| Act | One of the major divisions of a play or opera |
| Allusion | A reference in one work of literature to a person, place or event in another work of literature or in history, art or music |
| Anachronism | One that is out of its proper or chronological order, especially a person or practice that belongs in a earlier time |
| Anagnorisis | Recognition or discovery on part of a tragic hero; the change from ignorance to knowledge |
| Analogy | An extended comparison showing the similiarties between two things |
| Aside | Words spoken by a character in play, usually in an undertone and not intended |
| Catharsis | Purging of emotions that leaves the viewer both relieved and elated |
| Characterization | The personality a character displays; also by which the author reveals that personality |
| Comic Relief | A humorous or farcical (absurd) interlude in a serious literary work or drama, especially a tragedy intended to relieve the dramatic tension |
| Concealment | When a character appears on stage but the other characters are unaware of his or her stage presence |
| Conflict | A struggle between two opposing forces (internal or external) |
| Couplet | Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme |
| Drama | A prose or verse composition, especially one telling a serious story |
| Dramatic Conventions | Techniques used to give the audience more information (concealment, aside, soliloquy) |
| Foil | A character who sets off another character by contrast (the characters are opposite of one another) |
| Foreshadowing | The hints or clues to suggest action that is to come |
| Hamartia | A tragic flaw; error in judgment; character weakness that brings down the tragic hero |
| Hubris | Arrogance; excessive pride |
| Iambic Meter | Unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (Marked by the symbols È and / ) |
| Imagery | Language that appeals to the five senses or creates pictures in one’s mind |
| Irony | Portrays the difference between appearance and reality |
| Metaphor | The comparison of two unlike things (does not use like or as) |
| Monologue | A long, uninterrupted speech presented in front of other characters |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines apparently contradictory terms |
| Personification | An animal, object, natural force or idea is given a personality and described as a human |
| Prose | Ordinary speech or writing without metrical structure |
| Prologue | An introduction, especially a poem to introduce a play |
| Pun | A humorous use of a word or phrase to suggest more meaning at the same time |
| Satire | Irony, sarcasm or wit used to attack mistakes or stupidity |
| Scene | A subdivision of an act in a dramatic presentation in which the setting is fixed but time continues |
| Simile | A comparison made between two dissimilar things using the words like or as |
| Sonnet | A fourteen line lyric poem, usually written in iambic pentameter that has one of several rhyme schemes |
| Soliloquy | When a character speaks to himself and reveals his or her thoughts without addressing the listener |
| Tragedy | A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow |
| Tragic Hero | A character whose downfall is brought about by an error in judgment |
Romeo and Juliet Dramatic Terms
August 7, 2019