The part of the proscenium stage that sticks out into the audience in front of the proscenium arch
Aside
Words spoken to the audience but not heard by other characters
Box set
A set built to represent the three walls of a room, the absent fourth wall on the proscenium line allows the audience to witness a domestic scene.
Complication
The intensification of conflict in a play
Denouement
The final outcome of the main complication in a play (In Othello, Emilia reveals to Othello that Desdemona was actually faithful)
Deus Ex Machina
When an external source resolves the entanglements of a play
Flat characters
Simple minor characters who do not change in the course of the play
Point of attack
When the playwright chooses to dramatise the action
Proscenium Arch
Frames stage action, used during the Renaissance.
Round character
A nuanced character who undergoes development
Stock character
A recognisable stereotype found in many plays
Weimann's locus and platea in Shakespeare: characters in the locus are immersed fully in the action, whereas the characters in the platea seemingly know they are part of play, like Iago's connection with the audience.
