Dramatic Terms

The elements of dramatic terms

In the terminology of drama there are three main categories. These categories are literary elements, technical elements, and performance elements.

Literary elements

These elements mostly overlap with other literary forms such as novel writing. They include terms like plot structure, rising action, climax, and falling action. Literary elements also include terms such as conflict, theme, language, style, dialogue, and monologue. Devices such as satire, parody, and irony are also considered literary elements.

Technical elements

Generally includes elements related to the set such as stage, scenery, costumes, light, or sound. This term includes often-overlooked elements such as make-up and hair, all of which may have their own dedicated stylist.

Performance elements

The performance aspects of plays include acting, speech, figure behavior, and non-verbal gestures. An actor may break the fourth wall and create a certain effect by lowering his voice and leaning forward as if sharing a secret with the audience, for example.

Glossary of dramatic terms and devices

We will focus on a few key dramatic terms for this glossary to begin to understand how drama and theatre have constructed their terminology.

Acting area

During a play, the acting area is the stage or play area that is used by the actor. Generally, the actor is able to move about in this space and still be in full view of the audience.

Action

Similar to plot development, but specifically refers to the sense of forward movement within a play. This impression of movement of time can be created by plot and character developments.

Apron

Apron is a theatre-specific term that refers to the space between the edge of the stage and the curtain.

Area stage

This type of stage dates back to the amphitheatres in Ancient Greece and plays of William Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre. Similar to a Theatre in the Round, this is a stage where the audience surrounds the stage and there is no separation by a frame or arc.

Aside

An actor will make an aside when they want the audience to know something that they do not want the other characters to know. This is similar to some narrator techniques used in novels.

Adlib

To freely improvise, using lines and actions that are not in the script.

Blocking

This is the actors plotted path across the stage during a play. Both the actor and director determine this path. Usually, it is documented in the script. The movement across the plotted path can emphasise certain lines or emotions.

Catharsis

A term that dates back to Aristotle and his work Poetics (around 335 BC), catharsis is used to describe the audience’s feeling of 'terror and pity' during and after watching a tragedy. A catharsis is a purging of intense emotions after viewing a dramatic performance.

Denouement

The specific time in the plot of a drama where an important plot point is brought to light or explained.

Dialogue

The words spoken between two or more characters within a play. Dialogues are often used to drive the plot, develop characters and allow the audience to understand the interplay between roles.

Exposition

An essential part of the play that introduces the audience to the main themes, key characters, and their context or situation.

Freytag’s pyramid

A diagram with a triangular shape that depicts how a plot unfolds. This is a type of plot structure.

Fig. 1 - A key dramatic term is Freytag's Pyramid.

Fourth wall

This is the imaginary 'wall' between the audience and the play. An actor may choose to 'break the fourth wall' by using an aside that dissolves the barrier between the stage and the audience.

Falling action

Also part of the Freytag's pyramid, the falling action is the series of events and circumstances that lead up the the final part of the play, the denouement.

Improvisation

Acting done without a script that can be used to help create a rounded character. There is a genre of theatre dedicated to improvised acting, much like jazz is often dedicated to improv.

Leitmotiv

In drama, this is the repetition of a word, image, or phrase to create a sense of rhythm or to highlight a point.

Mime

A mime is an actor who uses no speech, only movement to convey thoughts and feelings.

Monologue

This can be a long or fairly short solo speech by one actor. Often delivered when the actor is alone on stage, a monologue can also be performed in the presence of other actors.

Performance elements

This term covers all aspects of an actor's performance from acting to speaking to gestures.

Playwright

The author of plays. They are the theatre world’s version of a novelist.

Prologue

The speech at the beginning of the play that introduces the work.

Rake

The slope of a stage floor that changes in height.

Resolution

How a conflict in a drama is bought to a conclusion.

Rhetorical devices

Language that is used to convince the audience to adopt a certain thought process or opinion. For example, a character may use certain subject matter and language to persuade another character or the audience. In Julius Caesar (1599), Mark Anthony uses sarcasm and words of praise to convince the Roman public to turn on the conspirators.

Rising action

A part of the Freytag's pyramid, the rising action is the series or chain of events that build up to the dramatic climax.

Scene

The building blocks of an act, scenes are shorter snippets that often happen in one place and at one time. Changes between scenes can be marked off by a curtain fall, a blackout, or the actors leaving the stage.

Scenery

The background props that are used to create environmental context and atmosphere for a play.

Script

The written version of a play, composed by a playwright. The actors will need to learn their lines from this document.

Soliloquy

Similar to a monologue but the difference is that a soliloquy is always performed by a solo actor alone on stage. They will share their innermost thoughts with the audience to develop characters and drive the plot.

An example of a famous soliloquy is the one below from William Shakespeare's Macbeth (1606).

Tableau

This is similar to a freeze-frame in movies but the term in theatre is a tableau (plural: tableaux). Here an actor or actors will freeze for dramatic effect.

Tempo

The pace of a play, it's cadence and rhythm.

Tragedy

Originating in Ancient Greece but popularised by Shakespeare, a tragedy will often have a protagonist who is a tragic hero. Aristotle wrote in his work Poetics (around 335 BC) that tragic plays inspire feelings of 'terror and pity' in the audience.

Tragic hero

The hero or main character of a tragedy is called a tragic hero. Tragedies originated in Greece and tend to depict the actors as victims of destiny. A hero in a tragedy is often an ethical or moral character who ends up miserable due to a character flaw, a judgment error, or social pressure.

Are dramatic terms also used in other forms of literature?

Sure, some dramatic terms are also literary terms and could be used to describe devices employed in a poem, short story, or novel. You can understand dramatic terms by thinking of them as a subgenre of literary terms, as plays are a part of literature, just like novels or poems.

Some of the many dramatic terms also used in other forms of literature are:

1. Foreshadowing: a literary device in which an author hints at events that will occur later in the story.
2. Irony: a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens, often used for comedic effect.
3. Symbolism: the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
4. Imagery: language that creates vivid mental images for the reader.
5. Metaphor: a comparison between two things that are not literally alike, often used to create a deeper meaning.
6. Allegory: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning.
7. Personification: giving human characteristics to non-human objects or animals.
8. Hyperbole: exaggeration for emphasis or effect.
9. Allusion: a reference to a person, place, or event from literature, history, or culture.
10. Satire: the use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to expose and criticize societal issues or vices.