Shakespearean Vocab

Question 1

Benevolent

Answer 1

With purely good intentions or being kind hearted

Question 2

Circumstantial

Answer 2

Pointing indirectly towards someones guilt but not conclusively proving it

Question 3

Infidelity

Answer 3

the act or state of being unfaithful in a romantic or sexual relationship

Question 4

Burgeoning

Answer 4

something that is beginning to grow or increase rapidly

Question 5

Trajectory

Answer 5

The journey or path something takes

Question 6

Mendacity

Answer 6

Untruthfulness and the tendency to lie and deceive

Question 7

Autonomy

Answer 7

Free will and the power to be independent

Question 8

Profane

Answer 8

Treating something sacred with disrespect

Question 9

Quotidian

Answer 9

Everyday mundane normal circumstances

Question 10

Belie

Answer 10

To give a false or misleading impression

Question 11

Pretence

Answer 11

An attempt to make something false appear true

Question 12

Bestial

Answer 12

Animalistic, related to beasts

Question 13

Hamartia

Answer 13

A fatal flaw that leads to a character’s suffering or death

Question 14

Caitiff

Answer 14

A contemptible and cowardly person

Question 15

Laconic

Answer 15

Using very few words, short, sharp and to the point

Question 16

Visage

Answer 16

One’s face or external experiences

Question 17

Eloquence

Answer 17

Speech marked by fluency and persuasiveness

Question 18

Bawdy

Answer 18

Dealing with sexual matters in a comedic way

Question 19

Malevolent

Answer 19

Evil, specifically with regards to causing harm to others

Question 20

Venerate

Answer 20

Celebrate, or regard with awe and great respect

Question 21

Melodramatic

Answer 21

Showing much stronger emotions than are necessary for the situation

Question 22

Wrench

Answer 22

Young servant girl

Question 23

Archetype

Answer 23

Typical example of something

Question 24

Placate

Answer 24

Make someone less angry or hostile

Question 25

Plethora

Answer 25

An excessive amount of something

Question 26

Methodology

Answer 26

A system of methods used in a particular activity (Iago’s methodology to mask his true manipulative intentions)

Question 27

Apophasis

Answer 27

Drawing attention to something by saying you don’t want to talk about it

Question 28

Eponymous

Answer 28

Having the same name as the title of a text

Question 29

Machination

Answer 29

Plot or scheme

Question 30

Tragic Hero

Answer 30

A main character cursed by fate and possessed of a tragic flaw

Question 31

Tragic waste

Answer 31

Good being destroyed along with the bad at the resolution of the play

Question 32

External conflict

Answer 32

Problem facing the hero as a result of the plot or a “bad guy” character

Question 33

Internal conflict

Answer 33

Struggle that the hero engages in with his/her fatal flaw

Question 34

Catharsis

Answer 34

Release of the audience’s emotions through empathy with the characters

Question 35

Lack of poetic justice

Answer 35

Things ends poorly for everyone, including the “good guys”

Question 36

Peripeteia

Answer 36

Sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances

Question 37

Comic relief

Answer 37

One or more humorous characters who participate in scenes intended to lighten the mood

Question 38

Verse

Answer 38

• Doesn’t rhyme but uses iambic pentameter
• High status characters
• Rhythm and structure

Question 39

Prose

Answer 39

• Comic or low-status characters
• Conversational (no set rhythm or structure)
• IAGO SWITCHES BETWEEN THE TWO

Question 40

Pathos

Answer 40

Appeal to emotions (e.g make audience feel sad or empathetic)

Question 41

Ethos

Answer 41

Appeals to speakers status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them.

Question 42

Logos

Answer 42

Appeals to audience’s reason, building up logical arguments