What is Drama?

Plot – The Story of the play.

Dialogue – The spoken interactions between the characters

Idea – The central meaning of the play. The themes.

Music – The elements that deal with sounds.

Spectacle – The overall look of the play.

Character – Any person appearing in the play

Comedy- A dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.

Tragedy- A dramatic composition, dealing with a serious or somber theme

Pantomime- A type of musical comedy stage production, designed for family entertainment. Loosely based on well-known Fairy Tales.

Satire- Poking fun at social institutions or people in a clever and intelligent fashion. 

Allegory- A narrative in which the story represents a specific abstraction or idea.

Allusion- A reference to a person, place, idea, or event in history or literature.

Aside- A short speech made by a character to the audience that other characters cannot hear.

Denouement- (Pronounced Day-New-Maw) Literal translation- French word meaning to unknot. It is the final part of a play, movie, or televsion show, in which all strands of the plot are concluded. May include a resolution.

Exposition- A Literary Device used to introduce background information.

Foil- A Character who, through difference or similarity, brings out a particular aspect of another character.

Foreshadowing- Ominous hints of coming events to create suspense.

Irony- Contradictions that reveal a reality that differs from what appears to be true.

-Dramatic Irony- When a character believes in a different reality from the one the audience knows to be true.

-Situational Irony- When a character’s actions create a result that is the opposite from the character’s intentions.

Is it a comedy?

Is it a tragedy?

Is it a satire?

We shall soon see!