Dramatic Terms
Parts of the script that give the actor/reader information about the characters’ emotions and actions
What are stage directions?
“Smoke lowering down from chimney pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snow-flakes-gone into mourning” (Dickens, 1)
What is an example of simile?
Used to grab the reader’s attention at the beginning of a literary work
What is a hook?
A comparison of two unlike things not using “like” or “as”
Usually in the form of a S-LV-N sentence pattern
What is a metaphor?
The main character of the story; most affected by what happens in the story
What is a protagonist?
The words spoken by characters in a piece of literature
What is dialogue?
The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action
What is foreshadowing?
The sentences that bring a speech, essay, report, or book to a satisfying and logical end
What is a conclusion?
“Hey! diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.” (Mother Goose)
What is an example of personification?
The struggles between the protagonist and some other force; internal or external
What is conflict?
A character who provides a striking contrast to another character
What is a foil character?
“A tureen of fruit sits in ice to keep it chilled. The basket of rolls they set before me would keep my family going for a week. There’s an elegant glass of orange juice.” (Collins, 55)
What is an example of imagery?
The sentence in an essay that contains the controlling idea
What is a thesis statement?
When the author refers back in time to explain something that is happening now
What is flashback?
The perspective that a story is told in
What is the point of view?
When the reader is aware of more information about the characters or events than the characters in the story
What is dramatic irony?
The use of any object, person, place, or action that not only has a meaning in itself, but also stands for something larger than itself
What is symbolism?
Intended readers of a particular piece of literature
What is an audience?
“Miss Maudie hated her house: time spent indoors was time wasted. She was a widow, a chameleon lady who worked in her flower beds in an old straw hat and men's coveralls…” (Lee, 71)
What is an example of characterization?
The solution to the conflict that brings the story to a close
What is resolution?
A speech in which a character speaks his thoughts aloud while alone on stage
What is soliloquy?
“But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow, this ground—The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract.” -Abraham Lincoln
What is an example of the use of diction?
The writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character, or audience
It is conveyed through the author’s choice of words and details
What is tone?
A central message or insight into life which is revealed through the literary work;
the life lesson
What is theme?
The events at the beginning of the story; gives background information about the setting, situation, and characters
What is exposition?