SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY

Where did the certain rules for writing come from?

the ancient Greeks

What did the playwright do instead of creating its own story?

he took an old, well-known story and re-created it, improved it.  All the events remained the same; characterization became the main focus of the play.

how many acts did all the plays have?

5

What were the acts divided into?

Scenes

How many scenes could there be in a Act?

There could be any number of scenes

What was each scene divided into?

Lines

What is used to indicate **an act**?

Upper case Roman numerals are used. Example: Act III

What is used to indicate **a scene**?

Lower case Roman numerals are used.  Example: scene iii

What is used to indicate **lines**?

Arabic numbers are used.  Example: 3-33  (III, iii, 3-33-----This means Act Three, scene three, lines three through thirty-three)

What was the first scene?

exposition

When does the climate always occur?

In Act III

Events occurring in the rising action are called?

complications resulted in the climax

Events occurring in the falling action are called?

 complications resulted in the catastrophe

EXPOSITION

Creates the tone, gives the setting, introduces some of the characters, and supplies facts necessary for the understanding of the play

RISING ACTION

The antagonist and the protagonist are balanced against each other

CLIMAX

Always occurs in the third act of a Shakespearean drama.  It is the turning point of the action where the action turns from good to bad

COMPLICATIONS

Events which serve to further the climax or catastrophe

FALLING ACTION

 The continuous downfall of the protagonist(s). It prepares the audience for the next phase of the play

CATASTROPHE

The tragic failure, usually the death, of the hero and comes as the natural outgrowth of the action

DENOUEMENT

The resolution of the play where the tragedy is explained and a solution to the problem is given for future reference.  The denouement sometimes presents a moral

TRAGEDY

A drama which tells of an important and related series of events in the life of a person of significance.  The events usually end in an unhappy catastrophe.  The whole drama is treated with great seriousness and dignity

SOLILOQUY

A speech of a character in a play delivered while the speaker is alone on stage.  The speech is designed to inform the audience or reader of what is passing through the character’s mind or to give information concerning other participants in the action which is essential for the reader to know

ASIDE

Words spoken by an actor to be heard by the audience only and not by the actors on the stage

DRAMATIC IRONY

The words or acts of a character in a play may carry meaning unknown to him, but understood by the audience.  Usually the character’s own interests are involved in a way which cannot be understood

PROTAGONIST

The chief character in the play.  He may have heroic qualities.  He is usually a person of high rank

ANTAGONIST

The chief opponent of the protagonist; his rival

FATE

Circumstances which cannot be controlled by humans

TRAGIC FLAW

A certain quality in a character’s personality (usually in the protagonist’s personality) which causes his own downfall and ends in tragedy

FREE WILL

The ability of a character in the play to make his own decisions and shape his own future.  Fate and free will are usually opposing each other in Shakespearean drama

PATHOS

The suffering of a character and the feeling that the audience has for the characters.  Pity is another word for pathos

HUMOROUS RELIEF

Elements of humor in the play that serve to relieve tension in the audience

CHORUS

The actor who sets the tone of the play, introduces the characters, and/or explains the plot of the play.  The chorus will appear at the beginning of the play and before acts.  He may also appear at the end of the play to provide closure for the audience

PUNS

Humorous play on words indicating different meanings.  Puns were a popular means of providing humor

BLANK VERSE

The style of writing used by Shakespeare.  It is unrhymed poetry.  Each line consists of five feet, each foot containing two syllables of iambic pentameter

IAMBIC PENTAMETER

The beat or rhythm of five feet of poetry; each foot contains an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable

IAMB

One foot of an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable

METAPHOR

Comparing something in terms of something else, such as “a ship plows the sea”

EXTENDED METAPHOR

 it differs from a regular metaphor in that several comparisons are made; an extended metaphor sustains the comparisons for several lines or for an entire poem