ACT

• A major division of a play

• Shakespeare did not separate his

plays into acts; each play was later

divided into five acts

• Acts can contain one or more scene

SCENE

• A subdivision of an act in a play

• Each scene usually takes place in a

specific setting and time

VERBAL IRONY

• A person says one thing but means

another

DRAMATIC IRONY

• The audience knows something that

the characters in the play do not

PUN

• A humorous play on two or more

meanings of the same word or on

two different words with the same

sound

• Example: A baker stopped making

doughnuts when he got tired of the

hole thing.

• He drove his expensive car into a

tree and found out how the

Mercedes bends.

SOLILOQUY

A speech made by one character, who speaks as

if s/he is alone on stage.

It often seems as if the character is talking to

himself/herself.

Soliloquys reveal the character’s thoughts and

feelings to the audience.

ASIDE

Words spoken by an actor to the

people watching a play, that the

other characters in the play do

not hear.

OXYMORON

• A figure of speech that is a combination of seemingly contradictory words

• Brawling love

• Loving hate

• Awfully nice

• Books on tape

• Cold sweat

• Only choice

• Sad smile

PARADOX

A statement or proposition that seems self-

contradictory or absurd but in reality

expresses a possible truth

Examples:

Cowards die many times before their

death.

I must be cruel to be kind.

COMIC RELIEF

• A humorous scene or speech

intended to lighten the mood

EXTENDED METAPHOR

A metaphor introduced and then further

developed throughout all or part of a

literary work