Drama Key Terms

1. Drama is meant to be performed on stage. It is written in dialogue & stage directions.

2. Dialogue- conversation between characters

3. Theme- moral or what is meant to be learned

4. Plot- events; exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution

5. Tragedy- serious, characters are worse off at the end

6. Comedy- light-hearted, characters are better off at the end

7. Monologue- one character gives a speech while others listen on stage

8. Soliloquy- one character alone on stage gives a speech

9. Aside- one character “whispers” to the audience or other character

10. Setting- time and place

11. Foil- characters that are opposites

12. Elizabethan England- when the play was written

13. Stage directions- tells the actors what to do

14. Romeo and Juliet is written in five acts with each act having separate scenes

15. Allusion- to refer or mention something from the Bible, literature, or pop culture

16. Adaptation- to change from one genre to another

17. Universal Theme- a theme that appears in several literary works

18. tragic flaw- Character weakness that leads to his/her downfall. Impulsiveness for Romeo and Juliet

19. Fate- controls destiny

20. Situational irony- opposite of what is thought to happen happens

Dramatic irony- audience knows, characters do not

Verbal irony- sarcasm