Drama Terms

Act

• lines spoken by one character

• an introductory speech

• the playwright's instructions to the actors

• the major division in a play; can be divided into scenes

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.10

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10. RL.11-12.10

CCSS.RL.8.10

Antagonist

• a character or force against which another character struggles

• the events in a the play

• a character who undergoes little to no inner change

• the invisible division between the characters and the audience

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.4C

CCSS.L.6.4C

CCSS.L.7.4C

CCSS.L.8.4C

CCSS.L.9-10.4C

Aside

• a parallel or smaller plot that coexists with the main action of the play

• a conversation between two or more characters

• when a character says something to the audience that isn't heard by the other characters

• the events in the play

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.4C

CCSS.L.6.4C

CCSS.L.7.4C

CCSS.L.8.4C

CCSS.L.9-10.4C

Chorus

• a group of characters who act like narrators and comment on the action without participating

• a character's main drive or purpose

• the major division in a play; can be divided into scenes

• the invisible division between the characters and the audience

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.10

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10. RL.11-12.10

CCSS.RL.8.7

Comedy

• a secondary character whose situation parallels the main character

• a type of drama in which characters experience a reversal in fortune, usually for the worse

• a dramatic work in which the main theme is triumph over adverse circumstances

• hinting at what is to come- sometimes through an object that becomes important later in the play

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.4C

CCSS.L.6.4C

CCSS.L.7.4C

CCSS.L.8.4C

CCSS.L.9-10.4C

Dialogue

• the arrogant pride in a character that will ultimately lead to their downfall

• a conversation between two or more characters

• a character who undergoes little to no change

• an introductory speech that introduces background information or characters

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.4C

CCSS.L.6.4C

CCSS.L.7.4C

CCSS.L.8.4C

CCSS.L.9-10.4C

Dynamic Character

• this person undergoes an important change or development during the play

• a type of drama in which characters experience a reversal in fortune, usually for the worse

• a hero's weakness, usually resulting in their demise

• a character's main drive or purpose

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.10

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10. RL.11-12.10

CCSS.RL.8.7

Foil

• the invisible division between the characters and the audience

• the playwright's instructions to the actors

• a secondary character whose situation parallels the main character

• line spoken by only one character

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.4C

CCSS.L.6.4C

CCSS.L.7.4C

CCSS.L.8.4C

CCSS.L.9-10.4C

Foreshadowing

• the arrogant pride in a character

• a subdivision of an act

• something that is said to the audience that isn't heard by the other characters

• hinting at what is to come- sometimes through an object that becomes important later in the play

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.5

Fourth Wall

• the invisible division between the characters and the audience

• a type of main character

• a group of characters who act like narrators

• the major division in a play

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.4C

CCSS.L.6.4C

CCSS.L.7.4C

CCSS.L.8.4C

CCSS.L.9-10.4C