Terms

List literary terms, their definitions, and examples here: Tragedy of Miscalculation - when the protagonist miscalculates a situation and the miscalculation turns out bad ex: when Hamlet is about to kill Claudius in the church but he thinks Claudius is in a state of grace so he doesn't kill him.

Iambic Pentameter - an iamb is an unstressed stressed syllable pattern, pentameter means it will be repeated 5 times because "penta" means 5

Revenge Tragedy - when the protagonist is trying to avenge a death (most likely his father's murder) and quest for revenge turns out badly ex: Hamlet is seeking revenge for the death of his father and ends up killing Polonius and causes Ophelia to commit suicide Mrs.C: revenge tragedy also means thatbthe hero must seek revenge to restore justice to the universe

Soliloquy- an invoice speech. Example: The most famous soliloquy in Hamlet is his "To be, or not to be" speech. Mrs. C: a speech when the character is alone on stage and tells the audience what s/he is thinking

Tragedy of Circumstance - This is when a character is brought or placed into a situation that they did not cause. Ex: Old Hamlets ghost told Hamlet that he must kill Claudius in order to avenge his death

Foil- two characters that show opposing traits in each other. Example: Old Hamlet, Claudius

Protagonist - the main character or "good guy", the story is based around he or she ex: Hamlet

Comic relief- use of comedy to lighten the mood in intense situations. Example: The graveyard scene when the grave diggers are talking about Hamlet when he is right there.

Aside: When a character talks to the audience ASIDE from the play. Ex: "A little more kin, and less than kind."

Antagonist - This is usually the villain of the story or the problem character. Ex: Claudius would be considered the main antagonist in the story, starting with him causing problems by killing old Hamlet and taking the throne at which was not rightfully his.

Stock Character- a type of character immediately recognized and accepted by the reader that requires no development by the writer ex OpheliaMrs C: stock characters are ideas Shakespeare got from the Roman playwright Seneca. Audiences recognize a stock, or usual, character and know what to expect. Seneca's stock characters include ghosts; a tyrannical villain; a male confidant; a female confidant

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Dramatic Irony - when the audience knows something the characters in the play don't ex: when Hamlet is about to kill Claudius in the church but doesn't because he thinks Claudius is in a state of grace but the audience knows that is not true

Convention- Convention is the way something is usually done, either in a play or in a movie. Example- If something is usually done it is saying that this would be like in a tragedy someone will die in a comedy people will laugh. In Hamlet, Hamlet will die because the play is a tragedy. Brett Burner