vocabulary
syntax
word order
monologue
a lengthy speech by one character, delivered to other characters who are on stage.
free verse
poetry that isn't written with a regular pattern of rhyme or meter.
What are a few key strategies for reading Shakespeare?
Look for capital letters, if a sentence has inverted syntax, rephrase it. Use context clues, and know the familiar language used. Keep the Elizabethan worldview in mind.
What language techniques does Shakespeare use?
voice
unique personal quality conveyed through an author's writing
soliloquy
a brief remark, often addressed to the audience but not other characters
blank verse
lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter
What are the distinguishing qualities of each of the following: Shakespeare’s comedies
Comedy- joyous play ends happily often with a wedding
What was unique about Shakespeare's use of language in his plays?
He not only coined new words, but he also used existing ones in novel ways. For example, he was the first person to use 'friend' as a verb, as well as 'unfriended' (Twelfth Night), and from 'gloom' he coined the word 'gloomy' (Titus Andronicus).
apostrophe
a rhetorical device in which the speaker addresses an object,idea, or person who is dead or absent.
motif
recurring pattern of imagery, symbols, or language in a work.
What does blank verse usually reveal about a character in a Shakespeare play?
reflects natural speech; high-born, high-ranking, or aristocratic characters in Shakespeare's plays often spoke in blank verse, while the more "common" characters such as peasants and comic jokesters spoke in prose.
What are the distinguishing qualities of each of the following: Shakespeare’s tragedies
tragedy - play ends in death and destruction.
What was Shakespeare's impact on the English language?
He used blank verse as his poetic form. It lacks rhyme, but each line has an inherent rhythm with a consistent rhythmic structure. Shakespeare's preferred pattern is iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is a ten-syllable line with the accent on every other syllable beginning with the second.
intense, emotional, or passionate
allusion
a reference to something well-known or famous
Why are poetic elements important in Shakespeare's plays?
Shakespeare employs this characterizing strategy throughout his works to create characters that are so distinct from one another that a Shakespeare scholar can recognize characters from dialogue excerpts.
What are the distinguishing qualities of each of the following: Shakespeare’s romances
romance - type of play that uses dramatic conversations
How do literary techniques contribute to the theme of the story?
The author embeds the theme or meaning into distinct pieces that make up the entire literary piece by using literary techniques. Character development, setting, atmosphere, story, point of view, figurative language, allegory, symbolism, and irony are some of the most prevalent instruments of the author's art.
contentious
argumentative, quarrelsome
Why does Shakespeare use literary devices?
The writer's duty is to make the audience identify with the characters and events of the story, and to do so, he or she employs a variety of tactics to assist create the illusion of reality.
Why is Shakespeare's poetry so important to us today?
Shakespeare's influence has spread beyond traditional literature and theater to modern films, western philosophy, and the English language. He is regarded as one of the best English-language writers, having introduced original concepts to novels, plays, and dramas, as well as changing the way the world of poetry is perceived.
What is Shakespeares style of writing?
Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter, a sort of unrhymed meter in which each phrase comprises 10 syllables, with each unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
Shakespeare use “to set apart significant moments from the rest of the action”? Define the term that answers the question above.
Pairs of lines that have the same meter and end words that rhyme. Shakespeare used rhyming couplets "to set apart significant moment from the rest of the action"