Slide 1

Drama Literary Terms

Slide 2

Allusion A brief reference in one work of literature to a person, place, or event in another work of literature or in history, art, or music Example: When she lost her job, she acted like a Scrooge, and refused to buy anything that wasnt necessary. Scrooge was an extremely stingy character from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.

Slide 3

Analogy An extended comparison showing the similarities between two things Examples: Their relationship began to thaw. John Mayer has a voice of velvet.

Slide 4

Antagonist The character or force that works against the protagonist; introduces the conflict Examples: President Snow in The Hunger Games The Japanese army from Code Talkers

Slide 5

Aside Words spoken by a character in the play, either to the audience or to another character that others on stage are not supposed to hear. Its purpose is to reveal the characters private thoughts

Slide 6

Blank Verse A form of poetry that uses unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter Shakespeares plays are commonly written in blank verse Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

Slide 7

Characterization The personality a character displays The means by which the author reveals that personality

Slide 8

Climax The point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative

Slide 9

Comic Relief A humorous scene, incident, or speech that relieves the overall emotional intensity Provides contrast Helps the audience absorb the earlier events in the plot & get ready for the ones to come

Slide 10

Conflict A struggle between two opposing characters or forces

Slide 11

Couplet Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme Shakespearean Examples: "Blessed are you whose worthiness gives scope, Being had, to triumph; being lacked, to hope. "So, till the judgment that yourself arise, You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes. "How like Eve's apple doth thy beauty grow, If thy sweet virtue answer not thy show!"

Slide 12

Diction A writers choice of words for clarity, effectiveness, and precision

Slide 13

Dramatic Conventions Devices that theater audiences accept as realistic even though they do not necessarily reflect the way real-life people behave

Slide 14

Epithet A descriptive adjective or phrase used to characterize someone or something Examples: Thou mad mustachio purple-hued maltworm! Thou puking knotty-pated lout!

Slide 15

Figurative Language Language that is not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense

Slide 16

Foil A character whose personality or attitudes are in sharp contrast to those of another character in the same work

Slide 17

Foreshadowing Hints given to the audience about what will happen later in the play Often used to add suspense Examples in Prologue: fatal star-crossed lovers death marked love their childrens end

Slide 18

Iambic Meter Unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

Slide 19

Iambic Pentameter Lines that ideally have five unstressed syllables, each followed by a stressed syllable Pattern is not always perfect and there are sometimes breaks In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Slide 20

Imagery Language that appeals to any sense or any combination of the senses Sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell

Slide 21

Irony Dramatic Irony: A contrast between what the audience perceives and what a character does not know Situational Irony: A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens Verbal Irony: A contrast between what is said and what is meant

Slide 22

Metaphor A comparison between two unlike things with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them; using the words was or is Example: My dad is my rock.

Slide 23

Monologue A long, uninterrupted speech presented in front of other characters

Slide 24

Motivation A reason that explains why a character thinks, feels, acts, or behaves in a certain way Results from a combination of the characters personality and the situation at hand

Slide 25

Oxymoron A figure of speech that combines apparent contradictory terms

Slide 26

Personification A figure of speech in which an animal, object, natural force, or idea is given a personality and described as human

Slide 27

Protagonist The main character in a play or story

Slide 28

Pun The humorous use of a word or phrase to suggest two or more meanings at the same time

Slide 29

Simile A comparison made between two dissimilar things through the use of a specific word of comparison, such as like or as Examples: Cute as a kitten Busy as a bee Life is like a box of chocolates. Forrest Gump Blind as a bat

Slide 30

Soliloquy A speech in which a character is alone on stage and expresses thoughts out loud

Slide 31

Sonnet A fourteen line lyric poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, that has one of several rhyme schemes Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st, So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Slide 32

Suspense That quality of a literary work that makes the audience uncertain or tense about the outcome of events

Slide 33

Symbol Any object, person, place, or action that has a meaning in itself and that also stands for something larger than itself Such as quality, attitude, belief, or value

Slide 34

Theme The central idea of a work of literature

Slide 35

Tragedy A drama that ends in catastrophe (most often death) for the main character and often for several other important characters, as well

Slide 36

Tragic Hero The main character who is usually nobly born and who may have great influence in his or her society Has one or more character flaw that leads to their downfall Weakness or serious error in judgment Fate plays a role in their life