Literary Terms 2

Shakespearian (English) sonnet

A Shakespearean sonnet is generally written in an iambic pentameter, there are 10 syllables in each line. The rhythm of the lines must be as below: From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty's rose might never die. But as the riper should by time decease, His tender heir might bear his memory: But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel, Making a famine where abundance lies, Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel. Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament And only herald to the gaudy spring, Within thine own bud buriest thy content And, tender churl, mak'st waste in niggarding. Pity the world, or else this glutton be, To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee (William Shakespeare) The rhyme scheme of Shakespearian sonnet is abab-cdcd-efef-gg and this is difficult to follow. Hence only Shakespeare is known to have done it.

Surprise ending

A completely unexpected revelation or turn of plot at the conclusion of a story.

Playwright

A playwright is someone who writes plays. Playwrights are also known as dramatists. Just as a poet writes poems, a playwright writes plays. If the spelling of playwright looks odd, that's because wright is a word for a craftsperson or someone who builds things (like a shipwright builds ships). Given the juggling of characters, scenes, and plots in a play, you can see how writing a play is like building something. The most famous playwright ever in English is William Shakespeare.

Denouement

Also called the denouement, this is the final stage in the plot of a drama or work of fiction. Here the action comes to an end, and remaining loose ends are tied up.

Indeterminate ending

An ending in which the central problem or conflict is left unresolved.

Aside

Brief comment spoken by an actor to the audience (such as, "Here she comes. I'll play a fine trick on her now!") and assumed not to be heard by the other characters.

Catharsis

Catharsis Definition A Catharsis is an emotional discharge through which one can achieve a state of moral or spiritual renewal or achieve a state of liberation from anxiety and stress. Catharsis is a Greek word and it means cleansing. In literature it is used for the cleansing of emotions of the characters. It can also be any other radical change that leads to emotional rejuvenation of a person. Originally, the term was used as a metaphor in Poetics by Aristotle to explain the impact of tragedy on the audiences. He believed that catharsis was the ultimate end of a tragic artistic work and it marked its quality. He further said in Poetics: "Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; . . . through pity [eleos] and fear [phobos] effecting the proper purgation [catharsis] of these emotions" (c. 350 BCE, Book 6.2). Catharsis Examples Example #1 "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare William Shakespeare wrote two of the famous examples of catharsis. One of these catharsis examples is his tragic drama "Macbeth". This play presents a great example of catharsis. The audience and readers of Macbeth usually pity the tragic central figure of the play because he was blinded by his destructive preoccupation with ambition. In Act 1 he is made the thane of Cawdor by King Duncan, which makes him a prodigy, well-regarded for his valor and talent. However, the era of his doom starts when he, like most people, gets carried away by ambition and the supernatural world as well. Subsequently, he loses his wife, his veracity and eventually his life. The temptation of ambition robs him of the essence of his existence as a human being and leaves behind nothing but discontent and a worthless life. In Act V, Macbeth (5.5.24-28) gathers this idea in his soliloquy. He says while speaking of his life:

Farce

Comedy in which stereotypical characters engage in boisterous horseplay and slapstick humor, as in Chekhov's The Brute

Soliloquy

Convention of drama in which a character speaks directly to the audience, revealing thoughts and feelings that other characters present on stage are assumed not to hear.

Comedy

Definition of Comedy Comedy is a literary genre and a type of dramatic work that is amusing and satirical in its tone, mostly having a cheerful ending. The motif of this dramatic work is triumph over unpleasant circumstance by creating comic effects, resulting in a happy or successful conclusion. Thus, the purpose of comedy is to amuse the audience. Comedy has multiple sub-genres depending upon the source of the humor, context in which an author delivers dialogues, and delivery methods, which include farce, satire, and burlesque. Tragedy is opposite to comedy, as tragedy deals with sorrowful and tragic events in a story. Comedy Examples from Literature Example #1: A Midsummer Night's Dream (By William Shakespeare) William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, is a good example of a romantic comedy, presenting young lovers falling comically in and out of love for a brief period. Their real world problems get resolved magically, enemies reconcile, and true lovers unite in the end. Example #2: Every Man in His Humor (By Ben Johnson) In his play Every Man in His Humor, Ben Johnson brings a comedy of humors. An overpowering suspicion of, and obsession with, his wife - that she might be unfaithful to him - controls Kitely. Then a country gull determines every decision of George Downright in order to understand the manners of the city gallant. Kno'well worried for moral development of his son, tries to spy on him.

