Dramatic Purposes/Literary Devices Flashcards
Comic relief example
Act 2, Scene 4, when mercutio, benvolio and romeo spend the whole scene joking and punning to provide comic relief between two serious and dramatic scenes
Foil
A character in a work of literature whose physical or psychological qualities contrast strongly with, and therefore highlight the corresponding qualities of another character
Foil example
Romeo and tybalt because romeo is sensitive and caring, tybalt is more hostile and is always looking to cause conflict
Tragic hero
A privileged, exalted character of high repute, who, by virtue of a tragic flaw and fate, suffers a fall from glory into suffering.
Tragic hero example
Romeo because he has a respectable reputation throughout Verona, but his impulsive nature leads him to kill tybalt and become infatuated with Juliet. These events cause him to be exiled, and he endures great emotional suffering and eventually dies, signaling his downfall
Tragic/fatal flaw
A flaw or defect in a tragedy’s hero that eventually leads to his or her downfall
Tragic/fatal flaw example
Romeo’s rash and impulsive nature because he falls in love with Juliet too quickly and makes a very sudden decision to kill tybalt, which leads to his banishment, and eventually his suicide
Pathos
A deep feeling attributed to a scene or passage specifically designed to evoke the emotions of tenderness, pity, or sympathetic sorrow from the reader
Pathos example
At the end of Act 3 when lord capulet is telling at Juliet for not wanting to marry Paris, the reader feels sorry for Juliet because her father is being unfair
Symbol
An object which is used to represent a greater meaning.
Symbol example
The conch shell in LOTF that piggy finds on the island. Ralph uses the conch to call meetings, and so it becomes a symbol of order and civilization. When it is broken, near the end of the novel, it is symbolic of how they are no longer civilized
Irony
When a situation ends up differently than what is generally anticipated
Irony example
In LOTF Ralph spends the majority of the novel trying to maintain a fire, and it is a fire which the other boys try to kill him with later on. The fire that was set to harm Ralph ended up being what saved the boys, as it caught the attention of their rescuers, demonstrating further irony.
Dramatic irony
The situation where the audience knows something that the characters do not
Dramatic irony example
When Juliet explains her grief to her mother by saying she is upset about tybalt a death, but the reader knows that she is really upset about Romeos banishment
