Literary Terms Othello Flashcards
Aside
A dramatic convention in which a character speaks in such a way that some of the characters on stage do not hear what is said, while others do. This may be direct address to the audience revealing the characters inner thoughts or motives eg Iago
Aesthetics
Branch of philosophy which deals with the nature of art, beauty and “good taste” aesthetic approach to othello may consider the ways in which the play could be considered beautiful
Blank verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter: a line of five iambs. Popularity is due to its flexibility and relative closeness to spoken English. used by Shakespeare to convey the intensity of characters feelings
Catalyst
Person or thing that brings about an event or change
Catharsis
In tragedy, the purging of the effects of pent up emotion and repressed thoughts by bringing them to the surface of consciousness
Characterisation
The way in which a writer creates characters so as to attract or repel our sympathy. Different kinds of literature have certain conventions of characterisation. In Jacobean drama there were meany stock dramatic types (Machiavel) who’s characteristics were familiar to the audience
Denouement
The final unfolding of he plot; the point at which the audiences expectations, be they hopes or fears about what will Harlem to the characters are finally satisfied or denied
Dramatic irony
A feature of many plays, occurs when develop,don’t of the plot allows the audience to posses more information about what is happening than some of the characters. Iago is the source of much dramatic irony
Feminism
Political movement claiming political, economic and social equality of women with men. Feminist criticism and scholarship seek to explore or expose the masculine ‘bias’ in text and challenge the traditional ideas about them, constructing feminine perspective on works of art.
Foreshadowing
A techinique used to hint and prepare the reader for the later events or a turning point in action
Hamartia
A Greek term meaning an error of judgement/fatal flaw
Hubris
Self-indulgent confidence that causes a tragic heroes to ignore the decrees, laws and warnings of the gods, and therefore defy them to bring about his or her downfall
Idiom
A characteristic mode of expression for a character
Imagery
Description of some visible scene or object. May relate to the figurative language in a pice of literature (metaphors and similes). Thematic imagery reoccurs throughout a work of art - othello Shakespeare’s image of he the devil and infection underpin the theme of evil
Irony
In speech: saying one thing but meaning another
Jacobean
In the reign of James I (1603-25)
Juxtapose
To place ideas, image or events side by side so that they can be compared
Machiavel
A villainous stock character in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama
Malcontent
State archetype who is disaffected, melancholy, dissatisfied with or disgusted by society and life. Iago is not a true malcontent but he demonstrates some of these qualities
Marxist criticism
Emphasises the role of class and ideology and seeks to establish if a text reflects or challenges the current social order.
Metaphor
Goes further than a comparison between two things by fusing em together. One thing is described as being another, thus carrying over its associations.
Mirroring
Character or event mirrors another character or event when the two follow similar plots, act in similar way or contain similar elements or traits
New historicism
Discussion of literary works in terms of their historical contexts
Oxymoron
Figure of speech in which contradictory terms are brought together in what is at first sight an impossible combination
Parody
An imitation of a work or style devised so as to ridicules its characters. Iago mocks othello by imitating his speech style
Pathos
Moments in works of art which evoke strong feelings of pity are said to have this quality
Patriarchy
Community or family under the autority of a patriarch. MAN IN CHARGE IS A MAN
Personification
A type of metaphorical language in which things or ideas are treated as if they are human beings whith attributes and feelings
Poetic justice
How literature should always depict a world in which virtue and vide are eventually rewarded and punished appropriately
Post-colonial cristism
Explored the ways in which texts carry racist or colonial undertones
Prose
Sounds line natural flow of speech. Traditionally associated with “low” and coming characters in Renaissance drama, but Shakespeare uses prose when he wants the dialogue to sound urgent and fast moving
Protagonist
The main character
Revenge tragedy
Special form of tragedy in which a protagonist pursues vengeance against those who have done wrong. Plays often focus on the moral confusion caused by the need to answer evil with evil
Soliloquy
A dramatic convention which allows a character min a play to speak directly to the audience. Enables to give characters psychological depth as they voice their motives, feelings and emotions. Allows acces to innermost thoughts
Tragedy
Concentrate on the downfall of powerful men and often illuminate the resulting deterioration of a whole community. Protagonists are not necessarily good.
The vice
A figure in morality plays of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries who temps humankind in a half-comic, half-unpleasant manner. Iago may be one of these
Xenophobic
Fear of hatred of foreigners
Aristotle
A Greek philosopher (384-322BC) who discussed tragedy in his Poetics. Aristotle observed that tragedy represented a single action of a certain magnitude that provoked audience reactions of pity and terror which were then resolved by catharsis of the play’s climax. Tragedies worked on a process of the reversal of fortune with the protagonist making an error of judgement and then learning the truth about his folly, gaining insight into himself and his situation as a consequence
