Drama Terms for A Doll’s House

Act Act Act- One of the main divisions of a play or opera

Character Characters- a person, or anything presented as a person in a literary work

Drama Drama- a story acted out, usually on a stage, by actors and actresses who take the parts of specific characters

Dialogue Dialogue- a conversation between characters

Stage Directions Stage Directions- a playwright’s descriptive or interpretive comments that provide readers (and actors) with information about the dialogue, setting and action of a play

Example MARCIA’s room, evening. MARCIA is wearing a cool, sparkly jacket and practicing a dance routine to ‘Umbrella’ by Rihanna, in front of her mirror. MARCIA (sings): ‘Underneath my um-be-rella, Ella, ella, ella...’ BEN enters, carrying a magic wand. BEN: What’s that noise, it sounds like cats screeching? MARCIA: Out! No annoying brothers allowed.

Foil Foil- a character in a play who sets off the main character or other characters by comparison

Genre Genre- a category of artistic pieces that share a similar theme (examples include “horror,” “romance,” etc.)

Situational Irony Irony of Situation- result of an action is the reverse of what the actor and audience expected

Verbal Irony Words have more than one meaning; or words spoken contradict a character

Dramatic Irony Dramatic Irony- the audience knows something that the characters in the drama do not know

Example

Scene Scene- divisions of action within acts

Set Set- the scenery and staging of a dramatic production

Example: The Set From A Doll’s House

Tragedy Tragedy- in general, a literary work in which the central character meets a disastrous downfall as a result of his/her own tragic flaw

Tragic Flaw Tragic Flaw- a character weakness that brings about the downfall of a tragic hero