Shakespeare Mid Term

Front 1

Hamartia

Back 1

A mistake in judgment leading to calamity

Front 2

Hubris

Back 2

some outstanding quality or conspicuous behavior that brings one to the attention of the jealous gods, who are thereby provoked to inflict disaster.

Front 3

Tragic flaw

Back 3

something in the tragic hero’s character accounts for the terrible things that happen to him.

Front 4

how does Shakespeare’s notion of the misfortunes that befall tragic characters differ from Aristotle’s?

Back 4

It blames the victim for his or her misery, and so undercuts our sympathy, and overemphasizing the tragic flaw also neglects the complexity of evil in these plays.

Front 5

What is a scapegoat?

Back 5

When the ills of society are heaped upon an individual’s shoulders and seem to magically disappear when the scapegoat is killed.

Front 6

tragedy differs from comedy

Back 6

1. Unhappy endings

2. Intense degree of suffering

3. More fully developed protagonists

4. Higher social class of mainly male characters.

Front 7

Name four ways that Woodbridge claims tragedy differs from history plays.

Back 7

1. It emphasizes the private person.

2. Clear moral boundaries between good and bad

3. Tragedies stand alone and aren’t interconnected with other sources.

4. Tragedy is more focused upon the protagonist.

Front 8

Genres

Back 8

= Drama, Poetry, Prose

Front 9

Sonnets

Back 9

Probably written between 1593 and 1603
Published in 1609

Front 10

The focus of sonnets 1-126

Back 10

is an attractive young man.

Front 11

The focus of sonnets 127-154

Back 11

is an older “dark lady.”

Front 12

Iamb (iambic):

Back 12

unstressed STRESSED

Front 13

Pyrrhus (pyrrhic):

Back 13

unstressed unstressed

Front 14

Spondee (spondaic):

Back 14

STRESSED STRESSED

Front 15

Trochee (trochaic):

Back 15

STRESSED unstressed

Front 16

Rhymed verse

Back 16

has meter and rhyme scheme.

Front 17

Blank verse

Back 17

has meter but no rhyme scheme.

Front 18

Free verse .

Back 18

does not follow regular metrical rules

Front 19

Prose

Back 19

is anything that isn’t verse.

Front 20

Metaphors

Back 20

describe one thing in terms of another.

Front 21

The “tenor”

Back 21

is what is actually being described

Front 22

the “vehicle”

Back 22

is the language being used to describe the tenor.

Front 23

A simile

Back 23

is a metaphor that uses an overt comparative (normally “like” or “as”)

Front 24

Volta:

Back 24

a major turning point in a sonnet.

Front 25

Aristotle: Comedy

Back 25

About a lower class of people
Their faults make them ridiculous
Hopeful view of human experience
Confusion -> order
Focuses on a community, not one character
Ends in marriage

Front 26

Aristotle: Tragedy

Back 26

About important people
Main figure moves from high to low
Provokes pity and fear
Leads to catharsis
Pessimistic view of human experience
Confusion -> violence -> order
Focuses on one character
That character is brought low (ends in death)

Front 27

Shakespeare: Comedy

Back 27

Hopeful view of human experience
Confusion  order
Focuses on a community, not one character
Plot involves overcoming a “blocking condition” to erotic desire.
Ends in marriage
Humor
Ritual festivity
“Green world”
Emphasis on fruitfulness, generation, reproduction

Front 28

Shakespeare: History Shared Traits with Other Genres

Back 28

Like tragedies, they deal with “great people” (who mostly lose power and die)
Like comedies, they have a large cast of characters

Front 29

The First Tetralogy

Back 29

1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI, and Richard III (circa 1591-3)
Tells the story of the War of the Roses, fought between the houses of Lancaster and York 1455-1485
This war ended when the Lancastrian Henry Tudor (Henry VII) defeated Richard III and married Elizabeth of York.

Front 30

Second Tetralogy

Back 30

Richard II, 1 Henry IV, 2 Henry IV, and Henry V (circa 1594-9)
The second tetralogy is what we’d call a “prequel.” It tells the story of the events that laid the groundwork for the War of the Roses.

Front 31

Shakespeare: Tragedy

Back 31

Focuses on one or two characters.
These characters are normally kings, queens, princes, or other prominent people.
The conflicts are more personal/moral than political.
Emphasize sterility.
The primary character moves from high to low, ending in death.

Front 32

moor

Back 32

Someone from Northern Africa (“tawny moor”)
Someone from sub-Saharan Africa (blackamoor)
A Muslim

Front 33

blackness

Back 33

The devils in 14th- to 16th- century “mystery plays” were staged as black, as were vices in “morality plays.”
“Ignorance” in 15th- to 16th- century humanist drama was staged as black.
Blackness was also read as a sign of sexuality and power.