Hamlet


Othello


Glossary of Dramatic Terms Exam Techniques


Glossary of Dramatic Terms


Antagonist: an important character, such as Iago, who provides the main opposition to the protagonist. Aside: when a character makes a remark that is only heard by the audience. Blank verse: unrhymed verse in iambic pentameter, relatively close to spoken English.


Catharsis: the release of emotion (often sorrow or pity) that the audience experiences at the end of a tragedy. Characterisation: how a playwright creates characters so as to attract or repel audience sympathy.


Conflict: involves tension or a struggle between two opposing forces. There is no drama without conflict. Conflict can be external (between characters) or internal (within a character’s mind) and is generally resolved by the end of the play.


Dramatic irony: when the audience knows something that some of the characters don’t. Foil: a contrasting character, such as Emilia, whose realism highlights Desdemona’s naivety. Imagery: figurative or literary language (e.g. comparisons) that creates pictures in the mind. Oxymoron: a figure of speech linking two contradictory ideas, e.g. ‘fair devil’. Pathos: a quality in a text that arouses feelings of pity or deep sorrow. Plot: the sequence of events that make up a storyline. Poetic justice: the idea that characters should get what they deserve, based on their behaviour. Protagonist: the central or main character in a story. Pun: word-play using ambiguity between words to create humour. Rhythm: a pattern of sounds created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables. Setting: when and where the story takes place.


Soliloquy: speech during which a character reveals his or her thoughts and feelings exclusively to the audience.


Suspense: the intense feeling an audience experiences while waiting for the outcome of certain dramatic events.


Symbol: an object that represents something else, e.g. Desdemona’s handkerchief becomes a symbol of infidelity. Tension: dramatic tension creates and maintains an audience’s involvement in the story. Theme: a central idea or issue explored in the play, e.g. deception in Othello.


Tragedy: a type of drama in which the characters experience a reversal of fortune, usually for the worse. In tragedy, suffering awaits many of the characters, especially the hero.


Tragic flaw: a weakness or limitation of character that results in the fall of the tragic hero, e.g. Othello’s jealousy and too trusting nature.


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