Terms to know (Week 1 - Week 3) for taming of the shrew

genre

kind/type of work

playwright

a writer of plays

convention

a characteristic of a genre (often unrealistic) that is understood and accepted by audiences because it has come, through usage and time, to be recognized as a familiar technique.

act

major division in the action of the play

signals changes in

• time

• setting

• characters onstage

• mood

scene

subdivision of an act

scenes that consist of units of action where there is no changes or breaks in time

signals changes in

• location

• new characters enter

stage directions

instructions about when actors enter and exit

also can sometimes be instructions on how and to whom a character delivers a line

syntax

the ordering of words into meaningful verbal patters such as phrases, clauses, and sentences

makes literature more fluid

theme

central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work

unifies the point around the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of work

dialogue

the verbal exchanges between characters in a play

revealing firsthand their thoughts, responses, and emotional states. Dramas rely on dialogue and stage action to further the plot rather than narration

setting

the physical and social context in which the action of the story occurs.  The major elements of setting are the time, the place, and the social environment that frames the characters. 

comedy

a work intended to interest, involve, and amuse the reader or audience, in which no terrible disaster occurs and that ends happily for the main characters. 

diction

a work's language or word choice

imagery

language that appeals to any of the five senses

allusion

a brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature

character

a figure presented in a dramatic or narrative work

foil

a character in a work whose behavior and values contrast with those of another character in order to highlight the distinctive temperament of that character.  Characters who are foils have something in common with each other but have a significant different between them (for instance, each faces a similar conflict or obstacle but each chooses a different way of resolving that conflict).  Don’t confuse the foil with the antagonist.

aside

a convention in drama in which a speech directed to the audience is supposedly not audible to the other characters onstage at the time.  

soliloquy  

in drama, a convention by which a character, alone onstage, utters his or her thoughts aloud.  Playwrights use soliloquies as a convenient way to inform the audience about a character’s motivations and state of mind

subplot

a subordinate plot in a literary work, often shedding light on the main plot by comparison or contrast.