Literary Terms 1

Question 0

Catharsis

Answer 0

Purgation of emotions of pity/fear by audience at the end of a tragedy

Question 1

Hubris

Answer 1

-Excessive pride or self confidence that leads protagonist to disregard divine warming/violate an important law

Question 2

Reversal (peripeteia)

Answer 2

Sudden reversal of a situation

Question 3

Deus ex machina

Answer 3

• Latin for “god out of a machine”

- In Greek drama, use of god lowered by mechanism to reduce hero

Question 4

Poetic justice

Answer 4

• Good are rewarded and evil are punished

- Greek drama: takes ironic twist in that punishment fits e

Question 5

Hamartia

Answer 5

-Action or error in judgment that results from tragic flaw

Question 6

Dramatic irony

Answer 6

Discrepancy between what a character says/believes and what reader/audience knows to be true

Question 7

Tragic Irony

Answer 7

Form of dramatic irony in tragedies such as Oedipus in which protagonist’s words/action return to hurt him/her in end

Question 8

Prologue

Answer 8

Opening speech or dialogue of a play, especially Greek play, gives exposition necessary to follow subsequent action

Question 9

Chorus

Answer 9

• In Greek tragedies, group of people who serve as commentators on characters/events
• Express traditional moral, religious, social attitudes