Meaning & use
dramatis personae
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Meanings
nounplural
The list of characters printed at the start of a play, showing who appears in it.
Grammar: Plural in form but often treated as singular when meaning the list: the dramatis personae is on page two.
Patterns
- the dramatis personae of something
The dramatis personae at the front of the script lists twelve roles.
Check the dramatis personae to see which characters are related.
The programme includes the dramatis personae with a line about each role.
nounpluralfigurative
The group of people involved in a story, event or situation, seen as a cast.
Grammar: Figurative use; takes a plural verb when it means the people.
Patterns
- the dramatis personae of something
The dramatis personae of the scandal included a mayor, a banker and an accountant.
Over the years the dramatis personae of our family reunions has grown.
Common combinations
- the dramatis personae
- The dramatis personae is printed beside the cast list.
- a long dramatis personae
- The novel has a long dramatis personae that readers may want to consult.
- list the dramatis personae
- The editor listed the dramatis personae before Act One.
- a cast of characters
- The story has a colorful cast of characters, from sailors to spies.
- the dramatis personae of the affair
- The dramatis personae of the affair were soon on every front page.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cast
- Cast usually refers to the actors, while dramatis personae refers to the characters they play.
- characters
- Characters is the plain everyday word, whereas dramatis personae is a formal Latin phrase for the written list.
- cast of characters
- This English phrase carries the same meaning but sounds less scholarly.
- players
- Players focuses on those taking part, often in a real event, not a fictional list.
Word family
Commonly confused: dramatis personae or personnel?
dramatis personae vs personnel
Personnel means the staff of an organization and is unrelated to characters in a play.
Practice
Before reading Act One, she checked the ___ to see how the characters were related.
Choose one answer.
The dramatis personae is the list of characters at the start of a play. A curtain call or stage whisper are performance events, and a personnel file concerns staff.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dramatis personae”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.