Dramatic/Irony

Stage Directions

A playwright's written instructions about how the actors are to move and behave in a play. They explain in what direction characters should move, what facial expressions they should assume, and so on.

Contradiction

a direct opposition between two things

Comedy

a dramatic work that is light and often humorous in tone and usually ends happily, with a peaceful resolution of the main conflict

Tragedy

a dramatic work that presents the downfall of a dignified character or characters who are involved in historically or socially significant events.

Dramatic Monologue

a poem or part of a drama in which a speaker addresses one or more silent listeners, often reflecting on a specific problem or situation

Foil

character who serves as a contrast to another character

Scene Design

describes what the stage should look like in order to make the audience believe this story is happening in a specific time and place

Irony

difference between what we expect and the reality of the situation

Aside

in a play, words spoken directly to the audience or to another character, but not overheard by others onstage

Dialogue

in drama, a conversation between two characters

Soliloquy

long speech in which a character who is alone onstage expresses private thoughts or feelings

Props

portable items that actors carry or handle oustage in order to perform the actions of the play

Dramatic Devices

techniques a playwright uses to make a drama interesting for an audience to see or hear

Tragic Hero

the main character in a tragedy who shows evidence of high rank and nobility of character, is married by a tragic flaw or a fatal mistake in judgment, gains self-knowledge and wisdom, and comes to an unhappy end

Incongruity

when a piece of information does not seem to fit with the rest of the information

Verbal Irony

when a speaker says one thing but intentionally means the opposite

Ambiguity

when a word, phrase, action, or situation can be interpreted two or more ways, all of which can be supported by the context of work

Subtlety

when meaning is delicate, almost undetectable

Dramatic Irony

when the reader or the audience knows something important that a character does not know

Situational Irony

when what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected