
a message that departs from the main subject
blank verse
unrhymed verse (usually in iambic pentameter)
comedy
light and humorous drama with a happy ending
conflict
opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot)
couplet
a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse
drama
a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
dramatic irony
(theater) irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play
end-stop line
to end a line with a punctuation mark, thus calling attention to the line as a structure within the poem
enjambment
the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause
flashback
a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to an earlier event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the story
I'm worried we'll get there too early. I have a feeling this party tonight will be the start of something bad, something that will end with my own death.
foil
anything that serves by contrast to call attention to another thing's good qualities
foreshadowing
the act of providing vague advance indications
genre
a kind of literary or artistic work
Iambic Pentameter
a common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable
irony
incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs
metaphor
a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
monologue
a (usually long) dramatic speech by a single actor
plot
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
pun
a humorous play on words

My dream told me that dreamers often lie.

They lie in bed while they dream about the truth.
setting
arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted
simile
a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as')
Situational Irony
occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected
Soliloquy
a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections
suspense
an uncertain cognitive state
theme
a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
tone
a quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color
tragedy
drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance
tragic flaw
the character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall
tragic hero
A literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy
Verbal Irony
occurs when what is said contradicts what is meant or thought
illusion
something many people believe that is false
Queen Mab
personification
representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature
Love told me what to do, and I let love borrow my eyes
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