Drama Unit Terms & Definitions English 9

Drama Terms Comedydramatic work that has a happy ending, and a tone/style that is more light-hearted Tragedydramatic work that presents the downfall of a dignified character through their own actions Dramatic structure the organization of a play (acts & scenes) Dramaliterature intended for performance by actors on a stage

Tragic Flaw fatal error in judgment or weakness in a character that leads to his or her destruction Tragic Hero protagonist in a tragedy; faces defeat with great courage and dignity Comic Relief humorous scene, incident, or speech that relieves the overall emotional intensity of a tragedy Chorusgroup of performers who stood outside the action; commented on characters and hinted at events to come

Dramatic Conventions Devices that audiences accept as realistic even though it does not reflect real life Asidedramatic convention where the character speaks thoughts aloud; intended to be heard by audience but not other characters Monologuelong, uninterrupted speech by one character Soliloquyspeech in which a character expresses his/her thoughts out loud for the benefit of the audience

Literature Terms Allusionreference to a person, place or event the reader is expected to know Dialoguewritten conversation between characters Epithetdescriptive adjective or phrase used to characterize someone or something Foilcharacter who intensifies another character by contrast Motivationreason that explains or partially explains why a character thinks, feels, acts, or behaves in a certain way

Ironyliterary technique that portrays differences between appearance and reality; the opposite of what is expected. Dramatic Irony when the audience has knowledge that the characters do not Situational Irony contrast between what is expected to happen and what really happens Verbal Irony contrast between what is said and what is meant.

Poetic Terms Proseordinary form of written language, without rhyme or meter Versepoetry; literature in metrical form Meterregular pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in a line of poetry Punthe use of a word or phrase to suggest two or more meanings at the same time Oxymoronfigure of speech that combines apparently contradictory terms Couplettwo consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

Iambsyllable pattern of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable Iambic Pentameter five feet (units) of iamb verse; total of 10 syllables per line Blank verseunrhymed iambic pentameter Sonnetfourteen-line poem; written in iambic pentameter; one of several rhyme schemes

An iambic foot is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The rhythm can be written as: da DUM The da-DUM of a human heartbeat is the most common example of this rhythm. A line of iambic pentameter is five iambic feet in a row: da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM

The tick-TOCK rhythm of iambic pentameter can be heard in the opening line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 12: When I do count the clock that tells the time It is possible to notate this with a ˘ (breve) mark representing an unstressed syllable and a / (slash) mark representing a stressed syllable.      

Let’s Practice! Sonnet XVIII - William Shakespeare Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Richard III – William Shakespeare Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.