Drama Terms
FILL IN THE DEFINITION AND EXAMPLE OF
EACH INCOMPLETE TERM.
Aside
When a character speaks directly to the
audience or privately to another
character on stage. During an aside, no
one else on stage hears the
conversation except the audience and
the person who is being spoken to.
Anachronism

When a writer places a person or object
outside of its realistic time period.
 Example: Shakespeare lived in the 1500’s.
 His places contained references to Queen
Elizabeth (who also lived in the 1500’s), even
though many of his play’s settings took place
before the queen was born.
Dialogue

Written or spoken conversational
language between two or more
characters.
Dramatis Personae
Pronounced : Dram uh tis Per sone ee
A list of characters preceding the text in a
play.
Foil Character

A character who contrasts with another
character (usually the protagonist) in
order to high light particular
characteristics in the other character
Iamb
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A metrical foot used in different types of poetry.
An Iamb is a short syllable followed by a long syllable.
Iambic Pentameter
Is acommonly used metrical line in traditional verse
(blank verse). A line of poetry written in iambic
pentameter will have 10 syllables.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!
Metonymy

is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing
or concept is not called by its own name, but by the
name of something intimately associated with that
thing or concept.
Examples:
Hollywood is a metonym for U.S. cinema
Langley is a metonym for the U.S. Central Intelligence
Agency whose head quarters are in this town
Monologue
is a speech presented by a single
character, especially one dominating a
conversation.
 It can also be any composition, as a
poem, in which a single person speaks
alone. They can share their personal
ideas but with the intention of giving
these thoughts to the audience. (They
are not talking to themselves)
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Pathos
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A rhetorical device in which someone evokes
feelings of pity or compassion in their
audience. Pathos deals with one’s emotions.
Example:
Marc Antony uses pathos in his speech to first
evoke the feelings of compassion for Caesar.
He then uses this emotion to manipulate the
crowd.
Soliloquy
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an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking
to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to
any hearers present (often used as a device in drama
to disclose a character's innermost thoughts)
The character is NOT speaking to anyone but himself
or herself.
Example: Hamlet's soliloquy begins with “To be or not to
be.”
Antony: O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth…
Stage Directions
an instruction written into the script of a
play, indicating stage actions,
movements of performers, or production
requirements.
 usually set off with brackets [ ],
parentheses( ), or italics
 Example:

Enter, from opposite sides, a Fairy, and PUCK
Tragedy
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any literary composition, as a novel, dealing with a somber theme
carried to a tragic conclusion.
(most characters usually die in tragedies)
Emphasizes human greatness
Tragic hero – man of noble stature (usually prince or king)
Tragic hero is good (not perfect)
Tragic hero has a downfall – (usually of his own fault)
However, his misfortune is not altogether deserved
Even though the hero may die, he usually learns something about
mankind or has some gain in self-knowledge before he dies.
Tragedy celebrates life.
Challenges us with a vision of human possibility.
Tragedies tend to isolate protagonists to emphasize their uniqueness.
Tragic Flaw

the character defect that causes the
downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy
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Example:
Some heroes have PRIDE.
Tragic Hero

