AP Lit Midterm (combined sets from ALL tests and quizzes)

What type of line is the foundation of nearly 3/4 of Shakespeare's plays?

-Iambic Pentameter, however, he often played with many variations of the form, such as variations in the metrical or pause pattern.

Rhetorical style is addicted to __________________, whereas colloquial style appears to be _________________.

symmetry (regular forms and patterns), asymmetrical (shapeless, no strict style).

Many say the rhetorical style builds to what, compared to the colloquial style?

-a climax compared to the seemingly shapeless, directionless, and even anticlimactic nature of a colloquial

What are some of the purposes of rhetorical style?

-often used in public address

-clarity, emphasis, and forceful conviction

What are some of the purposes of the colloquial style?

-natural in private conversation

-more unique means of conveying the sounds of a unique voice

Of the two styles (rhetorical and colloquial), which style is heard in nearly every Shakespearean character?

-rhetorical style

-Colloquial style is confined to those characters who are permitted to speak in a naturalistic manner

The rhetorical style is marked strongly by 1. _______________

-repetition (repeated words, phrases, sounds, rhythms)

-produces emphasis

The rhetorical style is also distinguished by 2. __________________

-parallelism (balanced grammatical units such as sentence structure or in meaning)

The rhetorical style is also marked by 3. ______________ ______________

-balanced antithesis

-(parallel structures encasing contrasting meanings)

What type of verse are most of Shakespeare's lines in?

-blank verse

Prior to Shakespeare's writings, all popular drama in England was composed in..

Rhymed verse

Dramatic art presents images that are true _________ life but not necessarily _____ to life

- about, true

All drama inclines toward __________ as its natural medium. Why?

-verse

-typical, everyday language is not dramatic enough in comparison; an "art" is required to make a play dramatic

In what cases does Shakespeare use prose instead of verse?

-In letters and proclamations

-In the speech of madmen

-For comic matter

-(Shakespeare also uses it in passages that are deliberately lowkey)

What is Shakespeare's "greatest" discovery?

-the principle of contrast

What are some of the ways that dramatic contrast manifests itself?

-juxtaposing opposing characters, settings, atmospheres, or themes to highlight differences, emphasize meaning, and create dramatic effect.

-could be contrast between two characters, contrast within a singular character, contrast between POV, underscore a contrast in purpose

It is often perceived that class lines determine when prose and verse are spoken in Elizabethan drama. Is this really true?

-Not necessarily, while it tends to be this way, Shakespeare breaks up this pattern throughout his plays. A lower-class character may speak in verse when his situation depicts an important moment of human experience. An upper-class character may speak in prose when conversing with a townsperson, or simply to break up the formality and add some lightness and humor to the situation.

-So, while the situation typically depicts the lower class as using prose and the upper class as using verse, Shakespeare does not completely segregate the two and will use them interchangeably at times.

In which type of Shakespeare's plays is the rhetorical style used most frequently?

-Public address in Shakespeare's Roman Plays

-Particularly used in Julius Caesar, serving a purpose not just functional but also structural. The play may be viewed from this perspective as a series of efforts to capture the emotions and influence the conduct of the Roman Populace by means of artful Rhetoric.

What is the Great Chain of Being?

-a place for every supernatural being, person, animal, and thing

What are the two categories in the chain of being?

-order and chaos

Who resides at the top of the chain of order?

-God

Who resides at the top of the chain of chaos?

-Satan

Besides the first three items on each list (order: God, Angels, Human, chaos: Satan, Demons, non-human) what do the next places in the lists have in common?

-They represent common virtues and vices (or actions)

-Peace, love, good

-War, Hate, Evil

Who are the two classes of people?

-Nobles and Commoners

Who first described the Great Chain of Being?

-St. Thomas Aquinas

Who falls at the top and bottom of the list?

-God and Dirt

What were some of the "ingredients" or aspects of the Renaissance?

-Art

-Printed Word

-Acceptance of Translation

-Diverse Relgion

-Centralized Government

-Humanistic Philosophy

-Idea of the "Renaissance Man"

-Knowledge and Discovery

-Rejection of the Medieval as the "Dark Age"

-A General Enlightenment of the Human Spirit

When did the major split in religion occur?

-In 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany

What is Humanism?

