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10 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Villain |
Definition - The principal evil character in a play or story. The villain is usually the antagonist opposed tothe protagonist, but in some cases may be the protagonist himself/herself. Example - The White Witch from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis |
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Hero or Heroine |
Definition - The main character in a narrative or dramatic work who is morally or otherwise superior. When our expectations of heroic qualities are strikingly disappointed, the central character may be known as an anti-hero or anti-heroine Example - Beowulf or Hamlet |
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Mock Heroic |
Definition - Mock Heroic Burlesquing or mocking heroic manner, action, or character Example - The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope |
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Melodrama |
Definition - A play based upon a dramatic plot and developed sensationally Example - Now Voyager by Olive Higgins Prouty |
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Tragedy |
Definition - Type of drama in which the protagonist, a person of unusual moral or intellectual stature oroutstanding abilities, suffers a fall in fortune due to some error of judgment or flaw in his or her nature. Example - Doctor Faustus by A. Christopher Marlowe |
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Tragic flaw |
Definition - The defect of character that brings about the protagonist’s downfall in a tragedy. Example - Hamlet's indecisiveness because of his thinking on the topic of whether vengeance is wrong or right. |
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Hamartia |
Definition - Greek word for error or failure, used by Aristotle in his Poetics (4th century BC), to designate the false step that leads the protagonist in a tragedy to his or her downfall. The term should not be confused with “tragic flaw,” which is a defect in character. Hamartia is the ACTION that the character takes. Example - Doctor Faustus selling his soul to Lucifer. |
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Turning Point |
Definition - The point in the plot where the protagonist’s situation changes for the better or the worse; after this the action begins its movement toward a final resolution. Example - Hamlet's "To be, or not to be-" monologue. |
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Hubris |
Definition - Greek word for insolence or affront, applied to the arrogance or pride of the protagonist in a tragedy in which he or she defies moral laws or the prohibitions of the gods. The protagonist’s transgression. Example - King Oedipus in Oedipus Rex |
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Catharsis |
Definition - Aristotle’s word for pity and fear an audience experiences upon viewing the downfall of a hero “tragedy should succeed in arousing pity and fear in such a way as to accomplish a catharsis ofsuch emotions”. Example - The suicide of Romeo and Juliet |
