In drama, a protasis is the introductory part of a play, usually its first act.
The term was coined by the fourth-century Roman grammarian Aelius Donatus.
He defined a play as being made up of three separate parts, the other two being epitasis and catastrophe.
In modern dramatic theory the term dramatic arc has substantially the same meaning,[1] though with slightly different divisions.
This drama-related article is a stub.