| A | B |
|---|
| aside | a speech by a single character on stage who reveals his or her thoughts to the audience |
| castastrophe | the final event ot the dramatic action in a tragedy |
| comedy | a lighthearted play that ends happily |
| comic relief | a humorous scene or incident that appears in a serious play to relieve emotional intensity |
| conflict | the struggle between two opposing forces that provides interest and suspense in a drama |
| crisis or climax | a turning point in the plot after which the situation for the main character will either improve or grow worse |
| foil | a character whose personality traits contrast sharply with the traits of another character |
| foreshadowing | a line or an event in a play that gives a clue about what is going to happen later |
| history play | a play set in the past, usually about royalty and the struggle of power |
| irony | the contrast between the expected outcome of a situation and the actual outcome; also when the audience knows something a character onstage is unaware of |
| motivation | the reasons behind a character's actions |
| play within a play | a brief drama within a play that reflects on the larger play |
| soliloquy | a comment by a character to the audience that reveals his or her inner thoughts and is not supposed to be heard by the other characters on the stage |
| tragedy | a serious play with a disastrous ending |
| tragic flaw | a trait that will eventually bring about a character's downfall |
