Jhean Alyzzah S.

Ruete
12-GAS
21ST LIT

Elements of Drama. Fill in the blanks. Choose from the answers in the
box.

soliloquy tragic hero spectacle

monologue dialogue tragic flaw

pity fear catharsis

tragic fall aside pathos

1. In drama, there is usually no narrator; the audience is invited to infer

meaning from the characters' actions, words, and the props on stage
and other sensorial embellishments (costumes, lighting, music and
sound effects, etc.) that make up the play's _SPECTACLE.
2. Spoken words onstage may be classified into four: when a single
character delivers a long speech, its called a _MONOLOGUE.
3. When that long speech is delivered as though the character is speaking
to himself/herself alone on the stage, it’s called _SOLILOQUY_.
4. When character speak to one another, the exchange of word is called
_DIALOGUE_.
5. When a character steps out of the scene for a while to confidentially
address the audience, perhaps to comment about the scene or another
character, it’s called an _ASIDE_.
6-8. Plays are largely classified into two according to purpose: tragedy and
comedy (with tragicomedy as a combination). The purpose of tragedy is to
elicit two emotions from the audience, (6) _FEAR_ and (7) _PITY_, to
produce (8) _CATHARSIS__ or emotional release in the audience.
9-10. To attain the purpose of tragedy, the protagonist called a _TRAGIC
HERO_ must be highly relatable to the audience in the he/she, like a typical
human being, possesses a noble character yet afflicted with a weakness
called a __TRAGIC FLAW__.
11. This weakness, minor in comparison to the hugeness of the character's
noble traits, nevertheless causes his/her downfall. The result is called
__TRAGIC FALL__, or an overdetermined series of events that have
snowballed into inevitable, and to some degree undeserved, ruin.
12. Tragedy, however, is only truly attained when the protagonist realizes
his/her flaw. Otherwise, what is attained is simply _PATHOS__ or mere
sentimentality.