Shakespeare's Life and Drama Lecture Review

These vocabulary flashcards cover William Shakespeare's biography, linguistic contributions, Elizabethan historical context, and the dramatic conventions of Shakespearean tragedy.

The Bard

The name throughout history that William Shakespeare is known by.

Stratford-upon-Avon

The small town where Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564.

John Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s father, who was employed as a glover.

Histories

Plays written during Shakespeare's early years that are dramatizations of events from England’s past, such as Richard III and Henry V.

Comedies

Less serious stories with generally happy endings, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of the Shrew.

Tragedies

Plays that end unhappily and often with death, such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.

Shakespeare’s Vocabulary

A collection of words totaling between $18,000$ and $25,000$ words.

Thee/Thou

Shakespearean nouns meaning 'You'.

Dost

A Shakespearean verb meaning 'Do'.

Hath

A Shakespearean verb meaning 'Has'.

Pun

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings.

Simile

A direct comparison of two unlike things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as.’

Metaphor

A direct comparison between two unlike things stating that one is the other or does the actions of the other.

Personification

Giving human characteristics to something non-human such as an object, animal, or abstract idea.

Oxymoron

A phrase that combines two words that are opposite or contradictory in meaning.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that presents an overstatement or exaggeration for emphasis.

Mystery Plays

Scenes from The Old Testament of The Bible performed by traveling groups in the Middle Ages.

Bubonic Plague

Also known as “the black death,” this disease killed nearly half of the people in London between 1564 and 1623.

Lord Chamberlain’s Men

The acting troupe Shakespeare joined when theatres reopened in 1594.

The Globe Theatre

The famous building created when the original theatre of Lord Chamberlain’s Men was torn down and rebuilt.

The King’s Men

The name Lord Chamberlain’s Men became when James I took over the throne and provided financial support.

The Pit

A rectangular stage area, also called the yard, where the lower classes stood for the entire performance.

Groundlings

The lower-class audience members who stood in the pit to watch performances.

Tragedy

A drama that ends in catastrophe—most often death—for the main characters.

Tragic Hero

The protagonist who usually fails or dies because of a character flaw or a cruel twist of fate; often has a high rank or status.

Antagonist

The force working against the protagonist, which can be another character, a group, or something nonhuman such as nature or society.

Foil

A character whose personality and attitude contrast sharply with those of another character to highlight both characters' traits.

Soliloquy

A speech given by a character alone on stage that lets the audience know what the character is thinking or feeling.

Aside

A character's remark, either to the audience or to another character, that others on stage do not hear.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows more than the characters, helping to build suspense.

Comic Relief

A humorous scene or speech intended to lighten the mood and heighten the seriousness of the main action by contrast.