dramatic features in Macbeth Flashcards
a moment in a play or other work when a character makes a critical discovery
Anagnorisis
literally means “opposite” – it is usually the opposite of a statement, concept, or idea. In literary analysis, an _____________ is a pair of statements or images in which the one reverses the other. The pair is written with similar grammatical structures to show more contrast.
That’s one small step for a man – one giant leap for mankind.
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
Antithesis
When a sentence is purposefully left incomplete or cut off. It’s caused by an inability or unwillingness to continue speaking. This allows the ending to be filled in by the listener’s imagination.
Aposiopesis
A brief speech in which a character turns from the person being addressed to speak directly to the audience; a dramatic device for
letting the audience know what a character is really thinking or feeling as opposed to what the character pretends to think or feel
aside
Non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter.
Most of Shakespeare’s dialogue is written in ___________, though it does
occasionally rhyme.
Blank Verse
The purging of the feelings of pity and fear that, according to Aristotle, occur in the audience of tragic drama. The audience experiences ______________ at the end of the play, following the catastrophe.
Catharsis
five components of STEAL
Speech
Thoughts
Effect on others
Actions
Looks
types of external conflicts
character vs. character
character vs. nature
character vs. society
character vs. supernatural
character vs. technology
The resolution of the plot of a literary work. The __________ of Hamlet takes place after the catastrophe, with the stage littered with corpses. the conclusion of the story. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis for them and the reader. Sometimes a hint as to the characters’ future is given
Denouement
The resolution of a plot by use of a highly improbable chance or coincidence (so named from the practice of some Greek dramatists of having a god descend from heaven at the last possible minute—in the theater by means of a stage
Deus ex machina (god from the machine)
Commonly known as “doublespeak,” ___________is the use of vague language to hide one’s meaning or to avoid committing to a point of view.
The two essential elements of equivocation are:
Ambiguous language
An effort (conscious or unconscious) to deceive others_________
equivocation
Where an author interrupts a story in order to explain something, usually to provide important background information. The first chapter consists mostly of exposition, running down the family’s history and describing their living conditions.
exposition
A character who is meant to represent characteristics, values, ideas, etc. which are directly and diametrically opposed to those of another character, usually the protagonist.
foil
Overbearing and excessive pride
Hubris
is a literary device in which there is a discrepancy between expectation and reality, often creating a contrast that can be humorous, tragic, or thought-provoking. It occurs when what happens or is said is the opposite of what one would expect, or when there is a deeper meaning behind the words or events that is not immediately apparent.
irony
A contradiction in terms. Romeo describes love using several ___________, such as “cold fire,” “feather of lead” and “sick health,” to suggest its contradictory nature.
oxymorons
Where a situation is created which cannot possibly exist, because different elements of it cancel each other out. It is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly but may include a latent truth. It is also used to illustrate an opinion or statement contrary to accepted traditional ideas. A ___________ is often used to make a reader think over an idea in innovative way.
paradox
Use of similar or identical language, structures, events or ideas in different parts of a text. Hobbs’ final strikeout ___________ the Whammer’s striking out against him at the
beginning of the novel.
Parallelism
The ______________ is a figure of speech in which the natural world (or some part of it) is treated as though it had human emotions. The phrase “weeping willow” is an example of the pathetic fallacy, since it suggests that this tree is sad or dejected, which of course is not true – it just looks that way to our eyes.
Pathetic Fallacy
Non-metrical language; the opposite of verse
prose
A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words
pun
