Act | A subdivision of a play |
Scene | A subdivision of an act of a play |
Allusion | a figure of speech that makes a reference or representation of or to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art. |
Antagonist | The principal character in opposition to the protagonist or hero of a narrative or drama. |
aside | a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage |
Assonance | the repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words |
Atmosphere | a particular environment or surrounding influence |
conflict | opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot) |
connotation | an idea that is implied or suggested |
consonance | the repetition of consonants (or consonant patterns) especially at the ends of words |
denotation | the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression |
dialogue | a literary composition in the form of a conversation between two people |
diction | A writer’s choice or words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning. |
epiphany | a sudden realization; the “ah-ha!” moment |
Flat | Character NOT given depth. |
round | Character given depth |
foil | a character who acts as a contrasts to another character |
foreshadowing | hints to what will happen later in the plot |
grave trap | a trapdoor located at the front/center of a stage |
groundlings | playgoers who stood in the pit |
imagery | words or phrases that creates a picture or image in the mind or appeal to the senses of the reader |
irony | the use of words to create a meaning opposite to the literal meaning |
lazzi | short comedic scene-either seperate from or a part of a longer performance. It generally involves the Zanni and is often used to refocus the audience. |
metaphor | comparing two things using is or was |
simile | comparing two things using like or as |
monologue | a speech made by a single actor |
mood | emotional atmosphere of the story |
personification | the act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas |
playwright | person who writes plays |
plot | chain of events that creates the story |
props | movable objects used on the set of a play |
protagonist | the hero. the main character |
script | a written version of a play or other dramatic composition |
set | the background on the stage |
setting | The time and place of a story |
soliloquy | a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections |
spectacle | an elaborate and remarkable display on a lavish scale |
stage | the platform that the actors act on |
stage direction | an instruction written as part of the script of a play |
suspense | excited anticipation of an approaching climax |
suspension of disbelief | a willingness to suspend one’s critical faculties and believe the unbelievable; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment |
symbol | something visible that by association or convention represents something else that is invisible |
tension | a balance between and interplay of opposing elements or tendencies (especially in art or literature) |
theme | a broad idea in a story, or a message or lesson conveyed by a work |
tiring house | dressing room, provided actors a variety of entries to the stage: windows, balconies, and two or more large doors. |
tone | the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author |
universality | literature that has meaning to people from different time periods |
Macbeth Literary Terms
August 6, 2019