Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Literary Terms- Drama

Elements of Drama
1)      Act – a major division in a play.
2)      Scene – a dramatic sequence that takes place within a single locale (or setting) on stage. Scenes often serve as a subdivision of an act with a play.
3)      Exposition – the first stage of a fictional or dramatic plot, where necessary background information is provided.
4)      Conflict- a struggle between opposing forces in a story or play, usually resolved by the end of the work.
5)      Complication- an intensification of the conflict in a story or play. Complication builds up, accumulates and develops the primary or central conflict in a literary work.
6)      Climax – the turning point of the action in the plot of a play or story. The climax represents the point of greatest tension in the work.
7)      Denouement – the resolution of the plot of a literary work.
8)      Peripeteia- the sudden reversal of fortune in a story, play or any narrative in which there is a observable change in direction.
9)      Characterization- the means by which writers present and reveal character.
10)  Protagonist - the main character of literary work.
11)  Antagonist – a character of force against which another character struggles.
12)  Main plot – the pattern of events or main story in a narrative or drama.
13)  Subplot – a subsidiary or subordinate or parallel plot in a play or story that coexist with the main plot.

Forms of Drama               
1)      Comedy – a type of drama in which the characters experience reversals of fortune, usually for the better. In comedy, things work out happily in the end.
2)      History – is a type of drama in which characters take part in, influence, or witness real historical events and interact with historical figures from the past.
3)      Tragedy- a type of drama in which the characters experience reversals of fortune, usually for the worse. In tragedy suffering and catastrophe await many of the characters, especially the hero.
4)      Romance – is the kind of drama whose aim is to present a tale or history in scenes, and whose plays are stories told in dialogue by actors on the stage.
5)      Tragi-comedy-  is fictional work that blends aspects of tragedy and comedy. It referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.
6)      Theatre of the absurd- is a theatrical style originations in France. It relies heavily on philosophy and is a category for plays
7)      Satire- a literary work the criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities and follies.
8)      Farce – farce is a sub0 category of comedy, characterized by greatly exaggerated characters and situations. Characters tend to be one- dimensional and often follow stereotypical behaviour. Farces typically involve mistaken identities, lots of physical comedy and outrageous plot twists.
9)      Modern drama- is the western development of drama begining in the 19th century
10)   Melodrama- melodrama is another type of exaggerated drama. As in farce, the characters tend to be simplified and one dimensional. The storyline of the classic melodrama typically involves a villain, a heroine, and a hero who must rescue the heroine from the villain.

Features of drama
1.      Monologue – a form of dramatic entertainment, comedic solo, or the like by a single speaker.
2.      Dialogue - The conversation between characters in a novel, drama etc.
3.      Soliloquy- an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of out oblivious to any hearers present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character’s innermost thoughts).
4.      Aside- on or to one side- a part of an actor’s lines supposedly not heard by others on the stage and intended only for the audience.
5.      Set- the time, place and circumstances in which a narrative, drama, or film takes place.
6.      Stage directions – an instruction to an actor or director, written into the script of play.
7.      Chorus-a group of characters who comment on the action of a play without participation in the play.
8.      Dramatic Unities- the three unites of time, place, and action observed in classical drama .
9.      Disguise- to modify the manner or appearance of in order to prevent recognition.

Literary Devices
1.      Imagery- the formation of mental images, figures or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively.
2.      Motif- any recurring element in a story that has symbolic significance.
3.      Symbolism- the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character.
4.      Dramatic Irony- dramatic irony is when the words and actions of the characters of a work of literature have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters.
5.      Tragic irony- the use of dramatic irony in a tragedy, so that the audience is aware that a character’s words or actions will bring about a tragic or fatal result, while the character himself is not.
6.      Juxtaposition- is the placement of two things (usually abstract concepts, though it can refer to physical objects) near each other.

Literary Context
1.      Social- is the indirect and direct influence individuals are in constant communication and within involvement of by means as role player or participants; the environment of people that surrounds something’s creation or intended audience, reflects how the people around something use and interpret it, and influences how something is viewed.
2.      Historical- refers to the moods, attitudes and conditions that existed in a certain time; historical context is the political, social, cultural, and economic setting for a particular idea or event.
3.      Political- refers to the disposition of decision- makers surrounding an event or idea.
4.      Religious-is the setting of a divine background of particular scene in the play/novel.
5.      Ethnic- is the ethical background of the characters in the play
6.      Moral- is the philosophical quality of the story.
7.      Intellectual-adds educational background to the protagonist in the play
8.      Cultural- the layers of cultures that influence our communication in any given interaction; this refers to thoughts, opinions and feelings that result from experiences.

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