Real Shakespeare

Alliteration

The repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words to create rhythm or emphasis.

Ex. "If thou dost slander her and torture me,
Never pray more. Abandon all remorse;
On horror's head horrors accumulate" (Othello, 3.3)

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or clauses for emphasis or dramatic effect.

Ex. "It is cause, it is the cause, my soul—" (Othello, 5.5)

Anthimeria

The substitution of one part of speech for another, often turning a noun into a verb or vice versa.

Ex. "Villain, be sure thou prove my love a *****; be sure of it; give me the ocular proof." (Othello, 3.3)

Ocular proof uses an adjective (ocular) as a noun phrase, giving vivid force to Othello's demand.

Ex. 2 "Google it", etc.

Antithesis

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel phrases.

Ex. "She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them." (Othello, 1.3)

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which a speaker addresses an absent person, abstract idea, or inanimate object as if it could respond.

Ex. "O earth, I will befriend thee more with rain / That shall distil from these two ancient urns" (Titus 3.1)

Apposition

The placement of two elements side by side, where the second renames or explains the first.

Ex. "O thou Othello, thou wert once so good" (Othello, 5.2) — "Othello" renames "thou", reinforcing personal address and emotional weight.

Aside

A brief remark made by a character to the audience or to themselves, unheard by other characters onstage, revealing inner thoughts or motives.

Ex. "(aside) He takes her by the palm. Ay, well said, whisper!" (Othello, 2.1) — Iago's asides throughout the play let the audience in on his schemes.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter — the most common verse form found in Shakespeare's plays.

Ex. "It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul." (Othello, 5.2) — written in ten-syllable iambic lines without rhyme.

Canon

The collection of works officially regarded as authentic and representative of an authors body of work OR an established set of authoritative rules and principles.

Ex. Othello and Titus Andronicus are both part of the Shakespearean canon.

Catharsis

The emotional release experienced by the audience after witnessing the downfall or suffering of a tragic hero.

Ex. The final scene of Othello, 5.2, where Othello realizes Desdemona's innocence and kills himself, evokes pity and fear, leading to catharsis.

Cautionary Tale

A story that warns of the consequences of certain behaviors, often through the downfall of its protagonist.

Ex. Othello functions as a cautionary tale about jealousy and misplaced trust. Othello's credulity and passion destroy both love and life.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures.

Ex. "But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck at; I am not what I am." (Othello, 1.1) — The reversal of I am what I am creates chiasmic contrast between appearance and reality.

Cosmology

The worldview or belief system about the universe and humanity's place in it, often influencing how fate, order and morality are portrayed.

Ex. The Elizabethan cosmology, a world of divine justice and natural order, is shattered by extreme violence and moral chaos of Titus Andronicus.

Crux

A critical or puzzling point in text that is open to interpretation or debate, often pivotal for understanding meaning.

Ex. A major crux is whether Othello's downfall stems more from Iago's manipulation or from his own insecurities, a question central to most interpretations.

Domestic Tragedy

A tragedy that focuses on the downfall of ordinary individuals through personal or family conflict rather than royal or epic events.

Ex. Though Othello is a general, the tragedy centers on private jealousy and marriage, making it a domestic tragedy rather than a political one.

Double Time

A Shakespearean device where the events of the play seem to occur on two conflicting timelines, one lone and one short, to heighten tension or dramatic effect.

Ex. "Double time" in Othello make it seem like Desdemona and Othello have been married both for a day and for weeks, intensifying the illusion of Iago's rapid success.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something that one or more characters do not, creating tension or humor.

Ex. The audience knows of Iago's deceiving of Othello since the beginning of the play. Each time Othello calls him "honest Iago", it becomes bitterly ironic.

Epic Simile

An extended, elaborate, comparison (often several lines long) used to intensify a description or emotion.

Ex. When Titus compares his sorrow to the vastness of the sea (3.1), his imagery mirrors the style of epic similes, grief as endless and consuming as the ocean.

Equivocation

The deliberate use of ambiguous or double meanings to mislead or obscure with.

Ex.
IAGO
Lie—
OTHELLO With her?
IAGO With her — on her — what you will.
OTHELLO Lie with her? Lie on her? We say "lie on her" when they belie her. Lie with her—(Zounds,) that's fulsome! (Othello, 4.1)

False Start

When a speaker begins to speak, stops or changes direction mid-sentence, revealing emotional instability or hesitation.

Ex. "It is not words that shake me thus. Pish! Noses, ears, and lips—Is't possible?—Confess—handkerchief!—O devil!" (Othello, 4.1) — Othello's fragmented speech shows his unraveling mind.

Folio

A large format book made by folding printed sheets once, producing two leaves (four pages). In Shakespeare studies, The First Folio (1623) is the earliest collected edition of his plays.

Great Chain of Being

The Elizabethan belief that all creation is ordered in a hierarchy from God down to inanimate objects; disrupting this order leads to chaos.

Hamartia

A tragic flaw or error in judgement that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero.

Ex. Othello's hamartia is his jealousy and trust in appearances, which Iago exploits to destroy him.

Heroic Couplet

Two consecutive lines of rhyming poetry that are written in iambic pentameter and that contain a complete thought.
Ex. "I thank you for this profit, and from hence
I'll love no friend, sith love breeds such offence" (Othello, 3.3)

Iambic Pentameter

A metrical line with five iambs (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one), totaling ten syllables per line.

