Unit 4 PowerPoints Shakespearean Sonnets and Dramatic Elements

Shakespearean Sonnets

What is a Shakespearean sonnet? Shakespearean sonnets are poems that have a specific structure. These sonnets have 14 lines, are written in iambic pentameter, and end with a rhyming couplet. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets.

Iambic Pentameter The meter of a poem is a measure of rhythm, or the pattern of the beats. Shakespearean sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, which means that each line contains five metrical feet with an unstressed-stressed pattern. A metrical foot is a unit of rhythmic measure that contains two syllables. For example, the word monotonous has four syllables, or two metrical feet. The syllabic pattern of iambic pentameter is composed of iambs, which are sets of unstressed and stressed syllables. For example, the word risen is iambic because the stress is placed on the second syllable.

Shakespearean Sonnets Shakespearean sonnets are very specifically structured. The first twelve lines set up a problem, and the last two lines (called a rhyming couplet) act as the resolution of the problem.

Dramatic Elements

Drama Drama is a type of fiction using dialogue and performance. It is one of the literary genres, which is an imitation of some action. Drama is also a type of a play written for theaters, televisions, radios and films. In simple words, a drama is a work in verse or prose presenting a story in pantomime or dialogue, containing conflict of characters, particularly the ones who perform in front of audience on the stage. The person who writes drama for stage directions is known as a dramatist or playwright.

Literary device often used to reveal the innermost thoughts of a character. It is used to express a character’s thoughts about a certain character, or a past, present or upcoming event while talking to himself without acknowledging the presence of any other person. In a play, a character delivering a soliloquy talks to himself — thinking out loud— so that the audience better understands what is happening to the character internally. Soliloquy

“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” (Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare) Juliet was thinking aloud about the traditional hate between Romeo’s clan and her family, expressing her hopelessness about the success of their love. Example of Soliloquy

A literary device where a single character presents a speech in order to express his/her collection of thoughts and ideas aloud. Often, this character addresses another character or even the audience directly. Monologue

Monologue Example To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. -- Hamlet

Instructions in the text of a play, especially one indicating the movement, position, or tone of an actor, or the sound effects and lighting. Stage Directions

A tragic flaw is a literary term that refers to a personality trait of a main character that leads to his or her downfall. In other words, a character with a tragic flaw is in need of some kind of attitude adjustment. Romeo’s tragic flaw: thinking with his heart. Tragic Flaw

Aside An aside is a short speech from a character that is spoken directly to the audience. The other actors on set can physically hear the words but as their characters, they pretend as if nothing was said. The audience understands that the speech was meant for them only.

Denouement The denouement is a literary device which can be defined as the return to a normal state after the conflict is resolved.

Fourth Wall The fourth wall is an imaginary wall that separates the events on stage from the audience. The idea is that the stage is constructed with a cutaway view of the house, so that the people sitting on the audience can look through this invisible "fourth wall" and look directly into the events inside.