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Literature vocabulary · Drama and Theatre

Stichomythia

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In literature, stichomythia means: Rapid dialogue in which characters alternate single lines, often during an argument.

In Turkish: tek dizelik karşılıklı konuşma, stikomiti

How it is used

Use in drama analysis for alternating one-line exchanges; explain how brevity shapes the struggle.

Example sentences

  1. The stichomythia turns the interrogation into a rapid contest between question and denial.

    Short alternating lines give each challenge an immediate answer.

  2. We slowed the stichomythia slightly so the audience could hear the repeated accusations.

    Performance speed must preserve the meaning of the verbal exchange.

Common collocations

  • rapid stichomythia
  • a passage of stichomythia
  • dialogueThe words that characters speak to each other in a story, play or film; in prose it is usually shown in quotation marks.
  • tragedyA serious play or story in which the main character suffers and is usually destroyed, often because of a personal flaw or a fatal mistake.

More terms: Drama and Theatre

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