structure and genre Flashcards
how many acts is othello divided up into?
five
what is the exposition?
where the plot is set in motion
what is the rising action?
where the plot is developed
what is the climax?
where the plot reaches its fullest point of tension
what is the falling action?
where the plot is unravelled
what is the denouement?
where the plot is solved and concluded
what narrative structure dominates the play?
the rising action
what is the climax of the play?
when othello confronts desdemona and kills her
what narrative structures happen very quickly?
the falling action and denouement, which both occur in the final scene of the play
what is a tragedy?
a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying catharsis in audiences
what is catharsis?
a kind of ‘purging of the soul’ that happens when we see a tragedy.
the idea is that if we go through this purging, we become better people at the end of it, because we have learnt from the story
how may othello be seen as a tragedy of miscalculation?
othello trusts and is hence manipulated by the antagonist, iago
what is it called when a great person experiences a reversal of fortune?
peripeteia
what is a characteristic of a tragic hero?
they endure a hamartia, a tragic flaw
what could potentially be othello’s hamartia?
his ability to be easily swayed by the words of another
what is it called when a tragic hero believes that the tragedy is brought about by other external factors and not their own flaws until the end of the play?
anagnorisis
what does anagnorisis translate to?
‘knowing again’
what was often the spectacle in the tragedy?
multiple deaths at the end of the play
how can othello be seen as an early ‘domestic’ tragedy?
it occurs within a family unit
how are comedies structured?
they begin in an old world, which is often ordered and restrictive.
There then comes a chnage in that old world and the characters rage against it.
The characters move to a green world to escape the old world and in the green world everything becokes topsy-turvy and upside-down.
it is only after the choas of this green world is resolved that a new world may begin again.
how does tragedy structure differ to comedy strcture?
there usually is an old world to begin with, but the green world is much more dangerous and starts to spiral out of control.
in a tragedy, no easy solution is found to end the green world and disorder dominates, resulting in the death of a main character. it is only after this death that a new world can begin again.
how does othello differ to a comedy?
in comedies marriage tends to solve the problems in a play, whereas in othello, marriage initiates all the problems.
what initiates all the problems in Othello?
marriage
what place represents the ‘Old World’ in Othello?
venice
what are they key elements of tragedy according to aristotle?
1- good tragedies are complex
2-show suffering
3-focus on a moral character
4-contain spectacle
