Stichomythias

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Rapid exchanges in which characters speak alternating single lines of verse or prose, often in a tense confrontation on stage
2. Quick back-and-forth dialogue where each speaker responds with one line at a time, a device common in classical Greek drama
3. The technique of short, alternating lines spoken by two characters in a play, creating a sharp rhythm of question and answer

Etymology: "Stichomythias" is the plural of "stichomythia," and the singular is the one to start with. It comes from Ancient Greek "stikhomuthía," built from "stíkhos," meaning "line of verse," and "mûthos," meaning "speech." Put together, the literal sense is roughly "speech by line," which is exactly what the term describes: two characters trading single lines back and forth in rapid exchange. The form reached English by way of Latin, which took the Greek term over more or less intact. The device itself is much older than the word. Greek tragedy, with Sophocles and Euripides as the clearest examples, used this rapid alternation at moments of sharp conflict, when a speaker's emotion was too high for a long speech. The Greeks needed a name for the technique, and "speech by line" was a plain, precise choice.