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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................1

Section 1- Forms of Drama..........................................................................................................................2

Section 2- Elements of Drama.....................................................................................................................5

Section 3- Features of Drama......................................................................................................................7

Section 4 – Literary devices/ dramatic techniques....................................................................................10

References.................................................................................................................................................12

Closure......................................................................................................................................................12

Introduction
This assignment serves as a glossary for drama and analyses its forms, elements, features and literary
devices. It contains four sections and its definitions are stated in point form. All of its citations and
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further references will be found in the reference section with all of its relevant information. I hope you
find this glossary neat and relevant.

Section 1- Forms of Drama

 Comedy

The priorities of comedy can be different based on who or when the question is asked. For example,

“This is a literary genre and a type of dramatic work that is amusing and satirical in its tone, mostly
having a cheerful ending.” [CITATION lit20 \l 1033 ] (www.literarydevices.net/comedy/)

So, the chief object of modern comedies is to amuse. Alternatively, the chief object of comedy in ancient
Greek theater was when dramas showed a struggle between societal norms and at the end, aims at
correcting the society, but a general, amalgamated definition of comedy is a literary genre in which a
story is told, and by using elements like dramatic irony, puns, comic timing, the stereotype, etc., the
playwright endears the characters, storyline, and the theme to the audience, whilst presenting humour
and entertainment.

 Tragedy

A tragedy is a type of drama that involves the downfall of a heroic figure in a very serious and sorrowful
manner. The tragedy usually starts with the hero at his prime but by events caused by either himself or
others.
Like comedy, tragedy has both modern and classical variations, including
many others like a Shakespearean tragedy (which is different from the classical tragedy in terms of a
subplot). Classical tragedy usually had royals in place of everyday folk, and unlike the
modern tragedy, its primary elements were: a hero/heroine, involvement with the gods, attempts at
overcoming fate, acknowledgment of error, and a period of suffering. The hero was someone to be
looked up to, which helped the audience feel the weight of the tragedy as unfortunate and unfair.
According to Aristotle, the purpose of the tragedy was

“to provoke pity and terror in the audience, leading to catharsis.” [CITATION the20 \l 1033 ]
(https://penandthepad.com/difference-between-classical-modern-tragedy-literature-12288215.html)

The plot of classical tragedies consisted of one great, completed action. According to the editors of
penandthepad.com:

“Classical tragedy is the imitation of a single action, in which a hero of high-status falls from fortune to
misfortune. The fall must occur because of a “tragic flaw,” [CITATION the20 \l 1033 ]
(https://penandthepad.com/difference-between-classical-modern-tragedy-literature-12288215.html)

The basis of modern tragedy is the common man and its conflicts are usually caused by flaws in either
the persona, the law, society, or all of the above. Unlike Classical tragedies’ proclivity to fate and divine
intervention, the focus is on characters you can relate to rather than revere. Modern tragedies may
have multiple plots and more than one central character. Its action could span many weeks, months or
years with the time differences managed by elements like the flashback, pauses, foreshadows, and
narrations. These differences make modern tragedy more realistic than classical tragedy.
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 Romance

Romance is a narrative genre in literature where its focus is different based on its type, but at its core, its
story is meant to evoke strong emotions in the audience. Romances usually include elements like a
sympathetic heroine, an irresistible hero, emotional tension, a believable plot, and a happy-ever-after-
ending.

Medieval romance involves a mysterious, adventurous, or spiritual storyline where the focus is a quest.
This quest is meant to exude bravery and strong values, not always a love interest. This is also referred
to as romance in its academic sense. Medieval romance comprised of fictional works, drawn from
history and folklore and told tales of knightly conquests and courtly love.

Modern or Contemporary romance is a more realistic romance. Its plot revolves around the love
between two protagonists and whether the end is happy or tragic, it explores an issue within love. Some
of these issues being: love at first sight, forbidden love, love triangles, and sacrificial love. There are also
different tones and sub-genres of romance:

1. Comedy-romance (rom-com)
2. Tragic-romance
3. Satire-romance
4. Serious-romance

 Satire

This is the art of discrediting someone or something by using humour, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. A
writer uses fictional characters, which symbolize real people to expose and condemn their stupidity and
shortcomings. Common literary devices used in satire

include allusion, hyperbole, oxymoron, irony, metaphor, parody, understatement and exaggeration. The
different types of satire include:

1. Horatian Satire

This was named after the Roman satirist Horace whose aim was to entertain using wry humour and
light-hearted mockery. This was the type of satire for writers whose aim was laughter. This satire
avoided negativity by refusing to place blame on others for any perceived qualms. Instead, it simply
made the reader perceive the writer as witty for ridiculing the peculiarities of human nature in a
humorous way.

