| Term |
Definition |
Example |
| Allegory |
When a story is used to represent another story. |
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible uses the Salem witch trials as an allegory for McCarthyism. |
| Allusion |
A reference to an existing text or historical event. |
Margaret Edson’s W;t alludes to numerous texts. While Edson uses the intertextuality of Donne’s poetry, she also alludes to Shakespeare, quoting Horatio from Hamlet: “It’s time to go. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” |
| Antagonist |
The character that opposes the protagonist, causing conflict. |
In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Krogstad is initially seen as the antagonist. As we progress further in the play, Torvald becomes the antagonist. |
| Bias |
When our personal values impact our perspective on themes and characters. |
In Othello, the villain Iago preys upon society’s biases when he attempts to demonise Othello – a black character in a mostly white society. |
| Breaking the fourth wall |
When a character directly interacts with the audience. It is used to create a sense of inclusiveness. |
Edson’s W;t breaks the fourth wall to include the audience as well as reminding the audience that this is a play. |
| Characterisation |
How an author creates, establishes, and maintains a sense of who the characters are. |
In Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail is emphatically described as someone who has the potential to stir chaos. We eventually see this when she uses hysteria for her advantage. |
| Comedy |
A genre that usually aims to entertain the audience. Comedy can also be used to criticise societal values. |
In Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Beckett uses comedy and absurdist dialogue to emphasise on the futile nature of humanity. |
| Commentary |
An expression of an opinion. |
Playwrights use plays to comment on the values of society. |
| Context |
Information about the characters or the situation. It can also refer to the social, political, and historical events that occurred during the time of the playwright. |
In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Shakespeare provides context through Miranda’s questioning of their situation. Shakespeare also alludes to the values of his time by addressing ideas such as colonialism and leadership. |
| Competitive subjectivity |
A theory in existentialism where individuals compete with others to see who gets to be objectified |
Jean Paul Sartre’s No Exit directly alludes to the theory of competitive subjectivity as Garcin declares how the real version of hell is the presence of others. |
| Dénouement |
The point in the narrative when all the problems are solved; usually occurs at the end of the play. |
The final act of Shakespeare’s The Tempest illustrates how all the problems (Prospero’s desire for revenge, Ferdinand’s assumption that his father Alonso had died in the shipwreck, and vice versa) have been solved (Prospero learns to forgive, Ferdinand and Alonso further appreciate each other’s existences). |
| Dialogue |
The conversation that occurs between characters. |
All plays use dialogue in order for the play to progress, as well as allowing the audience to understand the characters and their mentality |
| Dramatic irony |
When the audience knows a piece of information that the characters don’t know. |
Miller’s The Crucible contains numerous examples of dramatic irony. The audience knows that Abigail and the girls were the ones practising witchcraft yet they accuse other members in Salem of practising witchcraft due to the fear of being accused. |
| Foreshadowing |
When the author hints at an event that will occur later in the play. |
In Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Torvald foreshadows the collapse of their marriage: “Do you know, Nora, I often wish some danger might threaten you, that I might risk body and soul, and everything for your dear sake.” |
| Epilogue |
The final section of the play that serves as the conclusion. |
Shakespeare’s The Tempest ends with an epilogue where Prospero explains how he is imprisoned on stage and can only be released by clapping. |
| Existentialism |
A branch of philosophy that focuses on the freedom of the individual. |
Sartre’s No Exit centres around his theories on existentialism as he emphasises how the true hell is the presence of others through Garcin. |
| Flashback |
When the playwright revisits past events. |
Edson incorporates flashbacks in W;t to contrast between Vivian’s lack of humanity to her final days where she yearns for kindness. |
| Foil |
When a character is directly contrasted with another character, usually the main character. |
In Edson’s W;t, Jason and Susie are foils of each other. Jason represents the sterile nature of the medical community as he is blinded by his desire to become the hero and find the cure for cancer. Susie symbolises compassion as she shows kindness towards Vivian – something Vivian needed during her final days. |
| Intertextuality |
Incorporating other texts into a text. |
Edson’s W;t is filled with Donne’s poetry as Vivian is a scholar for 17th century poetry. An example of this is the poem Death Be Not Proud, where Vivian uses this poem as a source of understanding mortality and death. |
| Meta theatre |
When characters comment on the nature of the play and is self-aware. |
Shakespeare’s The Tempest contains elements of meta theatre, as Prospero plays the role as the omniscient deity. The amount of power Prospero has is similar to Shakespeare’s position as he is able to manipulate the situation to achieve his personal agenda. An example of this is when he manipulates the situation so Ferdinand and Miranda can meet and set up the possibility of marriage. |
| Mise en scene |
The placement of stage property and characters in a specific scene. |
In Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, you could talk about the placement of the books and theodolite used in both time periods. |