Ex. "It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul." (Othello, 5.2) Each alternating beat follows the iambic pattern.

Implied Stage Direction

When the dialogue of the play suggests the stage directions for the actors in a play.

Ex. When Othello says, "Put out the light, and then put out the light" (Othello, 5.2), the first phrase implies he extinguishes a candle onstage.

In Medias Res

Latin for "in the middle of things"; when a narrative begins in the midst of action rather than at the chronological beginning.

Ex. The play opens in medias res, Iago and Roderigo are already discussing Othello's secret marriage before we even meet the title character.

Intentional Fallacy

The critical idea that a work's meaning should be not determined by the author's intention, but by the text itself.

Liberal Humanism

A critical approach emphasizing individual human value, moral insight, and universal truths found through close reading through the text.

Ex. A liberal humanist reading of Othello might focus on Othello's internal moral struggle, his humanity, dignity and tragic error as opposed to social or political contexts.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it.

Ex. When Othello refers to "the wars" to describe his identity as a soldier, the phrase stands for the entire military life and experience, a metonym for his profession and honor.

Mise en Abyme

A literary or dramatic technique in which a smaller work mirrors or reflects the larger narrative, a story within a story that comments on the whole.

Ex. The play-within-the-play feeling of Titus staging revenge at the banquet (5.2) mirrors the broader theme of theatrical cruelty, the act of performance reflecting real violence.

Oxymoron

The pairing of contradictory terms to create a striking paradox or reveal complexity.

Ex. "Oh heavy lightness!" or "honest villain" (Othello)

Peripeteia

A sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances in a tragedy, often marking the turning point for the protagonist.

Ex. The peripeteia occurs when Othello believes Iago's lies about Desdemona's infidelity, shifting from love and trust to rage and destruction.

Polychrony

The coexistence or overlap of multiple timelines or senses of time within a single work, creating temporal complexity.

Ex. The plays conflicting sense of time, suggesting both a few days and a several weeks of marriage between Othello and Desdemona is an instance of polychrony, heightening emotional tension.

Primogeniture

The right of the first born son to inherit family wealth or title, central to social and familial order in Elizabethan England.

Ex. In Titus Andronicus, the disputes over succession and revenge echo the anxieties of primogeniture, questions of rightful heirs and inherited duty dive conflict.

Prose

Ordinary written or spoken language without metrical structure; in Shakespeare, prose often signals informality, madness, or social difference.

Ex. Iago frequently speaks in prose when manipulating others, marking his deceit and plain-speaking contrast to Othello's verse.

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.

Ex. Shakespeare's plays, including Othello, reflect post-Reformation tensions: moral conflict, sin, and redemption are viewed through an increasingly Protestant lens.

Prozeugma

A rhetorical device in which one word (usually a verb or adjective) governs several other words or clauses, though its meaning shifts slightly with each.

Ex. "Put out the light, and then put out the light" (Othello, 5.2) The verb "put out" is used to apply to both the physical candle ("the light") and Desdemona's life ("the light").

Quarto

A small book made by folding printed sheets twice, producing four leaves (eight pages). Many of Shakespare's plays were first published in this format.

Ex. Othello was first printed in a 1622 Quarto, which differs slightly from the later Folio version in lines and stage directions.

Soliloquy

A speech delivered by a character alone on stage, revealing inner thoughts or emotions directly to the audience.

Ex. "Thus do I ever make my fool my purse," (Othello, 1.3) is a soliloquy exposing Iago's motives and manipulative intentions.

Structural Irony

When the entire structure or perspective of a work relies on irony. The audience knows more or sees differently than the protagonist.

Ex. The play's structure depends on dramatic irony — the audience knows of Iago's deceit throughout, shaping how every event and line is perceived.

Sumptuary Laws

Regulations in early modern England controlling what people could wear based on their class, reflecting social hierarchy and moral order.

Ex. Desdemona's defiance of her father's authority and marriage across racial and class lines subtly challenges Elizabethan norms, including those upheld by sumptuary codes.

Syncope

The omission of sounds or letters from the middle of a word, often used in poetry to maintain meter.

Ex. Words like "o'er" (over) or "'tis" (it is) show syncope, fitting speech naturally into iambic pentameter.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole, or the whole represents a part.

Ex. Referring to "the handkerchief" as a stand in for Desdemona's faithfulness, the object becomes a synecdoche for her virtue.

Vehicle and Tenor

In a metaphor, the tenor is the subject being described and the vehicle is the image used to describe it.

Ex. Othello referring to Desdemona as "a fountain sealed" (Othello 4.2) — the tenor is Desdemona's chastity; the vehicle is the sealed fountain.

Verbal Irony

When a speaker says one thing but means another, often the opposite.

Ex. Iago's repetitive use of "honest" to describe himself is an example of verbal irony. The audience is aware he is anything but.

Zoomorphism 

The attribution of animal characteristics to humans, often to dehumanize or express primal emotion.

Ex. Iago refers to Othello and Desdemona's marriage in bestial terms — "an old black ram is tupping your white ewe" (Othello 1.1) — using zoomorphism to evoke disgust and prejudice.