Elements of Drama Vocabulary

Act (n) -

Archetype –

Aside -

Blank Verse -

Catharsis -

Comedy -

Comic relief -

Couplet -

Dialogue -

Epilogue –

Foil -

High Comedy -

Iambic Pentameter -

In media res -
Meter -

Monologue -

Prologue –

Prose –

Pun -

Soliloquy -

Stage directions -

Tragedy -

Tragic hero - a character in a tragedy that possesses the following

characteristics:
A. He is an exceptional being in terms of position, capacity for suffering, and / or nature
B. Possesses a character (or tragic) flaw that contributes to his downfall
C. Experiences isolation on some level and is victimized by circumstances beyond his
control
D. Experiences some sort of revelation prior to his death
E. Even though he is flawed, he gains sympathy from the audience
 Elements of Drama Vocabulary - KEY

Act (n) - a part of a play defined by elements such as rising action, climax, and
resolution

Archetype – a typical character, an action, or a situation that seems to

represent universal patterns of human nature

Aside - a remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the

audience but unheard by the other characters in the play

Blank Verse - un-rhyming verse written in iambic pentameter

Catharsis - an emotional release through which one can achieve a state of
moral or spiritual renewal, or achieve a state of liberation from anxiety and
stress
Comedy - amusing and/or satirical in its tone; triumph over unpleasant
circumstance by creating comic effects, resulting in a happy or successful
conclusion
Comic relief - a humorous interlude in a serious literary work or drama,
especially a tragedy, intended to relieve the dramatic tension or heighten the
emotional impact by means of contrast

Couplet - two successive rhyming lines in a verse that typically have the same
meter and form a complete thought or are closely related

Dialogue - a conversation between two or more people in a work of literature

Epilogue – a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to
bring closure to the work

Foil - a character who is presented as a contrast to a second character so as to

point to or highlight some aspect of the second character
High Comedy - comedy characterized by witty dialogue, satire, biting humor,
or criticism of life

Iambic Pentameter - a rhythmic pattern (foot) of five combinations of

unstressed+stressed syllables for a total of 10 syllables in each line
In media res - Latin for "into the middle of things." It usually describes a
narrative that begins, not at the beginning of a story, but somewhere in the
middle — usually at some crucial point in the action.

Meter - a unit of rhythm in poetry, the pattern of the beats; also called a foot

Monologue - an extended speech by one person

Prologue – an opening of a story that establishes the setting and gives

background details, serving to tell some earlier story and connect it to the
main story
Prose – non-verse writing; basically anything other than poetry

Pun - a play on words that produces a humorous effect by using a word that
suggests two or more meanings, or by exploiting similar sounding words
that have different meanings

Soliloquy - a speech that a character makes in a work of drama only to him or

herself, presented for the audience to understand the character’s inner
thoughts and feelings as though they were not being spoken out loud

Stage directions - an instruction written in the script of a play that gives

direction to the actors or information about the scenery
Tragedy - branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the
sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual
Tragic hero - a character in a tragedy that possesses the following
characteristics:
F. He is an exceptional being in terms of position, capacity for suffering, and / or nature
G. Possesses a character (or tragic) flaw that contributes to his downfall
H. Experiences isolation on some level and is victimized by circumstances beyond his
control
I. Experiences some sort of revelation prior to his death
J. Even though he is flawed, he gains sympathy from the audience