2. Juvenalian Satire
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Named after the Roman satirist Juvenal, this is a formal satire that attacks vice and error with
indignation and contempt. Juvenalian satire therefore strongly contrasts Horatian satire because of its
strong tone of anger and its aim to attack its targets with abrasive ridicule. This ridicule is usually
transferred with stronger doses of irony and sarcasm.

3. Menippean Satire

This type of satire was named after the Greek philosopher Menippus. It deviates from societal norms
and ridicules individual character flaws or personality traits (such as mental attitudes). It is seen as a
slightly more complicated version of Horatian satire because it attacks a human fault instead of a
directly observable misdeed. Menippean satire is usually in prose and has length and structure similar to
a novel. Menippean satire is much less aggressive than Juvenalian satire but significantly more
judgmental than its Horatian cousin. In summary, Menippean satire targeted any attitude or viewpoint
that made someone worthy of derision or mockery.

 Tragi-comedy

Named by the Roman playwright Plautus, tragicomedy is a literary genre that contains
both tragedy and comedy. Mostly, the characters in tragicomedy are exaggerated, and sometimes there
might be a happy ending after a series of unfortunate events. It is incorporated with jokes throughout
the story, just to lighten the tone. The function of Tragicomedy is to describe the dual nature of reality,
where both can coexist simultaneously. Thus, interweaving both aspects and giving a comic and tragic
view of life. According to literarydevices.net:

“The blend of suffering, sorrows, humor, romance, forgiveness, and reunion in the play confirms its label
as a tragicomedy. There are different aspects of the tragicomedy in the play that include: tragic
elements, comic elements, romantic elements, and a happy ending.”[CITATION Tra20 \l 1033 ]
(https://literarydevices.net/tragicomedy/)
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Section 2- Elements of Drama

 Act

This is a group of scenes that form an important part of the story and are defined by elements on the
'Freytag Pyramid' such as rising action, climax, and resolution. Thus, a play has 5 acts. An example of an
act is in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' Act 1, where a ship had been shipwrecked by a tempest caused by
Prospero and had its passengers drifted to a magical island.

 Scene

A scene is a subdivision of an act, defined by a change in characters and shows in a single place at one
time an example of this is the scene where Miranda and Ferdinand were playing chess in ‘The Tempest’.

 Exposition

This is a literary device used to introduce background information about events, settings, characters or
other elements. It is used at the beginning of a story where the characters are introduced. An example
of this in The Tempest is in its first act, in which the playwright sets forth the problem and introduces
the main characters.

 Conflict

This is the struggle between characters in a story and is its driving force. Through the conflicts, the
story's morals, themes, and objectives are presented to the audience. An example in The Tempest is the
main conflict, between Prospero and Antonio.

 Complication

This is the catalyst that begins the major conflict. The climax is the point in the story that characters try
to resolve the complication. An example is when Prospero was banished from his kingdom by Antonio,
his brother, and Alonso, the king of Naples in ‘The Tempest, Act 1 scene 2.’ According to the Merriam
Webster dictionary, the complication is:

“A situation or a detail of character complicating the main thread of a plot”[CITATION Edi20 \l 1033 ]
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complication)

 Denouement

This is a literary device that is the resolution of an issue of a complicated plot in fiction. This is usually
seen after the climax. An example of this is the scene where Prospero releases Ariel in ‘The Tempest, Act
5’.

 Peripeteia

This is a literary device that represents a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances, situation or
fortune. An example of this would be the tempest summoned by Prospero in Act 1 of ‘The Tempest’.
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 Characterization

This is a literary device used to reveal details about a character in a story. There are two types:

Direct- This is when either the narrator or a character tells us about a character or subject.

Indirect- The audience has to discern an opinion of the character by observing him and looking at his
responses from others. An example of this in the tempest is how knowledge is a characterization tool,
usually being a representation of power or status.

 Character

This is a person or thing, involved in a story. An example of this is Prospero from ‘The Tempest’

 Protagonist

The protagonist is the main character of a story. This is the character in which the story revolves around
and who (from the viewer's point of view) the story affects most. Prospero is an example of this from
‘The Tempest’.

