exposition = background (basic situation)

complication/rising action = cause/escalation of conflict

climax = leads to the demise of the tragic hero

falling action = things fall apart

resolution = final explanation; order restored

o pun = play on words with multiple meanings or similar words with different meanings

Example:

o rhetorical question = designed to produce an emotional effect, not an answer

Example:

o parallel structure = speaker expresses ideas of equal worth with same grammatical form ("As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it….")

Example:

o metaphor = compares two unlike things

o simile = compares two unlike things using like or as

o aside = short statement to audience or other characters but not overheard by others on stage

Example:

o soliloquy = speaks directly to audience; alone of stage; reveals character's thoughts to the audience

Example:

o verbal irony = saying the opposite of what is meant in order to produce an effect

Example:

o dramatic irony = audience or other characters know something that the main character does not

Example:

o theme = the message of the play

protagonist = central character in the play

antagonist = works against the protagonist

stock characters = typical characters reused in multiple Shakespearean plays

* ghost, cruel tyrant, loyal servant, female confidantE

foils = characters with opposite (lesser) characteristics to emphasize main character's Traits

Example:

o Definition: A tragic hero is the central character in a tragedy for whom events end disastrously.

o A tragic hero has all of the following characteristics:

o Tragic flaw = a fatal error in judgment that leads to the tragic hero's demise. This flaw is traditionally considered an admirable quality carried to excess.

o Goodness = to arouse pity in the reader

o Superiority = makes his fall seem that much more tragic, his destruction that much greater (but he does represent the common lot)

o Tragic realization = tragic hero understands what he must endure and how he has helped to bring about own destruction.

o Internal struggle beyond normal

o Power of expression equal to power to endure (questions struggle while on the brink of chaos)

o Strength to match the violence pitted against him; can endure everything but the thing that ultimately destroys him

o Strength serves as an inspiration to the readers and other characters and helps to restore order

o Faces destiny with courage and nobility of spirit

o Falls from happiness to misery (chaos) to death

o Becomes increasingly isolated and left to place his problems alone

Focuses on a tragic hero who goes astray by committing some fatal mistake

Recounts an important series of events in the life of a person of significance, ending in an unhappy catastrophe

Must be violence (wicked people, treason, etc.)

Presence of the supernatural

Deals with an instance of human evil

Deals with revenge and retribution