Notes on Drama and Literary
Devices for Reading

Romeo and Juliet
"For never
was a story
of more
woe than
this of Juliet
and her
Romeo." (Act
V, Scene III)
Drama
 Drama
is meant to be seen or performed,
not read.
 Drama becomes a play when it is acted
out.
 Drama contains elements just like a novel
or a short story: plot, characters, setting,
and theme.
 Drama also contains different elements:
lighting, sets, props, and costumes.
 Drama began as an outdoor event.
Stage Direction
is what we call
the writing that
tells actors
where to move
and the behind
the scenes
people what to
do.
Tragedy
Tragedy is a type of drama that
began in ancient times.
 Tragic hero is the character
who is brought down by a
single weakness.
 The weakness that brings
down the hero mentioned
above is called the tragic
flaw.
 The word Tragedy comes from
the Greek word, “tragos,”
meaning “goat song.”

Tragedies, Comedies and Catharsis
Even in tragedies, there is usually some
comedy.
 Comedy is a type of drama where the hero
overcomes his flaws and triumphs in the
end.
 Catharsis literally means “a cleansing.”
 If you experience catharsis at the end of a
play, you are relieved that the tragedy
happened to a character and not you.

Romeo and
Juliet:
Literary
Terminology for
Act I
What do ya call it when actors are
talking?
 Soliloquy
is a speech in which one
character is alone on stage expressing
his/her thoughts to the audience.
 Dialogue is conversation between
characters.
 Monologue is a speech in which one
character is talking, but there are
other characters on stage.
Aside
A
part of an actor's
lines supposedly
not heard by
others on the stage
and generally
intended only for
the audience.
Blank Verse
 is
any verse comprised of unrhymed lines
all in the same meter, usually iambic
pentameter .
“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
Couplet

are any two lines working as a unit, whether they
comprise a single stanza or are part of a larger stanza.
Most couplets rhyme (aa), but they do not have to.
Into my empty head there come
a cotton beach, a dock wherefrom
I set out, oily and nude
through mist in oily solitude
Lady Montague:
“O, Where’s Romeo? Saw you him today?
Right glad I am he was not at this fray.”
Epithet

A characterizing word or phrase firmly
associated with a person or thing and often
used in place of an actual name, title, or the
like, as “man's best friend” for “dog.”
Dramatic Foil
A
character
that by
contrast
underscores
or enhances
the distinctive
characteristics
of another
Dramatic Irony
 Dramatic
irony is a device
whereby a character’s words or
actions have one meaning for the
character and quite a different
meaning for the audience.
Iambic Pentameter

A type of meter that is used in poetry and
drama. It describes a particular rhythm that the
words establish in each line. That rhythm is
measured in small groups of syllables; these
small groups of syllables are called 'feet'. The
word 'iambic' describes the type of foot that is
used. The word 'pentameter' indicates that a line
has five of these 'feet'.
Da Dum Da Dum Da Dum
“To Be or Not to Be”
Iambic Meter
An
end stressed two syllable
foot.
Unaccented syllable followed
by an accented syllable
Da DUM = One Iamb
Pun

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:
Mercutio: “Ask for me tomorrow and you shall
find me a grave man.” (“Grave” meaning both
“serious” and “dead”).
Know these Terms!
End of Notes