Combined Shakespeare Notes

Protagonist

the hero of the story

Romeo and Juliet

Antagonist

the enemy who stands in the way of the hero

The feud and fate

The Helper

points out solutions, provides comedic relief

friar lawrence, the nurse

The Wise person

hero confides in or who may have special knowledge

Friar lawrence

Static character

characters who do not change throughout the story

Mercutio, Tybalt

Dynamic character

characters who undergo major changes

Romeo and juliet

Catalyst character

character that accelerates a process, without being involved or changed

Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Nurse

Parallel character

Characters with comparable parts, mannerisms

Foil character

a character who by contrast, emphasizes the distinct characteristics of another

Paris is foil to

Romeo

Mercutio is foil to

Romeo

Nurse is foil to

Juliet

Love

violent overpowering force that supersedes all other values

Love-Hate

always connected to passion (1 or 2), displayed as delusional

Fate

“star crossed”, influence on characters that may make life changing decisions

Freewill

choice to do whatever

Hate

negative emotion toward someone

Types of love

• Unrequited Love

• Parental Love

• Friendship Love

• Self Love

• Love at first sight

• Romantic love

• True love

Unrequited love

when love is not returned

Parental love

love of a parent/parental figure towards a child

friendship love

love between two friends

self love

the caring for oneself

love at first sight

falling in love after seeing someone for the first time

romantic love

sentimental or idealized love

true love

genuine love

takes place

Verona, Italy

written

around 1562, Renaissance period

Juliet

• 13

• Capulet

Romeo

• 16

• Montague

Day 1 - Sunday

• street fight (morning)

• Capulet ball (evening)

• decided marriage (very late night)

Day 2 - Monday

• secret marriage (morning)

• mercutio, tybalt dead

• banishment

• honeymoon night

Day 3 - Tuesday

• Mantua

• Marry Paris Thurs

• Potion

• Drugged (evening)

Day 4 - Wednesday

• found dead (mornin’)

• buried

• “Juliet, your lady is dead!!!”

• apothecary

Day 5 - Thursday

• tomb, now for Paris

• drugged

• stabbed

• feud end

occupation

english playwright, poet, actor

widely regarded as

the greatest english writer and the worlds pre-eminent dramatist

1623

first folio was published

born

april 23 1564

born where

stratford-upon-avon, uk

died

april 23 1616

died where

stratford-upon-avon, uk

he was an actor from

1585-1605

member of

Kings Men (chamberlains men)

acted for

20 years

Show

lasted 2 ½ hours

Tragedy

Protagonist is overcome by the obstacle

Having made unwise choices

Comedy

Protagonist overcomes the obstacle

TragiComedy

Play with humorous scenes but ends tragically

Farce

the manners and customs of a period are held up to ridicule

Melodrama

Many ups and downs, no transitions

Characters are one-dimensional with little relationship with each other

Situations are impossible

Solutions are incredible or conflicts are overemphasized

Spectacle

any type of ritualistic pageant in which individuals perform predetermined actions or speak established dialogue

Cast of Characters

list of characters in a play

listed in order of appearance or importance

Setting of a Play

how the stage will look

info about time, place and people

Stage directions

how and where the actors should move and stand on stage, how they should behave in general

Dramatic Dialogue

the words the characters speak on stage

Soliloquy

speech given by a lone character on stage

reveals feelings, motives, or thoughts to the audience

Aside

words spoken to the audience by an actor

other actors are on stage when it occurs

Act

a large section of the play that is organized as a unit

Scene

shorter section that an act may be divided into

usually means a change of place, time, or action

Tragedy

play dealing with tragic events and ending unhappily

downfall of the protagonist

Tragic Hero

a man of physical or moral courage with a tragic flaw

Comic Relief

episodes to relieve tension and heighten the tragic element

Dramatic Irony

reader or audience knows something the characters do not

Situational Irony

the result of an action is the opposite of what the audience expects

Verbal Irony

contrast between what is said and what is meant

Allusion

reference to something outside the story

Pathos

quality in something that makes you feel a sense of pity, sorrow, or sympathy

Personification

human qualities are given to inanimate objects

Structure of Language

Poetry, with prose used primarily for common speech

Verse, written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line)

Structure of Play

5 acts, divided into scenes

Shakespearean Tragedy

dramatic composition which excites pity and terror by a succession of unhappy events

protagonist is defeated

Drama Element - Setting

carefully chosen and created a dominant atmosphere that paralleled the action of the play

Conflict

an incident early in the play that sets in motion an external conflict

Structure of Shakespearean Tragedy

Exposition

Complication

Crisis

Falling Action

Climax and Outcome

Exposition

• intro of characters

• plot establishment

• setting

• theme

• background info

Complication

• character conflict

• plot development

Crisis

• fortunes of the protagonist come to their height

Falling Action

• falling fortunes of the protagonist

• ascendency of the antagonist

Climax/Outcome (Catastrophe)

• fate of protagonist is resolved

• results of actions and events of the play

• new order to prevail forward

5 stages and acts

1- Exposition

2 - Complication

3 - Crisis

4 - Falling Action

5 - Climax & Outcome

Contrast

idea, character, or object is thrown into opposition with another for the sake of emphasis

Suspense

keeps the audience anxious concerning the outcome of the protagonists conflict

Nemesis

audience may feel the play has ended well because their sense of right has not been offended

Fate

the intervention of some force over which humans have no control over

The use of humour

presenting the totally unexpected

The use of supernatural

provides suspense and gives direction to the plot

The use of spectacular

furious action, elaborate costumes or props

Stanza

a unit of poem

a grouping of two or more lines of poetry

Quatrain

most common type of stanza

4 lines of poetry with a specific rhyming scheme

Rhyme

occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end if two or more words

Blank Verse

written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

obtrusive

Couplet

2 lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter

Heroic couplet

couplet written in rhymed iambic pentameter

Sonnet

closed form of 14 lines of rhyming iambic pentameter

Shakespearean Sonnet

14 line poem written in iambic pentameter

3 quatrains and a couplet

abab cdcd efef gg

English Form

Sonnet Form

14 lines

10 syllables per line

formal rhyme scheme

Types of Sonnets

English

Petrarchan