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| According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, a sequence of events linked by cause and effect, with a beginning, middle, and end. Said by ARistotle to be the best way to unify a play. More generally, the central, unifying conflict and movement through a drama. |
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| Opponent of the protagonist in a drama. |
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| In ancient Greek drama, a group of performers who sang and danced, sometimes participating in the action but usually simply commenting on it. In modern times, performers in a musical play who sing and dance as a group. |
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| Also referred to as intensive structure. Dramatic structure in which there are few scenes, a short time passes, there are few locales, and the action beings chronologically close to the climax. |
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| Often defined as the high point in the action or the final and most significant crisis in the action. |
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| Form of comic theatre, originating in sixteenth-century ITaly, in which dialogue was improvised around a loose scenario calling for a set of stock characters. |
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| Introduction, in a play, of a new force that creates a new balance of power and entails a delay in reaching the climax. |
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| Tension between two or more characters that leads to crisis or a climax; a fundamental struggle or imbalance--involving ideologies, actions, personalities, etc.--underlying a play. |
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| Point within a play when the action reaches an important confrontation or takes a critical turn. In the tradition of the well-made play, a drama includes a series of crisis that lead to the final crisis, known as the climax. |
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| Literally, "god from a machine," a resolution device in classic Greek drama; hence, intervention of supernatural forces--usually at the last moment--to save the action from its logical conclusion. In modern drama, an arbitrary and coincidental solution. |
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| Conversation between characters in a play. |
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| Found in certain theatrical characters: one paramount trait or tendency that overshadows all others and appears to control the conduct of the characters. Examples could include greed, jealousy, anger, and self-importance. |
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| Also referred to as extensive structure. Dramatic structure in which there are many scenes, taking place over a considerable period of time in a number of locations. Many episodic plays also use such devises as subplots. |
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| Imparting of information necessary for an understanding of the story but not covered by the action onstage; events or knowledge from the past, or occurring outside the play, which must be introduced for the audience to understand the characters or plot. |
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| In a drama, those characters who have small, secondary, or supporting roles. The could include soldiers or servants. |
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| That which delays or prevents the achieving of a goal by a character. An obstacle creates complication and conflict. |
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| As distinct from story, the patterned arrangement in a drama of events and characters, with incidents selected and arranged for maximum dramatic impact. Also, in Elizabethan theaters, an outline of the play that was posted backstage for the actors. |
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| Principal character in a play, the one whom the drama is about. |
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| Representative Characters |
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| Characters in a play who embody characteristics that represent an entire group. |
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| Specifically ordered ceremonial event, often religious. |
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| Character who has one outstanding trait of human behavior to the exclusion of virtually all other attributes. These characters often seem like stereotypes and are most often used in comedy and melodrama. |
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| Secondary plot that reinforces or runs parallel to the major plot in an episodic play. |
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| Playwright; "365 Plays: a play for each day of the year" |
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| Tasks involved in Creating the Text |
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1. Selecting the specific subject of the play
2. Determining focus and emphasis
3. Establishing purpose
4. Developing dramatic structure
5. Creating dramatic characters
6. Establishing point of view |
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| Playwrights influenced by Asian Theater |
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| people or forces in conflict must be evenly matched |
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| theatre stressing gestures, body movements, and wordless sounds rather than logical or intelligible language |
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| scenarios developed by performers and directors |
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| "Miss Julie" in which a neurotic young woman from a well-to-do family is locked in a struggle of love and hate with a servant, Jean. |
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