 Antagonist

This is the character, force or institution that opposes the protagonist. The antagonist is the driving force
behind the conflict of a story. An example is Antonio from The Tempest.

 Main plot

This is made up of the critical events that make up a story. It is what carries the story’s theme, motifs,
and information to the audience. The main plot of The Tempest is where Prospero's adversaries are
trapped on a magical island for him to enact his revenge and the love between Ferdinand and Miranda
acts as a denouement.

 Sub-plot

These are events that run parallel to the main plot and helps to complicate the main plot. It is commonly
known as a side story. Some examples of these are the scenes with Trinculo, Caliban, and Gonzalo in
'The Tempest.’
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Section 3- Features of Drama

 Monologue

This is an extended or lengthy speech by one character addressed to a second character. An example of
this is the monologue where Prospero tells Miranda about Antonio on the ship. (Act 1, Scene 2, ‘The
Tempest’)

 Dialogue

This is the exchange of spoken words between multiple characters to reveal information to the
audience. It is a conversation. An example of dialogue is Ariel discussing her freedom to Prospero in ‘The
Tempest’.

 Soliloquy

This is a type of monologue in which one character is alone and expressing their thoughts in a deep and
lengthy way so that the audience can know what he/she is feeling or thinking. This also creates dramatic
tension in the story. An example of this is in Act 5, Scene 1, ‘The Tempest’. This is where Prospero tells
the audience that he will discard his magic.

 Aside

This is a remark or line that is said out loud but other characters can’t hear it. It is to let the audience
know what the character is thinking. An example of this is in Act 1 scene 3, ‘The Tempest’. This is where
Prospero uses the aside “Poor worm, thou art infected.” To show that he had planned it.

 Set

This is the setting of a piece of literature or the time and place a story takes place. An example of this is
'Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930’s’ in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

 Stage directions

This is a part of a script that tells the actors how they are to move and speak their lines like the
playwright intended. An example of this is in ‘The Tempest’, Act 2, Scene 1. Where the script says “Enter
Ariel, invisible playing solemn music.”

 Stage conventions

Dramatic conventions are the specific techniques and actions the actor, writer or director has taken to
create a desired effect or style. These are a set of rules, which both the audience and actors are familiar
with that is a quick way of signifying the nature of an action or character. Some examples of these are:

a. Costume

This is the clothing and overall appearance of a character; it is a stage convention because
costume helps the audience quickly differentiate between common and specific characters
E.g. In 'The Tempest' Prospero's magic staff indicates he is a magic-user.
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b. Lighting

This is the distribution of light on a stage and is how it is lit. This is a stage convention because
focused lighting can add tension to a character and the overall scene and is a common
technique employed in drama. This is seen in the adaptation ‘The Tempest design project’
[ CITATION Kim13 \l 1033 ] at Steppenwolf Theatre, where it states that in Act 1, the lights
should die down as the storm picks up to indicate its darkness and tension.

c. Sound effects

These are the sounds or music played during a scene of a play. It is a stage convention because
it helps to forecast many feelings to the audience about that particular scene. An example is
how eerie music played in horror movies elicits a feeling of dramatic irony from the audience.
E.g. In 'The Tempest, Act 1' the sound of lightning and thunder in the tempest makes the
audience feel its terror and power.

d. Movement

This is the way a character moves in a play. It elicits feelings from the audience like sound
effects, but these feelings inform the audience about how that character is feeling. An
example of this is in Act 2, Scene 2 of ‘The Tempest’. Where Stephano is drunk and because of
this moves like a drunkard, indicating his drunkenness to the audience.

e. Stage position

This is where a character is located on the stage whilst saying their lines. It is a stage
convention because of its influence on the audience. A character’s position on stage expresses
certain aspects of that scene and that character's influence on that scene. This is seen in how
the center stage expresses strength and power, or when a character is standing above others.
An example of this is seen in ‘The Tempest’, Act 3, Scene 3 “Thunder and lightning. Enter Ariel,
like a harpy, claps his wings upon the table, and with a quaint device the banquet vanishes .”

f. Backdrop

This is the setting or location for a scene. It is a stage convention because it quickly informs
the audience of what kind of place the characters are currently in. The presentations of ‘The
Tempest’ show many examples of these. One of these examples is the tempest scene, the
backdrop would have darker colours to represent the surroundings and the terror of the sea.
This is seen in this enactment of ‘The Tempest’. This is seen in the adaptation by Director
Barrell:

“We wanted to create a simple, multi-location set that would seem to represent the elements,
the sky, and the sea - we chose a colour palette of blues, greys, and mauves for
this.”[ CITATION Bar18 \l 1033 ]

g. Props

A property (or prop) is an item used on stage to help enhance the performance. It is a stage
convention because it helps the scene feel more authentic and helps the actors play their role
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more realistically. It also aids the audience in the identification of character roles.
E.g. Prospero's books, magical cloak, and staff make him look more like a magic-user.

