Shakespearean Drama Terms Quizlet

In a play, a comment made by a character that is heard by the audience or another character but is not heard by other characters onstage. Asides usually reveal the private thoughts of an actor.

• Aside

• Direct

• Speech

• Monologue

Division or unit of drama that is divided by elements of plot.

• Episode

• Scene

• Chapter

• Act

When a character delivers a long speech to another character on stage.

• Filibuster

• Monologue

• Address

• Dialogue

A long speech delivered by a character who is alone on stage. Typically reveals the private thoughts and emotions of a character.

• Soliloquy

• Reminiscence

• Monologue

• Inauguration

A type of drama that deals with light and amusing subjects or with serious and profound subjects in a light, familiar, or satirical manner. They contain usually wit, humor, ridicule, and irony. They often poke fun at people's faults and limitations in order to teach a life lesson and involve the higher and lower classes looking down on each other, issues with mistaken identity, and generational conflicts.

• Comedy

• Sitcom

• Drama

• Tragedy

A play in which a main character, called a tragic hero, suffers a downfall. The downfall may result from outside forces, as in the case of Romeo and Juliet, who are doomed by the external workings of bigotry and fear. Or the downfall may result from a weakness within the character, which is known as the tragic flaw.

• Tragedy

• Divine Comedy

• David & Goliath

• Pity

Verse written in unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter, a rhythm pattern with five units or feet, each of which has an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

• Every other pentameter

• Blank verse

• Prose

• Shakespearean rhythm

A story written to be performed by actors in front of an audience.

• Play

• Drama

• Canto

• Story

A character who provides a strong contrast to another character and may emphasize another character's traits or make a character look better in comparison.

• Foil

• Twin

• Opposite

• Mirror

A Shakespearean sonnet at the beginning of an act of a play, which serves as the exposition and summary of the play.

• Preramble

• Dossier

• Prologue

• Context