Terms of Dramatic
Literature
Comedy
DEFINITION: “A play usually of a lighter tone. Effects are to
engage and amuse the audience.
Classic definition: “Komos” underside of tragedy.
 Comic Techniques:
1. “Denial of dignity”
A high class person is debased = jabs at the President.
2. “Surprise”
An unexpected event = Lucille ball’s tuba filled with
cheese.
3. “Unity of Opposites”
Opposites in undesolvable union: Lucy and Ricky
4. “Exaggeration or hyperbole”
Outrageous = Dumb and Dumber.
5. “Reversal”
The opposite of expectation. = Princess becomes a frog!
6. “Repetition”
The same gag. “Missed it by that much.” Get Smart.
7. “Witty Dialogue” Puns, jokes, innuendo, etc.
Categories of Comedy
1. “Comedy of Manners”
Characters don’t fit into the environment:
Beverly Hillbillies
2. “Black Comedy”
Situation is so bleak, we must laugh
Mash
3. “Farce/Slap-stick”
Physical Comedy--silly sight gags
Jim Carey, Liar, Liar.
4. “Comedy of Errors”
A mistake is made that sets events in motion.
Ella Enchanted
Comic Expectation:
 Gammos ending =
Expectation of:
--feasting and
--male and female united
 Comic signature =
a happy, satisfying ending.
Tragedy
 Tragedy:
A play of somber, serious tone. Effect is
to involve and strongly move the audience.
Classic definition = “A story of misspent potential”
Greek: Triagos = “goat song”
(Goats are beautiful from the front; hideous at the back.)
“His/her life had so much potential (the front), but it was
spoiled at the end (back) by giving in to the “hamartia” (tragic
character flaw.)
The “Tragic Flaw”
 Hamartia
Tragic flaw - an inherent defect of character;
the error, sin, guilt of the hero.
 Aritstotle said the hero must be of noble rank and nature whose
misfortune is not brought about by villainy but by some “error of
judgment” – hamartia. The imperfection later came to be interpreted
as a moral flaw.
 A type of Hamartia: “Hubris – hybris”
Presumption suggesting impious disregard of the limits governing
human action in an orderly universe.
 Classic definition = “Pride before a power infinitely greater than yourself.”
Example: Pride before God.
 Other “Hamartia” include: lust, greed, violence, sloth, gluttony, etc. It is
whatever character flaw one insists on keeping that spoils your potential joy.
Tragic Techniques
 Catastrophe:
The end of a tragedy, often involving the death of
the hero and others.
 Revenge Tragedy:
A particular brand of tragedy developed by
Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights.
 Catharsis: An emotional out-pouring or cleansing.
The audience
is emotionally exhausted and ready to receive instruction to avoid the
calamity it has just seen--marked by weeping, terror, remorse.
 Mimesis: The portion of life that has been re-enacted so that
the audience may learn from the events. (Usually connected
to the theme: birth, marriage, ideals, betrayal, death, etc..)
Categories of Tragedy
 “Revenge Play”:
a play that centers around a calculated plot to
exact revenge for a wrong done to the protagonist. Often, the crime has
already been committed when the curtain opens; Hamlet is a revenge
play.
 “Problem Play”: a play that centers around a problem that the
protagonist brings into the story due to some “tragic flaw” that is either
cured or that ultimately causes the demise of the protagonist. Most class
Greek drama is of this type.
 “The Domestic Tragedy”: a play that culminates in a
“catastrophic” ending in which a marriage or a family is decimated due to
the irreconcilable tensions among the pivotal characters.
Drama
 Elizabethan (1558-1603) and Jacobean (160325): Period of drama whose major authors were
William Shakespeare in tragedy and comedy,
Christopher Marlowe and John Webster in tragedy, and
Ben Jonson in comedy.
 Modern: (1870s) Began with Henrik Ibsen (A Doll’s
House) and Anton Chekov into the 20th century.
Irony
 Irony:
A “figure of thought” that presents a deliberate contrast
between two levels of meaning. When the character gets what
he/she does not expect. From eiron – a character who pretended to be
stupid and unaware.
 Dramatic Irony:
Occurs when the audience is privy to
knowledge that one or more of the characters lacks. We see it
coming; the character does not. The technique may be used for
comic or tragic effects.
 Tragic Irony: Refers to Irony which occurs specifically in
tragedy.
Conversation of Drama
 Repartee:
A rapid-fire exchange of witty remarks in which
each speaker tries to score against an opponent in a verbal
fencing match.
 Aside:
A speech, usually brief, that, according to theatrical
conventions, is heard only by the audience, or, sometimes, is
addressed privately to another character on stage.
 Monologue:
A speech delivered by the character in which
no one is expected to join in. Others may be present.
Conversation of Drama
 Soliloquy:
A speech delivered by a character who is alone
on stage.
 Parenthetical Observation:
A brief interruption
during which the character reflects on a minor point that seizes his
attention.
 Sub-text:
What is left out of the dialogue. The unspoken
thoughts and motives of the characters -- what they really think
and believe.
Meaningful Language
 Allusion:
A passing reference in a work of literature to another
literary or historical work, figure, or event, or to a literary passage. The
reference is not explained. (p. 74)
 Pun:
A figure of thought that plays on words that have the same
sound (homonyms) or closely similar sounds, but have sharply contrasted
meanings. (p.59)
 Motif:
A repeated line, object, image, or character that supports the
themes of the play.
 Periphrasis:
A figure of thought in which a point is stated by
deliberate circumlocution, rather than directly. Ex. Euphemisms. (p. 58)
Characters
 Dramatis Personae:
The cast list for a play. Sometimes
listed in hierarchy (class order). Latin – persons of the play.
 Foil:
A character who contrasts with the protagonist/antagonist in
ways that bring out certain of his/her moral, emotional, or intellectual
qualities. The “foil” may mirror the same traits or be a direct opposite.
 Confidant:
The character(s) in whom another character confides. In
hearing the conversation, the reader gains insight into the struggles of the
character who seeks out the “confidant.” We listen in to private talk.