Terms : Hide Images
| 2357785648 | Ancillary Characters | characters in a play who set off or highlight the protagonist and who provide insight into the action. | 0 | |
| 2357786694 | Antagonist | the person, idea, force, or general set of circumstances opposing the protagonist; an essential element of plot. | 1 | |
| 2357791238 | Aside | a speech, usually short, and often witty of satirical, delivered by a character to the audience or another character, the convention being that only the intended characters can hear it, along, of course, with the audience. | 2 | |
| 2357793005 | Blocking | in the performance of a play, the director's plan for the grouping and movement of characters on stage. | 3 | |
| 2357793874 | Catastrophe | the "overturning" of the dramatic plot, the fourth stage in the structure immediately following the climax; the denouement of a play, in which things are explained and put into place. | 4 | |
| 2357796526 | Catharsis | Aristotle's concept of tragedy, by arousing pity and fear (eleos and phobos), regularizes and shapes human emotions, and that therefore tragedy is essential in civilized society. | 5 | |
| 2357797956 | Chorus | in ancient Athenian drama, was composed of young men—fifteen in tragedies and twenty-four in comedies—who chanted or sang in unison, and who performed dance movements to a flute accompaniment. | 6 | |
| 2357799205 | Climax | the high point of conflict and tension preceding the resolution or denouement of a story or play, the point of decision, of inevitability and no return. | 7 | |
| 2357800305 | Comedy | a literary genre, like tragedy, originated in the Dionysia festivals of ancient Athens. | 8 | |
| 2357801443 | Comedy of the Absurd | a modern form of comedy dramatizing the apparent pointlessness, ambiguity, uncertainty, and absurdity of existence. | 9 | |
| 2357805807 | Comedy of Manners | a form of comedy, usually regular (five acts or three acts), in which attitudes and customs are examined and satirized in light of high intellectual and moral standards. The dialogue is witty and sophisticated, and characters are often measured according to their linguistic and intellectual powers. | 10 | |
| 2357807255 | Commedia dell'arte | Broadly humorous farce developed in sixteenth- century Italy, featuring stock characters, stock situations, and much improvised dialogue. | 11 | |
| 2357809286 | Conflict | the opposition between two characters, between large groups of people, or the protagonist and larger forces such as natural objects, ideas, modes of behavior, public opinion, and the like. May also be internal and psychological, involving choices facing a protagonist. | 12 | |
| 2357810269 | Corous Christi Plays | a type of medieval drama that enacts events from the Bible, such as the killing of Abel by Cain, the domestic problems of Noah, the jealous anger of Herod, and so on. Crisis: the point of uncertainty and tension in a literary work—the turning point—that results from the conflicts and difficulties brought about through the complications of the plot. Leads to the climax—that is, to the decision made by the protagonist to resolve the conflict. | 13 | |
| 2357810849 | Denoument | the final stage of plot development, in which mysteries are explained, characters find their destinies, lovers are united, sanity is restored, and the work is completed. | 14 | |
| 2357811860 | Deus ex machine | in ancient Athenian drama, the entrance of a god to unravel the problems in a play. | 15 | |
| 2357811861 | Drama | an individual play; also plays are considered as a group; one of the three major genres of imaginative literature. | 16 | |
| 2357813811 | Dynamic Character | a character who undergoes adaption, change, or growth. | 17 | |
| 2357814500 | Episode | an acting scene or section of Greek tragedy; A self-enclosed portion of work, such as a section, or passage of particular narration, dialogue, or location. | 18 | |
| 2357814501 | Expostition | the stage of dramatic or narrative structure that introduces all things necessary for the development of the plot. | 19 | |
| 2357815471 | Falling Action | the "overturning" of the dramatic plot, the fourth stage in the structure immediately following the climax; the denouement of a play, in which things are explained and put into place. | 20 | |
| 2357816261 | Farce | an outlandish physical comedy overflowing with silly characters, improbable happenings, wild clowning, extravagant language, and bawdy jokes. | 21 | |
| 2357816832 | Flat Character | a character, usually minor, who is not individual, but rather useful and structural, static, and unchanging. | 22 | |
| 2357817875 | Foil | a character, usually minor, designed to highlight qualities of a major character. | 23 | |
| 2357819473 | Hamartia | the "error or frailty" that brings about the downfall or suffering of tragic protagonist. | 24 | |
| 2357819474 | Hero | the major male and female protagonists in a narrative or drama. | 25 | |
| 2357820823 | High Comedy | elegant comedies characterized by wit and sophistication, in which the complications grow not out of situation but rather out of character. | 26 | |
| 2357821984 | Hubris | meaning "insolence, contemptuous violence," or pride, defines the attitude/attitudes that lead tragic figures to commit their mistakes or offenses. | 27 | |
| 2357821985 | Low Comedy | crude, boisterous, and physical comedies and farces, characterized by sight gags, bawdy jokes, and outrageous situations. | 28 | |
| 2357823281 | Lyric | a short poem or song written in a fixed stranzaic form; the Aristotelian term for "several kinds of artistic ornaments," such as strophes, and anti-strophes, that are to be used appropriately in a tragedy. | 29 | |
| 2357824146 | Magnitude | the third element in Aristotle's definition of tragedy, emphasizing that a play should be neither too long nor too short, so that artistic balance and proportion can be maintained. | 30 | |
| 2357825846 | Melodrama | a sentimental dramatic form with an artificially happy ending. | 31 | |
| 2357827088 | Miracle Play | a medieval play dramatizing a miracle or miracles performed by a saint. | 32 | |
| 2357827669 | Monologue | a long speech spoken by a single character to himself or herself, to the audience, or to an off-stage character. | 33 | |
| 2357828585 | Morality Play | a type of medieval and early Renaissance play that dramatizes the way to live a pious life. | 34 | |
| 2357829639 | Prologue: | in ancient Athenian tragedy, the introductory action and speeches before the parados, or the first entry of the chorus. | 35 | |
| 2357849213 | Protagonist | the central character and focus of interest in a narrative or drama. | 36 | |
| 2357850179 | Revenge Tragedy | a popular type of English Renaissance drama, developed by Thomas Kyd, in which a person is called upon (often by a ghost) to avenge a murder of a loved one. | 37 | |
| 2357850180 | Restoration Comedy | English high comedies written mainly between 1660 and 1700. dealing realistically with personal, social, and sexual issues. | 38 | |
| 2357851642 | Rising Action | the action in a play before the climax. | 39 | |
| 2357852609 | Round Character | a literary character, usually but not necessarily the protagonist of a story or play, who is three-dimensional, rounded, authentic, memorable, original, and true to life. | 40 | |
| 2357852610 | Scene | in a play, a part or division (an act on hamlet, or entire play, as in Death of a Saleswoman) in which there is unity of subject, setting, and (often) actors. | 41 | |
| 2357853627 | Soliloquy | a speech made by a character, alone on stage, directly to the audience, the convention being that the character is revealing his or her inner thoughts, feelings, hopes, and plans. | 42 | |
| 2357854662 | Static Character | a character who undergoes no change. | 43 | |
| 2357854663 | Stock Character | a flat character in a standard role with standard traits, such as irate police captain, the bored hotel clerk, the sadistic criminal; a stereotype. | 44 |
