ADH Key terms

• What is melodrama?

  Popular 19th-century theatrical genre
• What are common features of melodrama?

  Moralistic plots and class struggles
• How does melodrama use music?

  To heighten climactic moments
• What is a metaphor?

  Figure of speech applying a word to an unrelated object
• What does a metaphor create?

  Striking, imaginative imagery
• What is metatheatre?

  Drama about drama
• What devices are used in metatheatre?

  Asides, soliloquies, and plays within plays
• What is modernism?

  Cultural shift rejecting traditional art forms
• What did modernism explore?

  Social and political changes of industrialization
• What is motivation in naturalistic drama?

  Desires and intentions driving a character's behavior
• What is a narrative?

  Story or sequence of events
• How is a narrative told?

  Through the sequence of events
• What is naturalism in theatre?

  Theatrical style mimicking reality
• What are characteristics of naturalism?

  Credible language and realistic settings
• What is a paradox?

  Statement that seems contradictory
• What can a paradox reveal?

  A deeper truth
• What is parody?

  Ridicule through imitation
• What does parody often imitate?

  A work or literary style
• What is patriarchy?

  Society where male authority dominates
• What does patriarchy influence?

  Authority and ideas in society
• What is a point in theatre?

  A pause to emphasize high emotion
• Why is a point used?

  To enhance emotional impact
• What does practical refer to in theatre?

  Props used functionally
• How are properties (props) significant in a play?

  They are often significant to the action
• What is a proscenium arch?

  Stage frame marking the "fourth wall"
• What is the proscenium arch associated with?

  Naturalism in 19th-20th-century theaters
• Who is the protagonist?

  Central character driving the plot
• What role does the raisonneur play?

  Detached observer commenting on the action
• What is realism in literature?

  Portrayal of the real world
• What details does realism emphasize?

  Physical and psychological detail
• What does reification mean?

  Reducing humans to commodities
• In what context is reification used?

  Marxist theory
• What is resolution in a play?

  Final moments tying up loose ends
• What does a resolution provide?

  Closure to the story
• What is a reversal of expectation?

  Scene that surprises by shifting direction
• What effect does a reversal of expectation have?

  Shifts audience sympathies
• What is rhetoric?

  Structured, formal language for speeches
• What is the purpose of rhetoric?

  To persuade or inform an audience
• What was the Romantic Movement?

  Rebellion against rationalism in art
• What did the Romantic Movement favor?

  Radical, nature-inspired art