Mrs. Callahan Freshman English

1. Tragedy Drama ends in a catastrophe, most often death

2. Tragic Hero Protagonist, central character Usually fails or dies because of a character flaw or a cruel twist of fate

3. Antagonist Bad guy, force against the protagonist It can be 1 person, a group, or nature

4. Foil When a character’s personality contrasts sharply with another character

5. Soliloquy Speech given by a character alone on stage It lets the audience know what the character is thinking and feeling

6. Aside A character’s remarks, either to the audience or to another character, that others on stage can’t hear

7. Dramatic Irony When the audience knows more than the characters Helps build suspense

8. Comic Relief A humorous scene or speech intended to lighten the mood In contrast, makes serious main action even more serious

9. Blank Verse Natural speech poetry Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all.

Blank Verse Most of the story is in blank verse. When it is not, it is for effect.

10. Allusion A reference, within a work, to something that the audience is expected to know Ex. Shakespeare references the Bible & Greek mythology because the people of the time knew all about them.

11. Puns Clever jokes that result from multiple word meanings or rhyming sounds Ex. I wonder why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. Ex. A new type of broom came out. It is sweeping the nation.