An action in a play that stimulates the audience to pity a character is

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for the term describing an action in a play that makes the audience feel pity or sympathy for a character.

Step 2: Explain the concepts

• Props: Short for "properties," the movable objects used on stage (swords, letters, cups). They are not an emotional device.
• Parody: A humorous imitation of a serious work or style, meant to mock or poke fun.
• Pyrrhic: Refers to a pyrrhic victory (a win that costs so much it feels like a loss). It also names a metrical foot of two unstressed syllables in poetry. Neither meaning has to do with pity.
• Pathos: From the Greek word for "suffering" or "feeling." It is the quality in a work that evokes pity, sorrow, or sympathy from the audience.

Step 3: Apply the concepts The key words in the question are "stimulates the audience to pity." Only pathos matches this. Examples include Okonkwo's tragic downfall in Things Fall Apart, Desdemona's innocent death in Othello, and King Lear wandering in the storm. These scenes make us feel sorry for the characters.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is D. pathos.

Exam tip: Link the word "pathos" with "sympathy" and "pathetic." They share the same root, which means feeling or suffering. Whenever a question mentions pity, sorrow, or sympathy, think pathos.