a great or virtuous character in a
dramatic tragedy who is destined for
downfall, suffering, or defeat: Oedipus,
the classic tragic hero.
Comedy
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Exposes or makes fun of human weakness
Displays human limitations (humans are not allpowerful) “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
Function: To be critical and corrective
Humorous and full of satire
Ridiculous characters
Comedies place their protagonists in the midst of a
group to emphasize their commonness.
Many comedies end with marriages ( fun, exciting, and
celebratory).
There’s more on Comedies
Emphasizes the sympathetic character
rather than the ridiculous character.
 Main characters are sensible and good
 Romantic Comedies do not test the
limits of human possibility.
 Lesser characters are made fun of
through ridicule and satire.
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Tragedy vs. Comedy Plot Structure
The structure is basically the same except for a few
differences.
1. Comedies- During the falling action (Act IV),
something else goes wrong even though all the major
decisions have been made.
This is called the second conflict
2. Tragedy- In the falling action, something else looks like
it will turn the events even though the major mistakes
have been made. ( You think it will be alright).
This is called the second hope
Euphemism
Some euphemisms are idioms but not always.
Examples:
To pass away – to die
Croaked – died
Full figured- overweight
Lose your lunch- regurgitate (throw up)
 the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague
expression for one thought to be offensive,
harsh, or blunt.
Pun
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the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to
emphasize or suggest its different meanings
or applications, or the use of words that are
alike or nearly alike in sound but different in
meaning; a play on words.
Example:
"A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use with a safe
conscience; which is, indeed, sir, a mender of
bad soles." The pun is on soul
Blank Verse
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(also called unrhymed iambic
pentameter) - unrhymed lines of ten
syllables each with the even-numbered
syllables bearing the accents.
A form of poetry- Shakespeare uses blank
verse to show when someone is
speaking in the formal language.
Free Verse
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the ordinary form of spoken and written language
whose unit is the sentence, rather than the line as
it is in poetry. The term applies to all expressions
in language that do not have a regular rhythmic
pattern
A form of poetry also known as PROSE
 Shakespeare wrote in prose to show when
someone was speaking the common language or
slang.
Rhetoric
The art or study of public speaking.
 Being able to use language effectively
within a speech.
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Rhetorical Devices:
Techniques speakers use to influence
his or her audience.
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Rhetorical Question
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a question asked solely to produce an
effect or to make an assertion and not to
elicit a reply.
Example: “ Did I raise you in a barn?”
Marc Antony- "Does this in Caesar seem
ambitious?’’
Rhetoric is a synonym for Oratory
Oratory (orator)
1. skill or eloquence in public speaking:
The evangelist moved thousands to
repentance with his oratory.
 2. the art of public speaking, especially
in a formal and eloquent manner.
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More Rhetorical Devices
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Analogy: a comparison in which the
writer/speaker finds points of similarity
between two dissimilar things, often
extending the idea beyond a single
sentence.
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Example:
Learning a new language is like being a small child all
over again. You find yourself pointing at things,
blurting out words, and hoping that someone will
understand. Meanwhile, people around you seem to
be speaking a mile a minute, laughing with each other,
but you have no idea what they’re saying. Frustrated
that you can’t express yourself or join in the
conversation, you may have the urge to ball up your
hands into fists and cry.
Parallelism
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Grammatical Meaning:
Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related
words, phrases, or clauses. Also called parallel
structure.
Example of correct parallelism:
She is washing the dishes, going to the store, and
buying groceries.
Example of non-parallel structure:
She is going to wash the dishes, going to the store,
and to buy groceries.
Parallelism
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Rhetorical Devices meaning:
Figure of balance identified by a similarity in the
syntactical structure of a set of words in successive
phrases, clauses, sentences; successive words,
phrases, clauses with the same or very similar
grammatical structure.
Examples:
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill,
that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet
any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe
to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
-- John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
More Examples of Parallelism
"We have seen the state of our Union in the
endurance of rescuers, working past
exhaustion. We've seen the unfurling of flags,
the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the
saying of prayers -- in English, Hebrew, and
Arabic.“ George W. Bush, 9-20-01 Address to the
Nation on Terrorism
"We have petitioned and our petitions have been
scorned. We have entreated and our entreaties
have been disregarded. We have begged and they
have mocked when our calamity came. We beg no
longer. We entreat no more. We petition no more.
We defy them."-- William Jennings Bryan
Repetition
Repeating the same words over and
over for dramatic or emotional effect.
“Free at last, free at last, thank God
almighty we’re free at last!” – MLK Jr.
“For Brutus is an honorable man;
So are they all, all honorable men”
– Marc Antony Shakespearean Play
Allusions
Reference to anything historical, biblical,
cultural, literary, mythological, etc..
"Ay, as Aeneas, our great ancestor, did from the
flames of Troy upon his shoulder the old Anchises
bear.." (Cassius, Act 1, scene 2)
Aeneas was the son of Anchises and Aphrodite. He is
associated with the founding of Rome, and his story is
told in Virgil's Aeneid.
Hyperbole
An extreme exaggeration
“ I’ve heard that excuse a million times.”
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Litotes
Pronounced: Ly tu tees
A deliberate understatement used for emphasis
Example:
“We had a nice little snack of roast beef, mashed
potatoes, green beans, several side salads,
and a choice of about a dozen desserts.”
Example 2: "Einstein is not a bad
mathematician"
Metaphors and Similes
Metaphor : Her hair was a waterfall flowing
down her shoulders.
Simile: Her hair looked like a waterfall
flowing down her shoulders.
Stereotype
A generalization that allows a reader to
quickly identify a character with a group
“During the Cold War, a Russian was an
enemy.”
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Practice Rhetorical Devices
EOC Purple Book
Pages 267-269