Dramatic techniques or devices are used by playwrights. It's important to remember, when reading a play, that drama is written to be performed, rather than to be read. It can be difficult to fully appreciate a piece of drama if you are reading it silently from a book. A dramatist has an advantage in being able to use most of the literary devices that are available to novelists, as well as using dramatic devices or techniques suitable to the stage.
See how much you know about dramatic techniques by trying this quiz on the subject.
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Conflict, including internal conflict, is one of the key sources of dramatic tension
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Entrances and exits can be used to dramatic effect, as they are in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
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It can be easy to confuse 'monologue' and 'soliloquy'. A monologue is a speech delivered to other characters, whereas a soliloquy is a speech delivered to the audience, giving the impression of the audience overhearing a character's thoughts, or 'internal monologue'
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Dramatic irony can be comic, as in A Midsummer Night's Dream, or tragic, as in Romeo and Juliet or Oedipus Rex
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Shakespeare uses this technique frequently - as when Portia disguises herself as a lawyer in The Merchant of Venice. Often the audience are aware of the disguise while the other characters are not, leading to dramatic irony
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A 'red herring' is a distraction from whatever is significant - when used dramatically, it is a misleading type of foreshadowing. Audiences are led to expect one thing and are surprised when something entirely unexpected happens instead
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