Drama Terms
Romeo & Juliet
Act
A main division of a drama.
Shakespeare’s plays consist of
five acts with each act subdivided
into scenes.
Scene
• A small unit of a play in which there is
no shift of locale or time.
Chorus
Sets the scene, introducing the play or
act, and giving the audience
background or other information.
The chorus often appears as the
prologue.
Prologue
The introduction to a literary work. It often
sets the scene and gives background
information for the story.
Aside
A brief remark made by a character
and intended to be heard by the
audience but not by other characters.
Monologue
A speech in a play that is spoken in
the presence of other characters.
Soliloquy
• A speech given by a character alone on
the stage.
• The purpose of a soliloquy is to let the
audience know what the character is
thinking and feeling.
Tragedy
A drama of human conflict which ends
in defeat and suffering.
Often the main character has a tragic
flaw which leads to his or her
destruction.
Poetry
A heightened form of language
produced through rhythm and sound.
Prose
normal, everyday language and writing
Iambic Pentameter
Unstressed syllable followed by a
stressed syllable (iamb)
10 syllables total
Blank Verse
• Verse written in iambic pentameter
without end rhyme
Allusion
A reference to a literary or
historical person or event to
explain a present situation.
Pun
A play on words
Irony
A contrast between what is and what
appears to be.
Verbal Irony
Contrast in which a character says one
thing and means another.
Dramatic Irony
Contrast in which the audience knows what
the characters do not.
Paradox
A statement which seems to contradict
itself, but is at the same time logical.
Example: So foul and fair a day I have not
seen.” Macbeth
Foil
A character who contrasts with another character,
usually the protagonist, and in so doing, makes the
personality of the other stand out