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