| Monologue |
When one character speaks for a long period of time; occurs during a conversation with another character. |
In Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Lucky only speaks once, which is his monologue on the bleak nature of society. Beckett uses Lucky’s monologue to epitomise the absurd nature of the play. |
| Playwright |
The writer of the play. |
William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, and Arthur Miller are examples of playwrights. |
| Plot |
The arrangement of events that make up the play. |
All narratives have a plot. The plot helps the playwright to explore their ideas. |
| Postmodernism |
A movement that symbolises the rejection of norms. Postmodernism became apparent after World War II as society just re-experienced the horrors of war, causing them to develop the ideology that society will continue to decline. Postmodernism usually influences art, literature and a historian’s perspective of the past. |
Plays such as Edson’s W;t and Beckett’s Waiting for Godot are influenced by postmodernism. This is illustrated through the secular nature of society, specifically in W;t. In Waiting for Godot, Beckett critiques the pointless nature of religion due to God’s lack of existence. This is illustrated through the pointless nature of waiting for Godot, as Estragon and Vladimir continue to wait for Godot, yet Godot never arrives. |
| Prologue |
The opening section of the play. |
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the play opens with a prologue as the chorus provides context on the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. |
| Protagonist |
The main character; usually goes through the most amount of character development. |
Examples of protagonists include John Proctor (The Crucible), Prospero (The Tempest) and Nora (A Doll’s House). |
| Realpolitik |
A political system that aims to gain power rather than taking in moral and ethical considerations. |
Miller encapsulates this idea in The Crucible, specifically through Abigail as she desires to gain power. As she uses mass hysteria to her advantage, the consequence of this is Deputy Danforth blindly believing her lies. |
| Satire |
When something is criticised through humour. |
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a satire of Victorian society, as he equates the triviality of cucumber sandwiches to the triviality of prioritising aspects such as status and name in marriage. |
| Set |
The environment as it is composed on stage for the audience (i.e. consisting of props, backdrops, lighting, etc.) |
The opening passage in Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia is an example of the set as it describes the stage property present. |
| Setting |
The time and place that the play portrays (e.g. a kitchen interior in 1950s America, or the town square in 1600s Salem). |
An example of this is the opening line in Stoppard’s Arcadia: “A room on the garden front of a very large country house in Derbyshire in April 1809” (Act One Scene One). |
| Soliloquy |
When a character speaks for a long period of time and expresses their thoughts. |
In Miller’s The Crucible, John’s soliloquy expresses his fear that all the secrecy within Salem will be exposed in court. |
| Stage direction |
The text that indicates the actor’s movement or the tone they should use. |
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| Stage property |
The items used on stage |
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| Stream of consciousness |
A monologue that represents the character’s thoughts; often unedited. |
In Edson’s W;t, Vivian has a stream of consciousness with Doctor Kelekian explains the state of her ovarian cancer |
| Suspension of disbelief |
A term coined by Taylor Coleridge theorising that people are willing to accept anything that happens within any text as long as the piece of work can explore a sense of truth. |
In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero is very self-aware with the fact that he is in a play. While the term wasn’t coined during the Elizabethan era, Shakespeare references to this in the epilogue when Prospero explains how the audience’s applause can release him to Milan just how the applause is signals the end of the performance. |
| Textual integrity |
When all components of the text (form and language) can be unified to convey the composer’s ideas. |
All texts should be cohesive and conveys the composer’s themes clearly. If the themes are unclear, then the composer has failed. |
| Theme |
A universal idea explored by the playwright. |
Henrik Ibsen’s plays often explore ideas relating to the role of women, the maintenance of reputation and the dangers of deceit. |
| Theocracy |
A system where religion and the state become one and the same. |
In Miller’s The Crucible, Salem has a theocratic system. This results in Danforth establishing an authoritarian system. |
| Tragedy |
A genre where the main character dies. The play usually has a serious tone. |
Miller’s The Crucible is an example of a tragedy play as John is executed due to his refusal to falsely confess. |
| Tragicomedy |
A genre that incorporates tragedy and comedy. |
Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is an example of tragicomedy as it incorporates absurd elements but also has elements of tragedy due to the tone of hopelessness that has been set. |
| Verse |
When a character speaks in a structure similar to poetry. |
In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Caliban often speaks in verse when talking about the island to reflect his love for his home. |
| Wit |
A style of humour that relies on intelligence and quick-thinking. |
Edson’s W;t is a witty play to refer to the wit in Donne’s poetry. The title “W;t” is also an example of wit as the semicolon is used to represent an italicised “I” as well as the finicky nature of the academia. |
