English 3033 Mercer
Terms
for Analysis of Drama
"The
Nature of Drama"
drama
advantages and
limitations of drama's being performed
(1)
through actors
(2)
on a stage
(3)
before an audience
playwright (know
correct spelling)
dramatic or objective
point of view
[monologue,
dialogue]
soliloquy
aside
script = dialogue + stage directions
theatrical cuts
stage properties
(props)
"Realistic
and Nonrealistic Drama"
realistic drama
nonrealistic
drama
[theatre of the
absurd]
[existentialism]
mode of
production or presentation; outer appearances
"temporary
suspension of disbelief"
dramatic
conventions
[stage setting /
set]
[stage
properties / props]
picture-frame
stage
[proscenium
arch]
arena theatre
[thrust stage]
Tragedy
(from “Tragedy and Comedy”)
[Dionysus]
Aristotle's
Poetics
Aristotle's
definition of tragedy
tragic hero
noble
stature / [nobility]
hamartia
criminal
act
[mistake
or error in judgment]
moral
weakness, character flaw ("tragic flaw") [not overtly mentioned in
Aristotle]
excess
of virtue [not overtly mentioned in Aristotle]
fall
from happiness to misery
plot of tragedy
[unities
of time and place: not mentioned in Aristotle]
unity
of action
organic
unity (cause and effect) / probability
reversal
discovery
/ [recognition]
[suffering
beyond what tragic hero deserves]
tragedy vs.
pathos
tragic vs.
pathetic
effect of
tragedy on audience: catharsis of pity and fear
Comedy
(from “Tragedy and Comedy”)
tragedy vs.
comedy
human
greatness vs. weakness, folly
lofty
characters vs. sympathetic or ridiculous characters
unique
individual vs. society, social conformity
plausible
plot (logical cause and effect) vs. implausible plot, sometimes farcical plot
miserable
ending vs. happy ending (conventional comic ending)
scornful /
laughing / critical / satiric comedy
smiling /
romantic comedy
organic unity
(not found in plot of comedy)
plausibility
(not found in plot of comedy)
deus ex
machina
melodrama
farce
[Shakespearean Play Production]
NOT FOUND in Globe Theatre FOUND
in Globe Theatre
Actresses Male
(often boy) actors playing women=s roles
Theatre manager, play director Actor-sharers who
owned and ran company, played major roles
Roof
over entire theatre Unroofed
yard, where Agroundlings@ stood Seats for all playgoers Seats
for those in covered galleries
Artificial lighting; evening performances Daylight; afternoon performances
Curtained main stage Uncurtained
main stage;
small
curtained inner stage
Stage
behind proscenium arch; Thrust
stage;
action
behind “frame” action
close to audience
Painted, changeable background scenery Permanent background of Atiring
house@
Costumes historically accurate for play=s
setting Elaborate, expensive costumes in Amodern
dress@ or mixture of historical periods
Othello
Early Modern
English
blank verse =
unrhymed iambic pentameter
rhymed couplets
prose
Exeunt
subtitle: The
Moor of Venice
Moor
domestic
tragedy
“double time”
motivation
Iago’s stated motivations
(find them in play)
Samuel Taylor
Coleridge’s comment on Iago’s stated motivations: “the motive-hunting of
motiveless malignity”
dramatic irony
character foil
cuckold
Othello
Desdemona
Brabantio
Iago
Emilia
Cassio
Roderigo
Bianca