ABOUTREADCHAT ARTICLES ABOUTREADCHAT ARTICLES Terms used in Drama
1. Terms used in drama are elements associated with drama and they are:
Foreshadow; this is an element which the writer uses to create suspense for the reader or audience.
Foreshadow provides a hint or idea about an action which will take place in the next episode.
Flashback; this is the recalling of an event that has happened to the point which the work opened. It provides or presents past events as they affect the present.
Costumes; these are the clothes that are wore by the characters during performance.
Chorus; this is a group of people who comment on the actions of the play. They provide more information to the audience.
Climax; this is the highest point of the tension built up in a play as a result of suspense.
Denouncement is the turning point in the course of events in the play in relation to the protagonist the action in the play ends either successfully or failure to him/her.
Epilogue; in a drama epilogue is the closing comment made by the playwright.
Prologue; this is the introduction or an exposition to a major work of art.
Monologue; it is a long speech by one actor. It is when a character speaks all by himself and some of his words are directed to someone who is absent. Here the actor acts alone and he is alone.
Dramatic irony; it is an element in drama that gives the spectator or audience an item of information that at least one of the characters in the drama does not know, thus the audience is a step ahead of one of the characters. In dramatic irony; there are three stages which are the installation (preparation) stage, exploitation (suspension) stage and resolution (resolution) stage. Tragi play often contain dramatic irony.
Aside; serves the same purpose as soliloquy but here the character moves away from other characters to say something aloud, especially his thoughts directly to the audience without other characters hearing him/her.
Prompter; a prompter is a person who reminds the actors or actresses lines they might have forgotten. He helps the character to remember what to say or the next action to be taken that he might have forgotten.
Professional Terms in Drama (conts).
Acts and Scenes; this is the division of a play. The acts are the main division while the scenes are the sub division.
Audition; this is the process of selecting an actor or actress to play a specific role in a drama or play.
Producer; this is the professional name for the person who specialises in financing and organising the performance of play.
Projection is the opposite of flashback; the play-wright goes into the future in order to make us see the consequences of current actions.
Tragic Hero; a protagonist that ends in a miserable way, he has conflict with situation, forces and people around him. His downfall brings about sorrow for others.
Dress Rehearsal; it is used to describe the last performance of a play before its official public performance.
Peripatetic; is a sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances of a major character and the beginning of such a character's tragic fall.
Props; these are the lightings, gadgets, scene devices, colouring items in a dramaJester is a person in a comedy that arts in a funny way, he amuses the audience.
Humour; it means something that causes laughter, amusement and fun. Its aim is to remove tension in a play that has suspense.
Themes; is the central topic or idea in a drama. It is what the writer wants to know about the idea behind his writing.Subject matter; this is the story as told by the playwright to pass its message (theme) across to the reader/audience.
Pathos; this is an element that arouses sympathy, pity, pain and sorrow in a character. It is common with tragedy.
Stage; is a place where drama (play) is performed.
Terms used in Drama continue.
We shall continue from where we stopped from the terms or elements used in drama.
Hubris; this is the moment of recognition of truth when ignorance gives way to knowledge in a character.
Hamartia; it is the moral flaw or weakness that leads to the downfall of a major character in drama. It is similar to a tragic flaw.Comic Hero; it is a character that makes one laugh. The character’s problems are always resolved at the end of the play.
Clown; they entertain the audience by making them laugh. They are also known as dramatic fools or jesters.
Deus ex machina; it is a person or character that came to save a situation.
Backdrop; is a decorated cloth hung at the background or stage during performance
Backdrop setting; this is the setting or location or the mural scene behind the set of a play that sets the imaginary location for the scene.
Setting; is the time and geographic location within a narrative either nonfiction or fiction.
Unity of time, place and action; this is limiting the place, time, and action of a play to a single spot and a single action over a period of time.
Tone; tone is the attitude or approach that the author takes towards the main theme of drama or any literary work, it may be that of humour, distant, intimate, ironic.
Genres of Literature (II)
Prose
A chart of narrative persons
1. First Person: this takes the pronounce I, me, myThe Protagonist
2. The second character: this is someone close to the main hero. It takes the pronoun; you, your
Third person; He know all
Takes the pronounce He, she, they
a. The third person Omniscient
b. The third person limited
3. The Detached observer: is a narrator that does not say his own opinion. He does not use any pronouns.
4. The Commentator; this type never physically enters the story but add his own
5. The Interviewer; he collected the details of the story after it happens by interviewing the characters.
6. The Secret Character: a narrator that presents to remove himself from prose.
7. The Unreliable Narrator; he is usually first person, but occasionally third, he has a flaw point of view.
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