The Tempest and Shakespeare Background quiz

act Shakespeare’s plays are usually divided into five ______ – which are subdivided into scenes. There was not necessarily any clear division between the ______ in a performance.
aside A line spoken to one or more characters which cannot be heard by the remaining characters. An ______ can also be addressed to the audience.
bathos Low comedy. Sexual jokes etc.
blank verse Unrhymed iambic pentameter
comedy A drama that is light, humorous and satirical in tone and often ends happily.
dialogue When two or more characters talk with each other
dramatic irony occurs when a situation is understood by the audience, but not by the characters on stage
epilogue Usually spoken by a main character at the end of a play, the _____ concludes the play and is often an apology for the play – or a request for applause.
exit/ exeunt “He/she leaves.” “They leave.”
Fool A type-character often kept at court to entertain the nobles. There were “wise” _______, intelligent men hired for entertainment purposes, and natural _______ – idiots kept for amusement. Shakespeare’s _______ are usually “wise”.
Foreshadowing When characters on stage say something that hints at something that will happen later on
Monologue A line spoken by one person.
Pathos Strong emotion. Often used as a comic device, because exaggerated emotions are often funny. In Shakespeare’s works this comic device is most often employed in connection with lower class characters who accidentally make themselves appear hilarious.
Prologue The introduction to/ presentation of the play. Often given to the audience by the character “Chorus”. Often in verse.
Prose Shakespeare moved between verse and ______ in his plays. _______ is characterised by run-on-lines of varied length, no rhyme and no metre. Shakespeare usually has the lower classes speak in ______. _______ is also used when the characters talk about the menial things in life.
Pun Word play that makes use of a word that has several meanings. usually bathos
Rhyming couplet Shakespeare often used a __________ (two lines) to indicate something important in a play – or a shift on stage, for instance an important character entering the stage, a scene/act ending etc
Scene The subdivision of an act. There was no marked division between the _______ in an Elisabethan performance.
Soliloquy A line in which a character talks to him-/herself and reveals his or her private thoughts. Convention dictates that other characters on stage cannot hear the _______, but usually the character is alone on stage.
Stage direction The kind of dramatic discourse that gives the director and/or actors information relating to the performance of the play
Tragedy A drama in which the main character suffers extremely as a result of his tragic flaw. Shakespeare’s ________also have comic scenes. Sometimes these scenes are a kind of “comic relief”, but in most cases they are in the plays because Shakespeare had to cater to a very varied audience
Verse Shakespeare moved between _______ and prose in his plays. ________ is characterized by rhythm and meter. Shakespeare’s _______ is written in iambic pentameter. Sometimes the lines are rhymed – usually to indicate a particularly important point, or the end of a scene/act. _______ is usually reserved for the higher classes among the characters – or for people who speak about lofty topics such as love.
Alonso King of Naples, who profited from the seizure of Prospero’s dukedom
Ferdinand Alonso’s son, who falls in love with Miranda
Miranda Prospero daughter, who was exiled with her father
Ariel A spirit of the air, who helps Prospero in exchange for the promise of freedom
Caliban Prospero’s slave on the island, half witch and half devil
Antonio Prosperous brother, who seized his dukedom
Stefano Alonso’s butler, who plots with Caliban to murder Prospero
Trinculo Alonso’s jester, who plots with Caliban to murder Prospero
Sebastian Alonso’s brother, who plots to murder the king (Alonso) and seize his throne
Prospero protagonist, rightful duke in Milan
July 13, 2019