Dramatic Techniques in Shakespeare theatre or plays PDF

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Summary

For A level English literature exam, a list of dramatic techniques to identify in the exam, listed with a key definition/explanation of each term....

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Dramatic Techniques: Asides: When a character temporarily turns away from another character and speaks directly to the audience. Bathos: An effect of anti-climax created by an unintentional lapse in mood. Climax: The turning point of the action, representing the points of greatest tension in the work. Comedy: A type of drama in which the characters experience reversals of fortune, usually for the better. In comedy, things work out happily in the end. Comic drama may be either romantic or satiric. Deus ex machina: A god who resolves the entanglements of a play by supernatural intervention. The Latin phrase means, literally, "a god from the machine." The phrase refers to the use of artificial means to resolve the plot of a play. Dramatic Irony: This is when the audience knows something that the characters on stage don't - perhaps it might be a detail that we have seen in another scene or something that we know not to be the case Exposition: The first stage of a fictional or dramatic plot, in which necessary background information is provided. Falling action: In the plot of a story or play, the action following the climax of the work that moves it towards its denouement or resolution. Foreshadowing: Hints of what is to come in the action of a play or a story. Ibsen's A Doll's House includes foreshadowing as does Synge's Riders to the Sea. So, too, do Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" and Chopin's "Story of an Hour." Figurative Language: Language enriched by figures of speech such as a Metaphor. Fourth wall: The imaginary wall of the box theatre setting, supposedly removed to allow the audience to see the action. Hubris: (Greek) The overwhelming pride that is the cause of the fall of the tragic hero. Irony: A contrast or discrepancy between what is said and what is meant or between what happens and what is expected to happen. Motif: recurring element that has significant meaning. Morality Play: Play with an aim to educate the audience Morally. Microcosm: A small representation of a whole. For example, in Boom you could argue that Mother is representative of a whole generation of older Singaporeans, Boon is representative of a whole generation of young Singaporeans, Jeremiah represents civil servants and the whole play Boom is a microcosm of Singaporean society as a whole. Pathos: A quality of a play's action that stimulates the audience to feel pity for a character. Prose & verse: Status of a character or the mood of the scene by whether it is written as poetry or in everyday speech.

Satire: A literary work that criticizes human misconduct often a 'play' on a popular trend showing how ridiculous it is. Soliloquy: A speech in a play that is meant to be heard by the audience but not by other characters on the stage. If there are no other characters present, the soliloquy represents the character thinking aloud. Symbolism: Object is used to represent something else, e.g. a broken vase may symbolize a broken relationship. Tableau Vivant: a living picture- motionless actors representing a dramatic event. Tone: The implied attitude of a writer toward the subject and characters of a work. Tragic flaw: A weakness or limitation of character, resulting in the fall Tragic hero(ine):A privileged, exalted character of high repute, who, by virtue of a tragic flaw and fate, suffers a fall from glory into suffering...