| A | B |
|---|
| soliloquy | character, talking to themselves, reveals private thoughts/ feelings |
| aside | a short speech heard by audience but not characters in the play |
| comic relief | a humorous interlude intended to relieve dramatic tension |
| simile | a comparison between two unlike things using like or as |
| iambic pentameter | a meter in poetry consisting of five unrhymed lines-stressed and unstressed syllables |
| allusion | a reference in literature to another literary work |
| foreshadow | clue/hint about what is going to happen |
| tragedy | a drama which features a noble character who has had a great influences on their world. This person has a tragic flaw which brings about the downfall. The story ends in catastrophe. |
| blank verse | poem written in unrhymed pentameter |
| couplet | a stanza of two lines, usually rhyming |
| catastrophe | scene in a tragedy which includes the death/moral destruction of the protagonist |
| foil | a character that will by contrast help to accentuate another character's opposite personality |
| tragic Hero | a noble character who has had a great influences on their world. This person has a tragic flaw which brings about their downfall. |
| tragic flaw | a character defect in a hero that brings about his/her tragic end. Many times it is hubris or pride, but there are exception such as Hamlet or Othello who have different types of flaws. |
| Monologue | an extended speech by a character either while the other characters listen or while the character is a lone. |
| upstage | the rear of the stage, furthest from the audience |
| downstage | the front of the stage, nearest the audience |
| stage left | Stage Left and right, at least in British and North American theatre, refer to the actor's left and right facing the audience. |
| stage right | Stage Left and right, at least in British and North American theatre, refer to the actor's left and right facing the audience. |
| blocking | the movement of the actors on the stage |
| wings | the backstage area on either side of the stage that is obscured from the audiences view |
| thrust stage | the design of the theater during Shakespeare's time; the audience surrounded three sides |
