| line | group of words on a page |
| foot | single unit of stressed and unstressed syllables |
| iamb | stress is on the 2nd syllable |
| meter | number of poetic feet in a line |
| pentameter | 5 feet 10 total syllables |
| iambic pentameter | line containing 5 iambic feet |
| feminine ending | a line of an iambic pentameter with an eleventh unstressed syllable |
| Shakespeare’s dramatic writing style | blank verse and prose |
| blank verse | poetry that has a regular meter but no rhymewritten in iambic pentameter |
| prose | writing with no consistent meter |
| characters that speak in prose | heightened emotional statemurderersschemingmadlower social or educational statusdrunktalking with one of the abovepretending to be one of the above |
| monologue | speech to others on stage |
| soliloquy | speech that no other characters hear |
| aside | said directly to audience |
| tragedy | a causally related series of events in the life of a person of significanceusually ends in a catastrophe |
| tone of a tragedy | serious |
| purpose of tragedy | arouse pity and fear in audience then produce catharsis (purging of emotions), tying and untying of a knot |
| exposition in a tragedy | Act 1, usual stuff, called protasis |
| inciting moment in a tragedy | end of Act 1, called exciting force |
| rising action in a tragedy | Act 2, complicates the central conflict, called the complication |
| climax in a tragedy | middle of Act 3, leads to catastrophe, called epistasis |
| tragic force | event that sets falling action into motion, closely tied to climax, called catastasis |
| falling action in a tragedy | Act 4, leads story from climax to catastrophe, provides relief scenes, includes final moment of suspense |
| resolution in a tragedy | Act 5, presents catastrophe, protagonist usually dies |
| purpose of the resolution | serves as a logical conformity to the direction of the plot serves as a final presentation of the nobility of the protagonist |
| characteristics of an Elizabethan play | ghost tells hero to seek vengeancehero becomes disguisedfemale character goes mad from griefbad guy that does stuff for powerdelay in hero’s revengedeath of hero |
| themes and motifs in Hamlet | relationship between appearance and realityrelationship between grief and tragedyexistence and influence of the supernatural |
| King Hamlet | former king of Denmarkdeadappears in play as ghostfather of Hamlet, husband of Gertrude |
| King Claudius | current king of Denmarkbrother of late King Hamletmarried Gertrude shortly after death of King Hamlet |
| Queen Gertrude | was married to King Hamletmarried Claudius after death of King Hamletmother of Hamlet |
| Hamlet | prince of Denmarkson of King Hamlet and Gertrude |
| King Fortinbras | former king of Norwaydeaddefeated by King Hamlet of Denmark in battle, lost land |
| King Norway | current king of Norwaybrother of late King Fortinbrassick in bed, not aware of what is happening in his kingdom |
| Fortinbras | prince of Norwayson of King Fortinbrasraising an army to attack and get back land |
Shakespeare’s Writing Style and Hamlet Information
July 21, 2019