DRAMA TERMS

SOLILOQUY

A single character alone on stage thinking out loud

A way of letting the audience know what is on the character’s mind

ASIDE

Words that are spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character but that are not supposed to be overheard by the others onstage

A way for characters to tell a secret

FOIL

A character who is used as a contrast to another character

TRAGIC FLAW

A trait that leads a character to his/her downfall

COMIC RELIEF

A bit of humor in a serious play to relieve tension and create suspense

PUN

A play on words

A pun plays on the multiple meanings on two words that sound alike but have different meanings

IAMBIC METER

Each unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable

IAMBIC PENTAMETER

Five iambic units in a line

“But soft. What light through yonder window breaks?”

BLANK VERSE

Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

COUPLET

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

FORESHADOWING

Lines that give hints or clues to future events

VERBAL IRONY

A contrast between what is said and what is meant

DRAMATIC IRONY

A contrast between what the audience knows and what a character does not know