- the belief that education can improve the quality of life for humanity

-increased reverence for the individual- optimism for a noble future for humanity in this world

What is the idea of the "Renaissance Man"?

- the idea that a human can excel in numerous areas of expertise.

-being a poet, a musician, a soldier, a scientist, a sculptor, an architect, a theologian, a philosopher, an artist ( notable examples being Michelangelo and Da Vinci)

What is the most essential difference between a tragedy and a comedy?

-their depiction of human nature

Tragedies depict _________ and comedies depict __________.

-greatness, weakness

What is the difference between the protagonists of comedies and tragedies?

-comedic protagonists are not commanding figures, they do not challenge the limits of human greatness, they are typically amidst a group to emphasize their "normalness"

-The tragic hero possesses an overpowering individuality and often strikes us with awe

Comedic plays are typically named for a ___________. Tragic plays are typically named for ___________.

- type (ie, the type of character the protagonist is)

-The protagonist himself

Tragic plays flow in a __________ order. Comedic plays flow _________

-logical (cause and effect)

-less plausibly (unlikely coincidences, improbable disguises, mistaken identities)

A tragedy involves a change in the protangonist's fortune in which he falls from _____________ to _____________

-happiness, misery

What are some of the characteristics of a tragic hero?

-nobility

-Aristotelian imperfection

-downfall partially his own fault

-The tragic hero does not wholly deserve his punishment

-his tragic fall is not pure loss

-hero's fate arouses solemn emotions

What is Aristotelian Imperfection?

-a criminal act of injustice (hamartia) by ignorance or conviction, not a mere personality flaw, but an error of judgement, a fatal weakness, a fault of character

-hero is, nevertheless, good

A true tragedy does not create depression or discouragement, but rather does what?

-creates encouragement to strive for the highest human potential and courage, no matter how bad the circumstances or events

Tragedy shows humankind what we _____ ___; comedy shows us what we _____

-can be, are

What are some of the aspects tragedy celebrates?

-endurance, perseverance, beauty, and dignity of the human spirit

-comedies revel in foolishness and folly

Tragedies often include an event that triggers an emotional release or exhilaration called a

catharsis

What is a figure of speech?

-an expression in which the words are used in a nonliteral sense to present a figure, picture, or image

What is a simile?

-a direct or explicit comparison between two usually unrelated things, indicating a likeness or similarity between some attribute found in both things

-uses LIKE or AS to introduce the comparison

- "John swims like a fish."

What is a metaphor?

-an implied comparison between two usually unrelated things, indicating a likeness or analogy between attributes found in both things

-unlike a simile, does not use like or as to indicate the comparison

-"Ella had a heart made of stone."

What is personification?

-the giving of human characteristics to inanimate objects, ideas, or animals

-"The wind whistled,"

-"Her heart cried out."

What is a synedoche?

-the technique of mentioning a part of something to represent the whole

-"All hands on deck!"

What is a metonymy?

-the substitution of a word naming an object for another word closely associated with it.

-"Pay tribute to the crown." (referring to the Queen as the "crown")

-"The White House has decided" (referring to the president as "The White House"

What is a symbol?

-a word or image that signifies something other than what it literally represents.

-The cross is a symbol of Christianity; the donkey and the elephant are symbols of the 2 major American political parties

What is an allegory?

-a narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface one

-The creation story of Genesis serves as an allegory

What is an overstatement?

-an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis and is not to be taken literally

-"rivers of blood"

-"sweat to death"

What is an understatement?

-consists of saying less than one means, or of saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants

What is an antithesis?

-a balancing or contrasting of one term against another

-"Man proposes, God disposes"

-"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind"

What is an apostrophe?

-the addressing of someone or something usually not present, as though present

-"Captain, my Captain!"

What is Dramatic Irony?

-a device by which the author implies a different meaning from that intended by the speaker (or by a speaker) in a literary work

-a literary device where the audience possesses more knowledge about a situation than the characters do, creating suspense, anticipation, or emotional impact

What is "Irony of situation"?

-a situation in which there is an incongruity between actual circumstances and those that would seem appropriate or between what is anticipated and what actually comes to pass

-Ex. a fire station burns down

What is Verbal Irony?

-a figure of speech in which what is meant is the opposite of what is said

-Sarcasm

What is a paradox?

-a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements

-"less is more"

What is an oxymoron?

