Glossary |
Aside |
speech
heard by audience, but not by characters |
Blank
Verse |
unrhymed
lines of iambic pentameter |
Comedy
(main genre) |
one
of four main genres
usually concerns lovers
treats situations and characters humorously
concludes happily
Taming of the Shrew; A Midsummer Night's Dream |
Conventions |
theatrical
techniques or plot devices accepted but not necessarily realistic |
Epilogue |
final
address to audience
usually delivered by character |
Folio |
large
book made by folding standard sheets of paper into halves |
History
Plays
(main genre) |
large
scale chronicles of English history
concerned with social order and nature of monarchy
stories of English kings
Henry VI |
Imagery |
language
that appeals to the senses, often sight
day and night in Romeo and Juliet |
Play-Within-a-Play |
staging
a drama as part of play
Hamlet's "Mousetrap"
"Tragedy" in A Midsummer Night's Dream |
Problem
Play |
3
plays in which playwright's attitude is ambiguous
All's Well That End's Well |
Prologue |
speech
delivered before the action starts
frequently given by a chorus figure
sets the scene
Romeo and Juliet; King Henry the Fifth |
Romances
(main genre) |
also
"tragicomedies"
tragic beginning gives way to mercy, redemption, and peace
The Winter's Tale; The Tempest |
Soliloquy |
a
speech by a character who is alone on stage, or unrecognized by other
characters
expresses innermost feelings or thoughts |
Tragedy
(main genre) |
story
of noble hero destroyed by character flaw in hero
enmeshes himself in overpowering circumstances
incapable of dealing with destructive situation
insights make fuller human being
Hamlet; Romeo and Juliet |