Unit 2: Part 3 Literary Terms

Drama is a form of literature that tells a story through performances by actors.

Tragedies end with the downfall or death of the protagonist, or main character.

Comedies feature ordinary protagonists in conflicts that are resolved happily.

The term dialogue refers to the lines characters speak in conversation with each other.

Playwrights also use these types of speech: monologues, or long speeches delivered by one character to others; asides, or private remarks to another character or to the audience that are not heard by other characters onstage; and soliloquies, or speeches voicing a character's inner thoughts, not heard by others.

Playwrights also use these types of speech: monologues, or long speeches delivered by one character to others; asides, or private remarks to another character or to the audience that are not heard by other characters onstage; and soliloquies, or speeches voicing a character's inner thoughts, not heard by others.

Playwrights also use these types of speech: monologues, or long speeches delivered by one character to others; asides, or private remarks to another character or to the audience that are not heard by other characters onstage; and soliloquies, or speeches voicing a character's inner thoughts, not heard by others.

Many playwrights include stage directions, or instructions, about the setting, costumes, lighting, scenery, and props, or objects used onstage.

Imagery, or word pictures, in the dialogue shows characters' minds and hearts at work.

Shakespeare's noble characters often speak in a type of poetry called blank verse, consisting of unrhymed lines each containing five stressed syllables.

An iamb consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable ( ˘ ' ).

For interest, Shakespeare varies his meter, as when he begins this line with a trochaic foot ( ' ˘ ): "List'ning their fear, I could not say 'Amen'" (II, ii, 28).

Another variation is the anapestic foot ( ˘ ˘ ' ).

Shakespeare sometimes interrupts his blank verse with prose, which is writing that is not divided into poetic lines and lacks a definite rhythm.

Conflict—the struggle between two forces—is what creates drama.

The action, or series of events, of a play is developed and ordered by an author so that it reaches a climax—the point at which the internal and external conflicts are greatest.

Dramatic irony occurs when the words or actions of a character take on a meaning for the audience or readers different from the one the character intends.

Dramatic irony occurs when the words or actions of a character take on a meaning for the audience or readers different from the one the character intends.

Some images are powerful because they are archetypal—they relate to ideas and emotions expressed by people in many cultures.

In Act IV, for example, images of banishment from an ideal world—shrieking, groaning, and bleeding—indicate that Macbeth's Scotland resembles an underworld region where the dead are punished.

Shakespearean tragedy usually contains these elements:
• A central character of high rank and great personal quality, yet with a tragic flaw or weakness

Reading a Shakespearean tragedy is often uplifting despite the disasters that befall the hero. This positive experience results from the tragic impulse, which shows the tragic hero acting nobly.

A word's denotation is its dictionary meaning—what it means, free of associations it might call to mind.

A word's connotation is the set of associations and feelings that it stirs up.

Antonyms are words with opposite meanings.

An analogy compares two relationships to show their similarity.

In an analytical essay, evaluate Greenblatt's commentary.

Write an explanatory essay in which you compare and contrast two plays from different periods.

An author's perspective, or point of view, on a topic consists of his or her beliefs, judgments, and attitudes about that topic.

An author's perspective, or point of view, on a topic consists of his or her beliefs, judgments, and attitudes about that topic.

An argumentative essay is a prose work that presents a claim for or against a position.

While rhetorical devices will not replace sound reasoning and evidence, they can help to present your reasoning and evidence in a memorable and compelling way.

While rhetorical devices will not replace sound reasoning and evidence, they can help to present your reasoning and evidence in a memorable and compelling way.

• Repetition: Repeat key words to focus your argument.

• Parallelism: Repeated grammatical structures can create a memorable rhythm and help to make a strong point.

A hasty generalization is based on only a few facts or samples.

A non sequitur (Latin for "it does not follow") draws a conclusion that does not follow from the evidence given.

Then, create an arguable thesis—your position, or perspective, on the topic.

• Ethical Appeal: Establish your authority as a speaker, by acknowledging both sides of the topic and referring to credible sources.

Conduct any research needed to answer the concerns raised, and then develop and present an impromptu speech offering a rebuttal, or answer to your audience's critique of your argument.