 Stage Action

Dramatic action is the action in a scene that presents a clear and significant meaning to the audience.
This term involves more than physical movement but involves the character's thoughts, motivations,
and deeds. Dramatic action is what a character does and why he does it.

“Running is action. It’s just not Dramatic Action. Dramatic action means there is plenty of conflict,
tension, suspense, uncertainty, fear in the scene = in other words, drama.” [CITATION Mar15 \l 1033 ]

 Chorus

This was a group of actors who described and commented upon the main action of a play with song,
dance, and recitation. The role of the chorus in a drama is much like the role of the narrator of a novel
or story. The chorus provides some structure to the narrative and can provide information and
commentary that need not be in the actors' lines. The chorus can also provide foreshadowing or humor.
In the tempest, the closest example of this is in Ariel, because of his frequent occurrence with music
used to relay information to the audience.

 Dramatic unities (time, place and, action)

These are the unities from Aristotle’s theory of the three unities of drama. Plays that subscribed to this
theory had a single action occurring in a single place within the course of one day. This theory was sub-
divided into the unity of action, the unity of place, and the unity of time respectfully. These were also
called the three neoclassical unities. Although Shakespeare's plays were frequently indifferent to them,
his last play 'The Tempest' adheres very closely to these unities.

The unity of time implied that the length of time taken by a play's action was less than one day which is
seen in ‘The Tempest’

The unity of place is mostly adhered to because, with the exception of the first scene, the play's action is
mostly confined to the island.

The unity of action prescribed that a play which adhered to the classical unities should have only
one plot with no subplots and that all other incidents in the play should be subordinated to it. This was
vaguely followed because ‘The Tempest’  the main plot revolves around Prospero’s efforts to regain his
dukedom and to undo the evil which had been perpetrated against him and his daughter, Miranda.
Inversely, the presence of subplots violated this unity, but these subplots served to influence and
support the main plot, so ‘The Tempest’ was a rough outline of all three of these unities.

 Disguise

This is something meant to hide the identity of a character or thing or its resemblance to another. An
example of this is in the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird, chapter 8’ when Jem and Scout make a snowman
that resembles Mr. Avery, but then proceed to use Miss Maudie's sunhat and hedge clippers to disguise
her at Atticus' suggestion.
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Section 4 – Literary devices/ dramatic techniques

 Imagery

Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it
appeals to our physical senses. Usually, it is thought that imagery makes use of particular words that
create a visual representation of ideas in our minds. An example is in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird,
page 8” to describe the Radley house before and after.

“The Radley Place jutted into a sharp curve beyond our house. Walking south, one faced its porch; the
sidewalk turned and ran beside the lot. The house was low, was once white with a deep front porch and
green shutters, but had long ago darkened to the color of the slate-gray yard around it. Rain-rotted
shingles drooped over the eaves of the veranda; oak trees kept the sun away. The remains of a picket
drunkenly guarded the front yard- a "swept" yard that was never swept- where Johnson grass and
rabbit-tobacco grew in abundance.”

 Metaphor

A Metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an implied or hidden comparison between two things
without the use of "as" or "like". These things are unlike but share some common characteristics. An
example is from the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird, chapter 11’ which is Atticus’ line

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in
his hand.”

 Irony

The irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is
different from the actual meaning of the words (verbal irony). It may also be a situation that ends up in
quite a different way than what is generally anticipated (situational irony). An example is in The Tempest
where King Alonso believes that his son is dead after their ship has been destroyed at sea. Antonio tells
him he saw him ride on one of the waves into the shore, but ironically the King does not believe him and
holds to his position that Ferdinand is gone. (situational irony).

 Dramatic irony

It may also be when an audience understands the situation, but a character is unaware of what is
happening (dramatic irony). The irony is the contrast between what is and what appears to be. An
example of this is in ‘The Tempest, Act 2’ where the audience knows that Alonso’s son Ferdinand is alive,
but the lords and Alonso think he is dead for most of the play (dramatic irony).

 Motif

In a literary work, a motif or repeated element can be seen as a recurrent image, sound, action, or any
other figure acting as a symbol that helps to develop and explain the theme. An example of this is seen
in the book 'To Kill a Mockingbird' as darkness. There are examples of figurative darkness, in the
beginning, we are introduced to Boo Radley as a dark and scary character.

“The entire town is overshadowed with the darkness of racism and prejudice.   In a way, the story is
about Maycomb's fight with the darkness within itself.” [CITATION Wha12 \l 1033 ]
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 Simile

This is the comparison between two unlike things by using “as” or “like”. This is seen in ‘The Tempest,
Act 2’ in the line “He receives comfort like cold porridge.”

 Symbolism

In literature, symbolism can take many forms, including A figure of speech where an object, person, or
situation has another meaning other than its literal meaning. An example of a symbol is found in the
book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and is the knothole used by Boo Radley to send gifts to Finch children and it
represents the fact the Boo Radley was trying to get closer to the kids, but even that was sealed up by
the Radley family, who wanted Boo to have no contact with the outside.

 Juxtaposition

This is when two things are placed side by side often to compare or contrast their qualities to prove a
point or idea that supports the theme. An example of this in the book, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is between
Scout and Aunt Alexandra. This juxtaposition is further analyzed by Dane Palazzo:

“This juxtaposition supports the theme in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ that being different is okay. If you are
comfortable with yourself and don’t want to change, that is fine. Aunt Alexandra tries to make Scout
more like a typical girl, (dress fancy, act lady-like, etc.) but Scout does not feel comfortable like that. She
is okay with being different!” [ CITATION Pal13 \l 1033 ] (https://prezi.com/vkooe_cotgky/examples-of-
juxtaposition-in-to-kill-a-mocking-bird/)
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References
Alderson, M. (2015, April 12). What is Dramatic Action? Retrieved January 18, 2020, from
marthaalderson.com: https://marthaalderson.com/what-is-dramatic-action/

Barrell, D. (2018, March 09). Creating the costumes, props and set for the ‘Tempest’. Retrieved January
18, 2020, from Stephenperse.com/blog: https://www.stephenperse.com/blog/?
pid=579&nid=44&storyid=4192

Bastien, I. (n.d.). The Tempest-a level. Retrieved January 18, 2020, from yorknotes.com:
https://www.yorknotes.com/alevel/english-literature/the-
tempest/study/introduction/00000101_introduction

DiLego, K. (2013, December 13). The Tempest Design Project. Retrieved from Prezi.com:
https://prezi.com/bsb21zba11se/the-tempest-deisgn-project/

editors, b. (2019, November 25). Chorus-theatre, britannica.com. Retrieved January 18, 2020, from
britannica.com: britannica.com/art/chorus-theatre

editors, E. (2012, November 5). What is a recurring motif in To Kill a Mockingbird? Retrieved January 19,
2020, from Enotes.com: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-recurring-motif-kill-
mockingbird-371576.

editors, l. (2013). Comedy. Retrieved January 10, 2020, from literarydevices.net:

www.literarydevices.net/comedy/

editors, l. (2013). Tragicomedy. Retrieved January 11, 2020, from literarydevices.net:

https://literarydevices.net/tragicomedy/

Editors, M.-W. d. (2020, January 18). Merriam-Webster Complication. Retrieved from The Merriam-
Webster.com Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complication

editors, p. (n.d.). Differences between modern and classical tragedy. Retrieved January 11, 2020, from
penandthepad.com: https://penandthepad.com/difference-between-classical-modern-tragedy-
literature-12288215.html)

Midnightinfo. (2017, July 30). thetempestscrapbook. (blogger.com) Retrieved January 11, 2020, from
Blogspot.com: http://thetempestscrapbook.blogspot.com/p/dramatic-devices.html

Palazzo, D. (2013, November 21). Juxtaposition in to kill a mockingbird. Retrieved January 11, 2020, from
Prezi.com: https://prezi.com/vkooe_cotgky/examples-of-juxtaposition-in-to-kill-a-mocking-bird/
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Closure
This was my glossary on drama, I hope that this information was relevant and useful.