English Vocab Flashcards
Tragedy (Greek)
Genre of drama and mostly includes human suffering
Tragic Protagonists
A Tragic Protagonist (or “Tragic Hero”) is the main role in a tragedy.
Antagonist
An Antagonist is opposing the Protagonist. They’re usually enemies and villains of the story.
Extended Metaphor
An Extended Metaphor is a metaphor that can be continued through lines, paragraphs, or even a whole story.
Soliloquy
A Soliloquy is when a character talks to themselves, without anyone hearing.
(An) Aside
An Aside is when a character talks to someone else in the scene, without the other people hearing even though in real life they probably would.
Hubris
Technically it means Lots of self-confidence. In Greeks Tragedies, it is when someone resists and questions the Gods, leading to punishment.
Hamartia
Associated with Greek Tragedies, it is a fatal flaw of the main character and also their weakness.
Catharsis
It’s when someone does something to releive themselves and to cleanse them.
Dramatic Irony
Dramatic Irony is when the audience knows something that the character doesn’t.
Monolougue
A Monolougue is one person doing a speech by themselves.
Unrequited Love
Unrequited Love is when one person loves another but the other one doesn’t love them back.
Courtly Love
Courtly love was a western medieval idea about knights doing something heroic to make a princess fall in love with him and get married.
Volatile
Volatile is when there is a sudden and unexpected change in situation.
(Being) Emotional
Being Emotional is when someone expresses their opinions and expressions about something.
(Being) Impetuous
Being Impetuous is when someone makes a decision quickly and without much care.
Machismo
Machismo is strong male pride. Lots of aggresion.
Antithesis
Antithesis is when someone or something is the opposite of someone else or something else.
Iambic Pentameter
Iambic Pentameter is a style of poetry. Each line is 10 syllables, with every 2 having more emphasis than the one before Example: a heartbeat. da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM.
Sonnet
A Sonnet is a 14 line poem written in Iambic Pentameter.
Shared Lines
Shared lines is when 2 or more people says Iambic Pentameter verse(s) between them.
Rhyming couplets
A Couplet is a pair of lines in a verse. A Rhyming couplet is one that rhymes, using the same rhyming pattern over again.
Protagonist
A Protagonist is the hero, heroine or main character of a story.
Prose
Prose is normal talking without rhyming.
Verse
Verse is talking with rhythm and possibly rhyming.
Fate
Fate is something happening to them that they cant change and aren’t in control of.
Free Will
Free Will is when someon gets to have their own choices in life.
Honour
Honour is how high someone is reagarded or respected.
Society
Society is the way our species is orginased and managed.
Patriarchy
A Patriarchy is a male-dominated society.
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the way ancient kings would pass on the crown. It was to the firstborn male child.
Feud
A Feud is an argument or debate.
Reputation
The beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.
Mercurial
Subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.
Anarchic
Unruly and chaotic.
Impulsive
Someone who acts on a whim, without thinking.
Tempestuous
Someone who is unpredictable and has many conflicting emotions.
Liberal
Willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas.
Social Class
Social class, also called class, a group of people within a society who possess the same socioeconomic status.
Comtemporary
Living or occurring at the same time.
Quixotic
Extremely idealistic: unrealistic and impractical.
Melancholic
A feeling of sadness, typically with no obvious cause.
Masculinity
Qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of men.
Challenging Conventions
Going against what is perceived as the norm.
Ingenuous
(Of a person or action) innocent and unsuspecting.
