Drama Literary Terms
Terms
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- Drama based on stories from the Bible
- MYSTERY PLAYS
- Comparison of two unlike things, without the use of like or as
- METAPHOR
- A short amusing piece which comes between the acts of a play
- INTERLUDE
- Members of the audience ho stood in the pit
- GROUNDLINGS
- Name given to the period when Queen Elizabeth ruled England (1558-1603) and to the people who lived then
- ELIZABETHAN
- A lighthearted amusing play; typically has a happy ending
- COMEDY
- One of the persons (or animals) in a piece of literature
- CHARACTER
- A line spoken by a character on stage for the audience to hear
- ASIDE
- A stage that juts forward with the audience on three of its four sides
- APRON STAGE
- The large divisions in a play; between these divisions, the curtain will often be closed and the sets and scenery changed
- ACT
- Giving human characteristics to non-human things
- PERSONIFICATION
- The clothing, often specific to a time period and/or place which is worn by the actors on stage as they portray characters
- WARDROBE or COSTUMES
- A person who is the author of a play
- PLAYWRIGHT
- Person, place, thing, etc. that stands for something outside of itself (usually abstract)
- SYMBOL
- Rebirth in the 15th or 16th centuries marked by a great revival in both art and science
- RENAISSANCE
- The notes for characters and director that help them kno how a play is to be performed. They might include how a character is feeling, or where he/she should be standing/moving on stage.
- STAGE DIRECTIONS
- The smaller divisions in a play, usually occurring when there is a change in the topic
- SCENE
- Extreme hysterical form of comedy in which the actors do silly things like slip on banana skins
- SLAPSTICK
- Time and place of a piece of literature
- SETTING
- The written text of a play
- SCRIPT
- Ground floor of a theater
- PIT
- A sarcastic or humorous way of making fun of something in an attempt to bring about change
- SATIRE
- A long speech to the audience in which a character reveals his/her thoughts
- SOLILOQUY
- Group of actors ho toured around the country giving performances in each village town they went through
- STROLLING PLAYERS
- The small, moveable objects on the set of a play used by characters to help the story come alive for the audience
- PROPS
- Compariso of two unlike things using like or as
- SIMILE
- The physical setting for a play which includes the stage, backdrops, props, curtain, lighting, etc.
- SET
- A character speaking to a person or abstract idea even though the personor idea isn't or can't be present
- APOSTROPHE
- Drama based on the lives of saints
- MIRACLE PLAYS
- Young boys who are learning a trade
- APPRENTICE
- An exaggerated theatrical pay in which action and plot are more important than characterization
- MELODRAMA
- Language that appeals to the reader's senses
- IMAGERY
- Poetry that does not rhyme
- BLANK VERSE
- A work of literature that is universally recognized for its outstanding and lasting qualities
- CLASSIC
- A story with a script that is meant to be performed
- DRAMA
- A light, dramatic piece of literature known for its unbelievable plot and mocking comedy
- FARCE