Drama Terms

Blank Verse

Blank verse is a literary device defined as un-rhyming verse written in iambic pentameter. In poetry and prose, it has a consistent meter with 10 syllables in each line (pentameter); where, unstressed syllables are followed by stressed ones and five of which are stressed but do not rhyme.

Complication

Complication builds up, accumulates, and develops the primary or central conflict in a literary work. Frank O'Connor's story "Guests of the Nation" provides a striking example, as does Ralph Ellison's "Battle Royal." A struggle between opposing forces in a story or play, usually resolved by the end of the work. (Along come three pesky witches/ sisters/ fates who announce that Macbeth is going to become King of Scotland. He's stoked, but quickly realizes the problem: if he's going to become king, someone else is going to have to not be king. Like the current king Duncan, and Duncan's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain.)

Dialogue

Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something the characters do not. Because of this understanding, the words of the characters take on a different meaning. (The best example of dramatic irony in Act 1, Scene 4 of Macbeth is when Duncan says he trusts Macbeth, and the audience knows that Macbeth is expecting to become king. Macbeth is not at all trustworthy! Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that the characters do not.)

Conflict

A conflict in literature is defined as any struggle between opposing forces. Usually, the main character struggles against some other force. This type of conflict is what drives each and every story. (With a little spurring from Lady Macbeth, Macbeth kills the king to secure the kingship. (That must have been quite a "honey-do" list.) It immediately becomes clear that the only way to hide the murder is to keep murdering, which means that the body count begins to climb.)

Tragedy

A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. b. The genre made up of such works. c.

Catharsis

A release of emotional tension after an overwhelming vicarious experience, resulting in the purging or purification of the emotions, as through watching a dramatic production (especially a tragedy). This is similar to what I was taught about dramatic catharsis. By experiencing tragedy vicariously, the audience are supposed to vent off their own fears and frustrations about life. This works in two ways; first, you feel better if your life doesn't suck as much as someone else's; secondly, you supposedly have a finite quantity of negative emotions built up that are temporarily "drained" by experiencing them during the play. If you got angry at the villain during a play, then perhaps you won't feel as angry at your husband that night. You can't be angry all the time.

Soliloquy

A soliloquy (from Latin solo "to oneself" + loquor "I talk") is a device often used in drama when a character speaks to himself or herself, relating thoughts and feelings, thereby also sharing them with the audience, giving off the illusion of being a series of unspoken reflections.

Hubris

Hubris is extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his downfall. Hubris is a typical flaw in the personality of a character who enjoys a powerful position; as a result of which, he overestimates his capabilities to such an extent that he loses contact with reality. (But Macbeth's hubris or excessive pride is now his dominant character trait. This feature of his personality is well presented in Act IV, Scene 1, when he revisits the Witches of his own accord. His boldness and impression of personal invincibility mark him out for a tragic fall.)

Fatal Flaw

In literature, the tragic flaw is a character trait that brings about the downfall of the protagonist; ironically, in some works, this "flaw" is the character's greatest strength taken to an extreme. The tragic flaw may be a lack of judgment or self-knowledge, but most often it is pride or hubris. (Macbeth's ambition, as well as that of his wife, is what steals the throne for him; he is unworthy to be king but remains in the position until his ambition and arrogance finally lead to his death. Ambition coupled with arrogance is Macbeth's "fatal flaw.")

Aside

An aside is a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention the audience is to realize that the character's speech is unheard by the other characters on stage.

Comedy

In the literary sense, dramatic comedy is a drama where the characters experience a change for the better and work things out with hope for the future. And yes, that happy ending is part of hope for the future. The Poetics, written by philosopher Aristotle, is the leading resource for defining tragedy.

Blocking

In theatre, blocking is the precise staging of actors in order to facilitate the performance of a play, ballet, film or opera. In contemporary theater, the director usually determines blocking during rehearsal, telling actors where they should move for the proper dramatic effect, ensure sight lines for the audience and work with the lighting design of the scene. Blocking a scene is simply "working out the details of an actor's moves in relation to the camera." You can also think of blocking as the choreography of a dance or a ballet: all the elements on the set (actors, extras, vehicles, crew, equipment) should move in perfect harmony with each other.

Prop

The definition of a prop is a person or thing who provides support or holds something up, or an object used on the set of a play or movie. A pole that keeps up an awning is an example of a prop. A clipboard used by a character in a play is an example of a prop.

Denouement

The denouement is a literary device which can be defined as the resolution of the issue of a complicated plot in fiction. Majority of the examples of denouement show the resolution in the final part or chapter that is often an epilogue. Denouement is usually driven by the climax. (To the surprise of... no one, it turns out you can't trust witches' tales to help you out in any way. It looks like Macbeth is going to be defeated, and he goes out committed to dying soldierly death.)

Monologue

The term has several closely related meanings. A dramatic monologue is any speech of some duration addressed by a character to a second person. A soliloquy is a type of monologue in which a character directly addresses an audience or speaks his thoughts aloud while alone or while the other actors keep silent.

Tragic Hero

Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. In reading Antigone, Medea and Hamlet, look at the role of justice and/or revenge and its influence on each character's choices when analyzing any "judgment error."

Chorus

an ode or series of odes sung by a group of actors in ancient Greek drama. the group of actors that performed the chorus and served as major participants in, commentators on, or as a supplement to the main action of the drama. (in macbeth: the three witches)

Stage Directions

stage direction definition. Part of the script of a play that tells the actors how they are to move or to speak their lines. Enter, exit, and exeunt are stage directions.

Climax

the highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something; culmination: His career reached its climax when he was elected president. 2. (in a dramatic or literary work) a decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot. (A friendly little visit from the ghost of his murdered friend Banquo sends Macbeth into a raving fit, bringing a quick end to the banquet Macbeth has thrown together to celebrate his new kingship. We suspect that things are about to go quickly downhill.)