Okuzeka
Literature vocabulary · Drama and Theatre

Stage directions

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounCommon term

In literature, stage directions means: Instructions in the text of a play, usually in italics or brackets, that describe the setting, the actors' movements, tone of voice or lighting.

In Turkish: sahne yönergeleri, sahne açıklamaları, sahne direktifleri

How it is used

Read closely in drama courses because they show the playwright's intentions. Common words include enter, exit, exeunt (they leave) and aside (spoken to the audience). Shakespeare's 'Exit, pursued by a bear' in The Winter's Tale is the most famous example.

Example sentences

  1. Beckett's stage directions are very precise about silence and pauses.

  2. The director ignored several stage directions and moved the play to a modern office.

Common collocations

  • follow the stage directions
  • detailed stage directions
  • opening stage directions
  • playA piece of writing for the theatre, made up of dialogue and stage directions, that actors perform in front of an audience.
  • playwrightA person who writes plays for the theatre, and sometimes for radio or television, creating the dialogue and stage directions that actors perform.
  • actOne of the main parts into which a play is divided, usually made up of several scenes and often separated by an interval.
  • dramaLiterature written to be performed by actors on a stage, telling a story through dialogue and action; also a single serious play.

More terms: Drama and Theatre

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: