Literary Terms Related to Drama and Theatre

 

Literary terms are common to most of the literary genres. However, there are some special literary terms unique to drama and theatre plays. Followings are some of the most frequently used literary terms ordered according to alphabet. Hope you find it useful.

 

Act: A major unit of a drama or play. Modern dramas generally have one, two, or three acts. Older dramas typically have five acts. Acts may be divided into one or more scenes.

Aside: in a play, a comment that a character makes to the audience that other characters onstage do not hear. The speaker turns to one side or away from the action on stage. Asides, which are rare in modern drama, reveal what a character is thinking or feeling.

Character: A person, an animal or a presence in a literary work. Character may be major or minor depending on their importance to the work. Characters can be described as flat or round. A flat character reveals only one personality trait, whereas a round character show varied and sometimes contradictory traits. Characters can also be classified as static or dynamic. A static character remains the same throughout the story. A dynamic character changes.

Characterization: The methods an author uses to develop the personality of a character. With direct characterization, the author makes direct statements about a character’s personality, simply stating that a character is. Indirect characterization requires that the reader draw their own conclusions about a character based on the act.

Climax: The point of greatest interest or emotional intensity in a literary work. Also called the turning point, the climax usually comes near the end of a story or drama.

Dramatic Structure: The way information is presented in a play. Common elements in dramatic structure are exposition, or revelation of important background information; rising action, which adds complications to the plot; climax, the moment of greatest emotional intensity or suspense; falling actin, which unravels the complications; and resolution, which resolves them or brings the to a close.

Farce: A type of comedy with stereotyped characters in ridiculous situations. Anton Chekhov often wrote farces.

Flashback: An interruption in the chronological order of a narrative to relate a scene from an earlier time. An author may use this device to give the reader background information or to create tension or contrast.

Foreshadowing: The use of clues by the author to prepare readers for events that will happen later in a story. Foreshadowing helps build suspense and draws the reader into the plot.

Hero: The chief character in a literary work, typically one whose qualities or deeds arouse admiration. Although the word hero is applied only to males in traditional usage, heroine being the term used for females.

Irony: A contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality, or between what is expected and what actually happens. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that a character does not know.

Juxtaposition: The placement of two or more distinct things side by side in order to contrast or compare them.

Monologue: A long speech or written expression of thoughts by a character in a literary work.

Plot: The sequence of events in a narrative work. Most plots develop around a conflict, a struggle between opposing forces. Exposition introduces the story’s characters, setting and conflict. Rising action develops the conflict with complications. The climax is the emotional high point of the story. Falling action shows what happens after the climax. The resolution shows how the conflict is solved.

Soliloquy: In drama, a long speech by a character who is alone on the stage. A soliloquy reveals the private thought and emotions of that character.

Stage directions: Notes in the text of a play that describe the appearance and movements of the characters, as well as the sets, costumes and lighting. Stage directions serve primarily as instructions for the cast and crew of a theatrical production, but they also help readers imagine the action of the play.

Stock character: A Character who represents a type that is recognizable as belonging to a particular genre. For example, cruel stepmothers or charming princes are often found in fairy tales. Valiant knights and heroes are found in legends and myths.

Surprise ending: An unexpected plot twist at the end of a story. The ending might surprise readers because the author provides ambiguous clues or withholds important information. A surprise ending is most effective when it adds to the meaning of a story rather than merely overturns reader’s expectation.

Theater of the Absurd: Drama that does not tell a story but instead presents a series of scenes in which the characters, confused and anxious, seem to exist in meaningless world. The movement, spearheaded by Samuel Beckett, flourished in the 1950s and 1960s.

Tragedy: A play in which the main character, or tragic hero, is brought to ruin or suffers a great sorrow as a result of a fatal character flaw, errors in judgement or forces beyond human control, such as fate. Traditionally, the tragic hero is a person of high rank who out of an exaggerated sense of power and pride, violates a human, natural, or divine law. By breaking the law, the hero poses a threat to society and causes the suffering or death of family members, friends, and associates. In the last act of a traditional Greek tragedy, these wrongs are set right when the tragic hero is punished or dies and order is restored. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, the purpose of tragedy is to arouse pity and fear in the audience as the tragic hero’s terrible fate unfolds.

Trickster figures: Characters that represent that part of human nature that wants to break rules and cause trouble. Tricksters try to outwit people, animals and even gods. Although they are generally self-centered, we may admire them for their cunning and ability to overcome obstacles Trickster figures are most commonly depicted in animal form. Almost every folklore tradition has its own trickster figures.

 

There are more terms related to drama and theatre. Can you share them in our comment section. Please share the post if you find it useful to a dramatist you know.

 

Source: R1, Literary Terms Handbook, Glencoe’s World Literature.