Tragedy Terms

Front 1

exists when words or actions of a character in a play carry a meaning that the character does not understand but the audience does

Back 1

dramatic irony

Front 2

happens when the expected results of an action or situation differ from the actual results

Back 2

situational irony

Front 3

exists when a speaker says one thing and means the opposite

Back 3

verbal irony

Front 4

contrast b/t what is said and what is meant, or b/t what is expected and what occurs

Back 4

irony

Front 5

speech giving the discourse of the speaker; represents what someone would speak aloud in a situation with listeners, although the listeners do not speak

Back 5

monologue

Front 6

a dramatic convention by which an actor directly addresses the audience but is not supposed to be heard by the other actors on stage; allows the inner feelings of the actor to be known to the audience

Back 6

aside

Front 7

an extended speech while the speaker is alone on the sage; purpose is to inform the audience of what is going on in character's mind

Back 7

soliloquy

Front 8

error, physical emotional weakness, mistaken judgement, or misstep through which the fortunes of a tragic hero are reversed;
the result of bad judgement, bad character, ignorance, inherited weakness, accident, or any of many causes; MUST express itself through a definite action or failure to act

Back 8

hamartia

Front 9

theory that there is flaw in the tragic hero that causes his or her downfall

Back 9

tragic flaw

Front 10

purification of the emotions; process by which an unhealthy emotional state produced by an imbalance of feelings is corrected and emotional health restored

Back 10

catharis