English

ENG 102: English Composition II

Literary Terms for Drama

tragedy: dramatization of a serious happening (Aristotle); a serious play showing the protagonist moving from good fortune to bad and ending in death or a deathlike state

tragic hero: protagonist who falls from greatness, or the potential for greatness, through some flaw in his character or error in judgment

tragic flaw: the weakness in character or error in judgment that causes the tragic hero's downfall ( hamartia in Aristotle's Poetics)

hubris : overweening or excessive pride (the hamartia of the tragic hero in many Greek tragedies)

pathos: pity, sadness

tragedy vs. pathos: in the tragic, suffering is experienced by people who act in such a way as to cause their own fate, to some degree; in the pathetic, suffering is experienced by people who are passive, innocent victims

dramatic irony: situation in which the audience is aware of something of which the characters are unaware, thus creating tension

comedy: a play characterized by humor and by a happy ending (typically a wedding)

stage directions: a playwright's indication to the actors and/or readers about, for example, the appearance of the set, how a character is to speak a line, etc.