1. Drama Terms

2. Act A major division within a play, similar to a chapter in a book
How many acts does West Side Story have?
Two
How many acts does Romeo and Juliet have?
Five

3. Aside
A short speech directed to the audience or another character that is not heard by the other characters on stage
Think about Sheldon and Leonard’s apartment on Big Bang Theory

4. Blank Verse Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter
You stars that reign'd at my nativity,
Whose influence hath allotted death and hell,
Now draw up Faustus like a foggy mist
Into entrails of yon labouring clouds,
That when they vomit forth into the air,
My limbs may issue from their smoky mouths,
So that my soul may but ascend to Heaven.

5. Comedy
A dramatic work that is light and often humorous in tone, usually ending happily

6. Comic Relief
Consists of humorous scenes, incidents, or speeches that are included in a serious drama to give the audience a “break”

7. Dialogue Written conversation between two or more characters
“Hello, Abby!” said Mary
“Oh, hi!” Abby responded.
“Do you like my hat?” Mary asked.
“No, I do not like your hat,” Abby replied.
In plays:
Mary: Hello, Abby!
Abby: Oh, hi!
Mary: Do you like my hat?
Abby: No, I do not like your hat.

8. Drama
Literature in which plots and characters are developed through dialogue and action; in other words, literature in play form

9. Dramatic Irony
Where the reader or viewer knows something that a character does not know

10. Epilogue
A short addition at the end of a literary work, often dealing with the future of the characters

11. Figurative Language
Communicates the meanings beyond the literal meanings of words
Examples: simile, metaphor, personification, etc.

12. Foil
A character who provides a striking contrast to another character

13. Foreshadowing
A writer’s use of hints or clues to suggest events that will occur later in the story
If a character in a movie coughs…

14. Iambic Pentameter
A meter pattern of five feet per line, and every other syllable is stressed (accented)
Example:
u / u / u / u / u /
So long / as men / can breathe / or eyes / can see
u / u / u / u / u /
So long / lives this / and this / gives life / to thee

15. Metaphor
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things and does not use like or as
Examples:
He’s a giraffe!
That worker is pretty green!

16. Oxymoron
A concise (short) paradox that brings together two contradictory (opposite) terms
Examples:
Jumbo shrimp
Pretty ugly
Definite maybe
Virtual reality
Same difference
Almost exactly

17. Paradox
A seemingly absurd statement that actually suggests an important truth
Examples:
Nobody goes to that restaurant; it’s too crowded
Don’t go near the water until you’ve learned to swim.
If you get this message, call me; if you don’t, then don’t worry about it

18. Personification
A figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an object, animal, or idea
Example:
The waves danced on the beach.
The sun gazed at us from the sky.

19. Prologue
An introductory scene in a drama

20. Pun A joke that comes from a play on words Examples:
Corduroy pillows are making headlines.
Where do you find giant snails? On the ends of giants’ fingers.
Santa’s helpers are subordinate Clauses.
A horse is a very stable animal.
Energizer Bunny arrested -- charged with battery.

21. Scene
Division of a play that presents an episode of the plot; it typically occurs and a single place and time

22. Simile
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things using like or as
Example:
He’s as strong as an ox.
She looks like an angel.

23. Soliloquy
A speech in which a character speaks his or her thoughts aloud; generally the character is on the stage alone

24. Sonnet
A poem of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter

25. Stage Directions
Instructions in a play that serve as a guide to directors, set and lighting designers, performers, and readers
Examples:
Henry: I wonder what is taking so long…(scratches head)
Moves stage left. He said he’d only be a minute.

26. Tragedy
A dramatic work that presents the downfall of a character(s); usually leads to a disastrous conclusion – death