The Crucible
Drama Terms
 Soliloquy—a dramatic speech, revealing inner
thoughts and feelings, spoken aloud by one character
while alone on the stage. (Similar to dramatic
monologue)
 Foil—a character whose traits are in direct contrast to
those of the principal character. The foil, therefore,
highlights the traits of the protagonist.
Drama Terms
 Stage Directions—A playwright’s written instructions
provided in the text of a play about the setting or how
the actors are to move and behave in a play.
 Aside—speech or comment made by an actor directly
to the audience about the action of the play or another
character. The comment is unnoticed by others in the
play.
Plot Elements
Climax
The most
intense
or exciting event in the story
Rising Action
Falling
Action
because the character deals with the main
conflict. It may also be the turning point of the
story. about
Includes details
Everything
what that
theResolution
occurs because of the
Exposition
Denouement
Inciting
Incident
character
does toclimax.
solve his
The
orcharacters
her
respond to
problem. Smallerwhatever
problems
happens
or
in the climax. Leads
Explains
the
to the
here.
conclusion
of up
thehow
story.
Tells the reader any obstacles
importantmay
infooccur
before
Ties
the
loose ends of the story,
conflict is resolved and
Introduces the basic conflict of the
the action starts. Introduces characters, the
explains what happens to the
what happens to the
story.
setting, and the beginning of the plot.
characters after the story, etc. Not a
characters.
stories will have a denouement.
Types of Irony--Situational
 Situational:
Occurs when a reader or
character expects one thing
to happen, but something
entirely different happens.
Writers use situational irony to
make their stories interesting
or humorous and sometimes
to force their readers to think
about their own thoughts and
values.
 Explain why a lawful police
officer failing to catch a
lawless thief would be
situational irony.
It is unexpected because good is
supposed to conquer evil. The
police officer should be able to
catch the thief because he is
smart and good whereas the thief
is foolish and rotten.
Types of Irony--Dramatic
 Dramatic
The contrast between what a
character thinks to be true
and what the readers know to
be true. It occurs when the
meaning intended by a
character’s words or actions is
opposite of the true situation.
The character cannot see or
understand the contrast, but
the reader/audience can.
 Othello continually calls his
friend Honest Iago, even
though the audience knows
“Honest” Iago is lying straight
to Othello’s face that his wife
is cheating on him.
 What other examples can you
come up with?
Scary movies? You know the
killer is in the room, but the
damsel in distress thinks she’s
safe in her own house! Yikes!
Types of Irony--Verbal
 Verbal
When someone says one thing
but means something
different.
Similar to sarcasm, something
no teenager understands.
 If you ask your friend how the
language test was, and she
replies with an eye-roll, “Oh,
it was so much fun!” you
know her intended meaning
is the exact opposite of what
she said. The test was going
to be a killer!
Types of Irony--Historical
 Historical
Irony throughout history. It is
most easily identified when
we compare the way
historical figures saw the
world and the way we see it
today.
 During most of the 1920s, The
New York Times criticized
crossword puzzles as “utterly
futile” and said they were a
craze that was fading fast.
Today, The New York Times’
crossword puzzle is one of its
most popular features.