- a compact paradox- a figure of speech that combines two contradictory words, placed side by side

-bitter sweet, wise fool, living death

Rhyme

-the similarity or likeness of sound existing between two words. A true rhyme should consist of identical-sounding syllables that are stressed, and the letters preceding the vowel sounds should be different.

Fun and run are ______ rhymes because the vowel sounds are preceded by different consonants

True or perfect

Near, off, or slant rhyme

-A rhyme based on an imperfect or incomplete correspondence of end syllable sound.

-Often, this means using the same vowel sound but different consonant sounds or vice versa

Sweet/keep, hold/bald, down/noon are all examples of...

Near, off, or slant rhymes

Rhyme may be ___ rhyme or _________ rhyme

end, internal

End Rhyme

-consists of the similarity occurring at the end of two or more lines of verse

"I wish that my room had a floor."

"I don't so much care for a door."

Internal Rhyme

-Consists of the similarity occurring between two or more words in the same line of verse

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary."

What are the three kinds of rhyme?

-Masculine, Feminine, and Triple

-based on the number of syllables presenting a similarity of sound

Masculine Rhyme

-occurs when one syllable of a word rhymes with another word

"bend and send"

Feminine Rhyme

-occurs when the last two syllables of a word rhyme with another word

"lawful and awful"

Triple Rhyme

-occurs when the last three syllables of a word or line rhyme

-"victorious and glorious"

What is Rhyme Scheme?

-the pattern or sequence in which the rhyme occurs. The first sound is represented as "a", the second "b", and so on.

What is alliteration?

-the repetition of the initial letter or sound in two or more words in a line of verse

What is an onomatopoeia?

-the use of a word to represent or imitate natural sounds (buzz, crunch, tingle, gurgle, sizzle, hiss)

What is assonance?

-the similarity or repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words. Lake and Stake are rhymes, Lake and Fate are assonance

What is consonance?

-the repetition of consonant sounds within a line of verse. Similar to alliteration, except it doesn't limit the repeated sound to the initial letter or word

"But such a tide as moving seems asleep" -repetition of the "s" sound throughout the line

What is a refrain?

-the repetition of one or more phrases or lines at intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza. It often takes the form of a chorus

What is repetition?

-the reiterating of a word or phrase within a poem

___________ is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables established in a line of poetry.

Meter

What are the other names for stressed and unstressed syllables?

accented and unaccented

a ________ is a unit of meter.

foot

A metrical foot can have how many syllables?

two or three

Poetic lines are classified according to the number of _______ in a line

feet

What is the Iambic foot?

-a two-syllable foot with the stress on the second syllable.

-Most common foot in English

What is the Trochee foot?

-consists of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable

What is the Anapest foot?

-consists of three syllables with the stress on the last syllable

What is the Spondee foot?

-consists of two stressed syllables. Compound words are examples. They are used for variation.

What is the Dactyl foot?

-contains three syllables with the stress on the first syllable

What is the Pyrrhic foot?

-consists of two unstressed syllables. This type of foot is rare and is found interspersed with other feet.

What are the basic kinds of metrical lines?

Monometer- one foot line

Dimeter- two foot line

Trimeter- three foot line

tetrameter- four foot line

Pentameter- five foot line

Hexameter- six foot line

Heptameter- seven foot line

Octometer- eight foot line

What are the three types of verse forms?

1. Rhymed verse

2. Blank verse

3. Free verse

Rhymed verse

-consists of verse with end rhyme and usually with a regular meter

Blank Verse

-consists of lines of iambic pentameter without end rhyme

Free verse

-consists of lines that do not have a regular meter and do not contain rhyme

How many lines does a sonnet have?

-14 lines within one stanza

What type of meter is typically used in sonnets?

-Iambic pentameter

What are the two types of sonnets?

-Petrarchan (or Italian) and Shakespearean (or English)

What are the two sections in a Petrarchan sonnet?

-The octave (first eight lines) and the sestet (next six)

What is the rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet?

-abbaabba (octave) cdecde or cdcdcd (sestet)

What is a "volta" in a sonnet?

- the turning point or shift

What does the division of the octave and sestet typically represent in a Petrarchan sonnet?

-A division of thought

-could be a situation and a comment, an idea and example, a question and answer, etc.