Elements of Drama
Act: A division within a play, much like chapters of a novel
Aside: Lines that spoken by a character directly to the
audience
Cast of Characters: A
list of characters presented before the action begins.
Chorus: A person or
group of people who act as a narrator, commentator, or general audience to the
action of the play.
Comedy: A humorous work of drama
Dialogue: Conversation between two or more characters
Drama: A work of literature designed to be performed in
front of an audience.
Foil: A character who is nearly opposite of another
character; the purpose is to reveal a stark contrast between the two characters,
often the protagonist and antagonist
Monologue: A long speech spoken by a character to himself,
another character, or to the audience
Scene: A division of an act into smaller parts
Soliloquy: Thoughts spoken aloud by a character when he/she
is alone, or thinks he/she is alone
Stage Directions: Italicized comments that identify parts of
the setting or the use of props or costumes, give further information about a
character, or provide background information; in Shakespeare’s plays, they can
also appear in brackets, parenthesis, and/or half-brackets.
Tragedy: A serious work of drama in which the hero suffers catastrophe
or serious misfortune, usually because of his own actions
Tragic Hero: A protagonist with a fatal flaw which
eventually leads to his demise
Genre Connections
Nonfiction: Writing that is true, factual, informative, or
persuasive
Fiction: Most stories fall into this genre, which means that
the text is made up or a product of the imagination
Drama: The two subgenres of this main genre include tragedies
and comedies
Folklore: Authors of stories in this genre are often
retelling the story. It may say ‘adapted
by’, ‘retold by’, or the author may be ‘unknown’
Fable: Very short stories with talking animals and a moral
Tall Tale: Stories that usually take place in the Wild West;
the main character’s strength, skills, or size are greatly exaggerated in a
humorous way
Fairy Tale: Stories with magic and/or talking animals,
usually have a human main character and start with “once upon a time”
Myth: Stories with gods and/or goddesses that usually
account for the creation of something
Science Fiction: Stories with aliens, advanced technology,
or futuristic weaponry
Historical Fiction: Fictional stories based on or around
important people or events from the past
Realistic Fiction: Stories that could actually happen but
didn’t
Fantasy: Stories with magic, monsters, superpowers, or other
things that do not exist in reality
Works Cited
Works cited is an alphabetized list of the resources you
used for a project
Works cited appear on a separate page at the end of your
project
Works cited is always double spaced
Works cited always has a hanging indent if more than one
line
Works cited is always in alphabetical order based on the
first word of the citation
Works cited are alphabetized by author’s last name, then
first (if an author)
Never number a works cited page
Books, magazines, newspapers, films, and television programs
are always italicized when typed
Titles of articles, essays, stories, web pages, and
television episodes are put in quotation marks
Literary Terms
Conflict: A struggle or problem in the story for the main
character
Protagonist: The main character
Foreshadowing: A prediction or hint of what will happen
Personification: Giving non-human objects human
characteristics
Alliteration: “Bob built a brilliant boat”
Onomatopoeia: BAM
Dialogue: When characters speak
Setting: When, where, and the time a story takes place
Plot: The sequence of events in a story
Simile: “Life is like a box of chocolates”
Final Exam Review
Elements of Drama
(14)
Define: Act,
aside, cast of characters, chorus, comedy, dialogue, drama, foil, monologue,
scene, soliloquy, stage directions, tragedy, tragic hero
Read a script and
answer the questions (11)
Genre Connections (25)
Define:
Nonfiction, fiction, drama, poetry, folklore, fable, tall tale, fairy tale,
myth, legend, science fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, realistic
fiction, fantasy
Works Cited (10)
Literary Terms (10)
Define: conflict,
protagonist, foreshadowing, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
dialogue, setting, plot, metaphor
Reading and revising
sentences (2)
Read and analyze a
piece of drama questions (6)
**Vocabulary (22) These are the only words on your note cards, or you get a zero.
Define: epitome, scintillate, fastidious,
necromancy, harlequin, savant, aggrandize, bombast, hallow, flaccid, jocular,
regale, hiatus, coalesce, vociferous, platonic, apex, credulity, augur,
acerbic, clandestine, vignette
Total 100 multiple
choice questions
