5 Critical Terms

1. Personification

The ability of giving lifeless objects human attributes.

2. Apex

The highest part or the climax.

3. Epilogue

The closing section of a performance.

4. Anachronism

An invention mentioned before its time.

5. Motif

A repeating theme in a story.

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5 Responses to 5 Critical Terms

  1. nastassiashcherbatsevich says:

    Your definitions are very precise, which makes them easy to remember. I liked that you included the term “anachronism”, but I am not certain that your definition is completely accurate. According to other sources, anachronism is something that belongs to an earlier or different time. Your definition makes it seem as though the object belongs to a later time, as if it is taken out of the future and put into the context of the play. This object can be a wide range of things, not only an invention, but also a person or event. Other than this term, all else is great!

  2. isabelzhao says:

    Like Nastassia, I agree that your definitions are short and sweet, which is very helpful when it comes to memorizing each definition. I also like your choice of words; each word is very important when it comes to talking and writing about theater. When I looked through theater reviews in the paper, I noticed that many reviews included many elements of the production, including apex and epilogue, which you chose to define.

  3. wesleyyun says:

    Like the others before me, I really appreciate the brevity in your definitions. I agree with Isabel in that your words are important and also I agree with Nastassia on the word anachronism. I think it would help if you changed it to have it include not only inventions, but anything as well as their inconsistencies with time, whether it be the past or the future.

  4. Gen Hua Tan says:

    As people have already mentioned about the definition of anachronism, which I agreed with, I would like to add that a motif does not necessarily need to be a theme repeated throughout the story. It could be an image, an item, or idea that reoccurs throughout a story, or in this case a play, to emphasize an effect – basically to convey the importance and message of whatever is repeated.

  5. John Scanlon says:

    I like the fact that your definitions are short, sweet, and to the point. Like Gen stated previously, a motif does not necessarily have to be the theme, it can also be a reoccurring symbol or idea of a story. Other than that, the brevity of your definitions makes them very easy to memorize.

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