Shakespearean Drama Vocabulary and Terms

Shakespeare’s Plays Tragedy: a play that traces the main character’s downfall Comedy: a play that ends happily and usually contains many humorous elements History: a play that chronicles the life of an English monarch

Tragedy and the Tragic Hero Shakespeare’s tragedies are often called his “greatest plays.” Every tragedy contains a “tragic hero” Tragic hero: a main character who goes through a series of events that lead to his/her downfall

Qualities of a Tragic Hero Possesses importance or high rank Exhibits extraordinary talents Displays a tragic flaw—an error in judgment or defect in character—that leads to downfall Faces downfall with courage and dignity

Tragic Hero Cont. Dramatic Foils- characters that are opposites or pitted against each other. The foil usually tried to prevent another character, usually the hero or protagonist, from doing something. He “foils” his plans.  

Soliloquy and Aside Shakespeare uses soliloquies and asides even though these are not things that are used in real life. Soliloquy: a long speech given by a character while alone on stage to reveal his or her private thoughts or intentions. (monologue) Aside: a character’s quiet remark to the audience or another character that no one else on stage is supposed to hear. A stage direction (often in brackets) indicates an aside

Aside Example Trebonius: Caesar, I will. [Aside] And so near will I be That your best friends shall wish I had been further. The audience is meant to hear the aside, but not Caesar. What does the aside suggest?

Dramatic Irony Dramatic Irony: when the reader or audience knows something that one or more of the characters do not know. How is dramatic irony used in horror movies?

Word Play PUNS – words with similar sounds but different meanings. I continually asked the track coach about joining the team but he just kept giving me the run- around. Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

Word Play OXYMORON – words with opposite meaning that are used together. Original copy Second best Same difference Easy payments Work party

Word Play SEXUAL DOUBLE ENTENDRES- common words with sexual connotation. The photographer was disappointed because when he looked at the pictures of the cheerleading team, he realized they weren’t developed.

Word Play AMBIGUITY – words that convey more than one meaning. "Thanks for dinner. I’ve never seen potatoes cooked like that before." (Jonah Baldwin in the film Sleepless in Seattle, 1993)

Word Play MALAPROPISMS – words misused, usually humorously, because they happen to sound like other words. "I resemble that remark!” (Instead of resent) “Density has brought me to you.” (Instead of destiny)

Literary Term Alliteration- the repeated occurrence of a consonant sound at the beginning of several words in the same phrase. "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers …"

You got rhythm, but no rhyme! Blank Verse is a type of poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no rhyme. Meter is the pattern of stressed or unstressed syllables.

Iambic Pentameter da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM The most common meter in English poetry, the so- called iambic pentameter, is a sequence of five iambic feet or iambs, each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one ("da- DUM") : da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM