Elements of Drama

Front

a person who writes plays

Back

playwright

Front

A group of scenes that divides the play, opera, or other drama into important parts of the story (hint: there can be 1-5 of these)

Back

act

Front

a division of an act presenting continuous action in one place, a single situation, or unit of dialogue

Back

scene

Front

A dramatic convention in which a speech is given by a single character, either alone or to others.

Back

monologue

Front

A dramatic convention in which a speech is given by a character while or as if alone; literally, "talking to oneself."

Back

soliloquy

Front

A playwright’s descriptive comments that provide information about characters’ dialogue, setting, and actions.

Back

stage directions

Front

The line spoken between characters in a play in order to establish plot, characters, and other elements.

Back

dialogue

Front

A dramatic device in which a character says or does something that they do not fully grasp but is understood by the audience.

Back

dramatic irony

Front

A literary technique for implying, through plot or character, that the actual situation is quite different from the one presented.

Back

situational irony

Front

An idea that recurs in a work of art or literature

Back

theme