Text Formatting
Theatrical Text Vocab
Contradicting Devices
Emotional Connection
Comparisons
100

A division or unit of a literary work; major sections- typically for plays

Act

100

A distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition.

MOTIF

100

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word.

PUN

100

The turning point of the play; where the tragic hero reaches the point of no return.

CLIMAX

100

Making a comparison without the use of like or as

METAPHOR

200

The act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself, regardless of any hearers.

SOLILOQUY

200

Irony that can be seen by the audience of a play but not grasped by the characters on stage.

DRAMATIC IRONY

200

A figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear back-to-back. A typically a 2-word phrase.

OXYMORON

200

An emotional released usually caused by forms of art or writing. Often used in Dramas.

Catharsis

200

Reflecting human traits and feelings onto inanimate objects, nature, or animals 

PATHETIC FALLACY

300

Written or spoken language in its ordinary form; no metrical structure.

PROSE

300

Visually descriptive or figurative language usually found in literary works.

IMAGERY

300

When words express something contrary to the truth or says the opposite of what they really feel; often sarcastic.

VERBAL IRONY

300

An event causing great and often sudden damage or suffering; a disaster.

CATASTROPHE

300

The attribution of human qualities to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality

PERSONIFICATION

400

To show or indicate beforehand. When events in a play indirectly predict upcoming events.

FORESHADOWING

400

A play dealing with tragic events resulting in an unhappy ending; usually concerns the protagonist’s downfall.

TRAGEDY

400

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory but in reality expressed a possible truth

PARADOX

400

These are generally identifiable as plays full of fun, irony and dazzling wordplay. They also abound in disguises and mistaken identities, with very convoluted plots that are difficult to follow with very contrived endings.

Shakespearean Comedy

400

Making a comparison using like or as.

SIMILE

500

Two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme that forms a unit.

COUPLET

500

A remark by a character on stage that is intended to be heard by the audience but not the characters.

ASIDE

500

When two contrasting things are placed closed together to create a contrasting effect.

JUXSTAPOSITION

500

A quality or power that evokes a feeling of pity, or of sympathetic and kindly sorrow or compassion

PATHOS
500

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; a passing reference.

ALLUSION