Dramatic Literary Terms Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Comedy and Tragedy

blank verse poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

catastrophe the action of the end of a tragedy that initiates the dénouement or falling action

catharsis the purging of the feelings of pity and fear that, according to Aristotle, occur in the audience of tragic drama

character a character is a person or an animal who takes part in the action of a literary work (round: many different traits; flat: only one trait)

comedy a literary work, especially a play, that has a happy ending

dramatic personae Latin for the characters or personas in a play

dramatic monologue a poem or speech in which a fictional character addresses the listener

foil a character who provides a contrast to another character (in R&J the fiery Tybalt is a foil for the good-natured Benvolio)

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 (translation: ten beats per line, stress on every other beat)

pathos a quality of a play’s actions that stimulates the audience to feel pity for a character (pathos is always an aspect of tragedy and sometimes an aspect of comedy)

plot (elements in Shakespearean drama) the sequence of events in a literary work (exposition, exciting force, rising action, climax, falling action, catastrophe)

sonnet a fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme

stage directions notes included in a drama to describe how the work is to be performed or staged

in addition in addition to the terms within this PowerPoint, students are responsible for the “Glossary of Terms” handout and a review of last semester’s literary devices (on wiki at itsmillertime.pbworks.com), especially antagonist, dialogue, and protagonist