Drama Terms

BS P.III
Lecture 04
Melodrama

 Melodrama is a subgenre of drama, which is an exaggerated form of

this genre. Melodramas deal with sensational and romantic topics that appeal
to the emotions of the common audience. 
 A melodrama is a dramatic work wherein the plot, which is typically
sensational and designed to appeal strongly to the emotions, takes
precedence over detailed characterization. 
 Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue, which is often bombastic or
excessively sentimental, rather than action.
Metaphor

 A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison between two

things that aren't alike but do have something in common.
 Unlike a simile, where two things are compared directly using like or as,
a metaphor's comparison is more indirect, usually made by stating something is
something else.
 A metaphor states that one thing is another thing
 It equates those two things not because they actually are the same, but for the
sake of comparison or symbolism
 If you take a metaphor literally, it will probably sound very strange (are there
actually any sheep, black or otherwise, in your family?)
 Metaphors are used in poetry, literature, and anytime someone wants to add
some color to their language
 For example

 There is a weight on my shoulder.

 Time is money.
 Laughter is the best medicine.
Monologue

 Monologue, in literature and drama, an extended speech by one person.

 The term has several closely related meanings.
Dramatic Monologue

 Dramatic monologue is a poem written in the form of a speech of

an individual character.

 Itcompresses into a single vivid scene a narrative sense of the

speaker’s history and psychological insight into his character.
 Robert Browning is the famous writer for writing Dramatic
monologue in his poetry.
Musical Drama__ Opera

 Musical drama - opera in which the musical and dramatic elements are

equally important.
 The music is appropriate to the action.
 A drama set to music; consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and
an orchestral overture and interludes.
Narration and Narrator

 Narration is a technique whereby one or more performers speak directly to

the audience to tell a story, give information or comment on the action of the
scene or the motivations of characters.

 Characters may narrate, or a performer who is not involved in the action can
carry out the role of 'narrator'.
plot

 The plot is the sequence of events in the story or drama. ... The

introduction, or exposition, is the beginning of the story where the characters
and the conflict are introduced.
 Rising action refers to the events that occur in the story to advance the
conflict and bring the conflict to a crucial point.
Parody

 A parody is a comical imitation of another work.

 Parody is an imitation of a particular writer, artist, or genre, exaggerating it
deliberately to produce a comic effect.
 The humorous effect in parody is achieved by imitating and overstressing
noticeable features of a famous piece of literature, as in caricatures, where
certain peculiarities of a person are highlighted to achieve a humorous effect.

 For example, Pride and Prejudice With Zombies is a parody of Jane Austen's

Pride and Prejudice. A spoof mocks a genre rather than a specific work.
Props

 Props are the items held or used by actors onstage to make the action more
realistic.
 Some naturalistic performances use many props but when staging drama you
should question what is really necessary.
 Too many props can be difficult for the actor to use and they have to be
brought onto and off the stage so can slow the action.
Resolution-Denouement

 In a work of literature, the resolution is the part of the story's plot where the
main problem is resolved or worked out.

 The resolution occurs after the falling action and is typically where the story
ends.
Reversal

 Peripeteia, (Greek: “reversal”) the turning point in a drama after which the

plot moves steadily to its denouement.
 It is discussed by Aristotle in the Poetics as the shift of the tragic
protagonist's fortune from good to bad, which is essential to the plot of a
tragedy.
Rising Action

 The rising action of a story is the section of the plot leading up to the climax,
in which the tension stemming from the story's central conflict grows through
successive plot developments.
Soliloquy

 Soliloquy, passage in a drama in which a character expresses his thoughts or

feelings aloud while either alone upon the stage or with the other actors
keeping silent.
Homework

 43. Stage Direction

44. Subplot
45. Tragedy
46. Tragic Flaw
47. Tragic Hero
48. Three Unities
49. Structure of Plot
50. Comedy of Manners
51. Hamartia
52. Heroic Couplet
53. Masque
54. Motif
55. Dialogue
56. Didatic
57. Revenge Tragedy
58. Black Humor
59. Theater of the Absurd
Thankyou