hamlet

Hamlet

The main character, characterized as emo, arrogant, a thinker, and not a doer.

Claudius

The king, Hamlet's uncle, who killed the king and married the queen.

Gertrude

The queen and mother of Hamlet.

The Ghost

The spirit of Hamlet's father, which may be real or a figment of Hamlet's imagination.

Polonius

Lord Chamberlain and advisor to Claudius, father of Ophelia and Laertes.

Ophelia

Hamlet's girlfriend, who becomes unhinged and ultimately drowns herself.

Fortinbras

The Prince of Norway, motivated to conquer and avenge his father's death.

Yorick

The dead royal jester whose skull is picked up by Hamlet during the graveyard scene.

Eponym

A word or name based on a famous person.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical figure where one clause is the reverse of another.

Antithesis

A rhetorical device that contrasts opposing ideas.

Syllogism

A form of deductive reasoning where a conclusion follows from two premises.

Juxtaposition

Placing contrasting ideas or words side by side.

Satire

A literary genre that uses humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize behavior.

Hyperbole

An exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something that the character does not.

Red Herring

A distraction from the main argument or issue.

Analogies

Comparisons made to explain something unfamiliar by relating it to something familiar.

Ad hominem

A fallacy that attacks the person rather than addressing the argument.

Counterlogical Appeal

A rhetorical technique attempting to convince by appealing to emotions or authority.

Zeugma

A figure of speech in which a word applies to multiple parts of the sentence.

Inductive reasoning

Reasoning from specific instances to general conclusions.

Deductive reasoning

Reasoning from general principles to specific instances.

False analogy

A logical fallacy that makes a comparison without sufficient evidence.

Hasty generalization

A fallacy that makes a broad claim based on insufficient evidence.

Slippery slope

Arguing that a minor action will lead to major and often disastrous consequences.

Lampoon

A sharp, often virulent satire directed at an individual or institution.

Invective

Harsh, abusive language or expression.

Prolepsis

Speaking of something in the future as if it has already happened.

Cumulative sentence

A sentence that starts with an independent clause and adds dependent clauses.

Loose sentence

A sentence structure that begins with the main idea followed by modifiers.

Periodic sentence

A sentence that presents the main idea at the end.

Metonymy

A figure of speech where one word or phrase is substituted for another closely associated with it.