| A | B |
|---|
| tragedy | involves the ruin of the leading character through death, destruction, or a dismal life |
| comedy | light play with a happy ending |
| farce | when comedy involves ridiculous or hilarious complications without regard for human values |
| fantasy | a play in which things happen without regard to reality |
| melodrama | a play that gives a thrill but pays almost no attention to human values |
| aside | lines whispered to the audience or to another character on the stage |
| catastrophe | the final event in a drama |
| comic relief | a bit of humor injected into a serious play to relieve the heavy tension of tragic events |
| dramatic irony | occurs when the audience knows something that the character on stage is not aware |
| irony | events contrary to what would be naturally expected |
| nemesis | agent of retribution (the person who punishes) |
| poetic justice | the operation of justice in a play with fair distribution of rewards for good deeds and punishment for wrong-doing |
| soliloquy | a single character on stage thinking out loud |
| tragedy | a serious play having an unhappy ending |
| tragic flaw | a character trait that leads one to his/her own downfall or destruction |
| act | unit of action in a drama |
| scene | part of an act |
| dialogue | a conversation between characters |
| stage directions | bracketed information that describes scenery and how characters move and speak |
| set or scenery | the construction on the stage that suggests the time and place |
| props | small movable items used by actors |
| screenplays | scripts for films |
| teleplays | scripts for television |
| radio plays | scripts to be performed as radio broadcasts |
| characterization | the playwright's technique for creating believable characters |
