Eng 260 Test 1

Question 1

Absurdism

Answer 1

Absurdism is a category of theatre that is intentionally bizarre illogical and ridiculous and its used as a commentary on how meaningless the human existence is

Question 2

Authorship

Answer 2

The identity of the person who wrote the text

Question 3

Comedy

Answer 3

Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance that has a light humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents in which at the end the characters triumph over adversary.

Question 4

Historical Criticism

Answer 4

Historical criticism is viewing a text through the historical context in which it was writing including the authors life as well as the social and political state of the time it was written.

Question 5

Affective Fallacy

Answer 5

Affective fallacy is the opposite of reader response criticism. Affective fallacy is a criticism that a text shouldn’t be judged by what the reader may think or feel but instead it should be criticized

Question 6

Catharsis

Answer 6

A release from strong or repressed emotions. A tragic ending allows the readers to feel a sense of emotional release.

Question 7

Decorum or Propriety

Answer 7

The appropriate behaviour for a character dependent on the setting they’re in.

Question 8

Deus Ex Machina

Answer 8

“God from the machine” A person or thing that appears unexpectedly in a seemingly hopeless situation and saves the day.

Question 9

Imitation (Mimesis)

Answer 9

Imitation is when the author imitates an earlier part of the text. This can be either seen though the style of text or as seen in Waiting for Godot, it can be done through imitation of the sequence of events.

Question 10

Intentionality

Answer 10

The authors intention of writing the literary work.

Question 11

Irony

Answer 11

Words to express the opposite of what they mean

Question 12

Plot

Answer 12

The plot is a sequence of events that effect the next events.

Question 13

Reader Response Criticism

Answer 13

Reader response criticism is a type of literary criticism that focuses on the reader and their thoughts and feelings while experiencing the text

Question 14

Soliloquy

Answer 14

Characters in a play speaking their thoughts out loud alone regardless of any hearers

Question 15

Stichomythia

Answer 15

Dialogue performed by two characters saying alternate lines

Question 16

Stock Characters

Answer 16

A stock character is a character that represents a type and belongs to a certain genre

Question 17

Tragedy

Answer 17

Type of dramatic performance where a serries of unfortunate events occur to the main character(s)

Question 18

Tragicomedy

Answer 18

A dramatic work that incorporates both tragic and comedic elements. Waiting for Godot is a good example of this due to the fact that many unfortunate events befall the main characters but its told in a lighthearted way.

Question 19

The Dramatic Unities

Answer 19

Unity of action a tragedy should have one principal action
unity of place a tragedy should exist in a single physical location
unity of time the tragedy should take place over no more than a 24 hour period.