Dilemma

Definition of Dilemma Dilemma is a Greek word that means "double proposition," or "perplexing situation," which presents two different possibilities, both of which seem practically acceptable. Dilemma is a rhetorical device in which a conflicting situation arises for a person to choose between right and wrong, where both seem of equal worth. Often times, dilemma involves an ethically wrong decision that may produce desirable outcomes, but which could have moral consequences. Or it involves a decision in which a person needs to choose one of the two options, both of which are equally good or bad. Examples of Dilemma in Literature Example #1: Hamlet (By William Shakespeare) In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare's leading character, Hamlet, struggles with a dilemma in how to out the orders of his father's ghost to kill his stepfather; in order to exact revenge for marrying his mother, and usurping the throne. Ophelia also faces a dilemma in the play, as her brother and father believe that Hamlet is not faithful to her, and would rather use her; whereas her heart is convinced that Hamlet loves her. Neither of them could reconcile the situation following the ethical dilemmas they got entangled in. Example #2: Dr. Faustus (By Christopher Marlowe) We find a perfect example of moral dilemma in Christopher Marlowe's play, Dr. Faustus. His major moral dilemma is he desires to get extensive knowledge for his benefit, but intends to use it to exploit others. For this, he sells his soul to the representative of Mephistopheles. We see his moral dilemma through his lust. He wishes to get things that were impossible to get, like power to rule an entire kingdom, but at heart he feels that he is doing wrong.

Iambic Pentameter

Definition of Iambic Pentameter Iambic Pentameter is made up of two words, where pentameter is a combination of 'pent,' which means five, and 'meter,' which means to measure. Iambic, on the other hand, is a metrical foot in poetry in which a stressed syllable is followed by an unstressed syllable. It means iambic pentameter is a beat or foot that uses 10 syllables in each line. Simply, it is a rhythmic pattern comprising five iambs in each line, like five heartbeats. Iambic pentameter is one of the most commonly used meters in English poetry. For instance, in the excerpt, "When I see birches bend to left and right/Across the line of straighter darker trees..." (Birches, by Robert Frost), each line contains five feet, and each foot uses one iamb. Examples of Iambic Pentameter in Literature Example #1: Macbeth (By William Shakespeare) "Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland In such an honour named. What's more to do, Which would be planted newly with the time, As calling home our exiled friends abroad That fled the snares of watchful tyranny; Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen... So, thanks to all at once and to each one, Whom we invite to see us crown'd at Scone." Notice the pattern of underlined accented, and unaccented syllables, which are iambic pentameter in these lines of "Macbeth," a play by Shakespeare. Example #2: Ode to Autumn (By John Keats) "Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run... And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells." In this ode, the rhyme scheme is ABAB CDEDCCE. The meter is iambic pentameter, having five iambs comprising a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable in each line as underlined.

Melodrama

Definition of Melodrama Melodrama is a subgenre of drama, which is an exaggerated form of this genre. Melodramas deal with sensational and romantic topics that appeal to the emotions of the common audience. Originally, it made use of melody and music, while modern melodramas may not contain any music at all. In fact, a melodrama gives preference to a detailed characterization where characters are simply drawn, one-dimensional, or stereotyped. Typically, melodrama uses stock characters including a heroes, heroines, and villains. Examples of Melodrama in Literature Example #1: Still Life, Brief Encounter (By Noel Coward) Noel Coward's heartbreaking drama Still Life, Brief Encounter, tells the story of two people who seemed destined to be unhappy. In the film, a leading role and married woman, Laura Jesson, encounters a doctor, Alec Harvey, in a train station. They decide to meet once in a week at the same station. Soon they begin to feel delighted in each other's company and share everything. Eventually they come to realize that they are in love with each other. Their realization, however, leads to a tragic notion that they cannot leave their families, which finally ends up in unrequited love, with their lives doomed into despondency. Example #2: Mildred Pierce (By James M. Cain) A blend of melodrama and film noir, Mildred Pierce, is based on James M. Cain's novel of the same title. The story is about a struggling waitress, Mildred, who wishes to provide a better life to her daughters than she had, after separating from her husband. For this, she takes the help of a real estate agent, after which she becomes the owner of a restaurant. Mildred tries to make her older daughter tie the knot with a formerly wealthy man, Monte Beragon, to improve her financial position and win back her alienated daughter Vera. Instead, Vera starts enjoying the playboy lifestyle of Monte, and drains her mother's finances. This leads to Mildred's financial ruin, and the murder of Monte. Consequently, Vera goes to jail. This shows the type of melodrama created to impact the audience.

Characterization (Direct and Indirect)

Definition: Characterization in literature refers the step by step process wherein an author introduces and then describes a character. The character can be described directly by the author or indirectly through the actions, thoughts, and speech of the character. Example: Michael Corleone was not jus' a mafiaso, but a family man. A man who walked the knife's edge to preserve his sanity. Direct Characterization Tells the audience what the personality of the character is Indirect characterization Shows things that reveal the personality of teh character

Tragedy

Definition: In literature, the concept of tragedy refer to a series of unfortunate events by which one or more of the literary characters in the story undergo several misfortunes, which finally culminate into a disaster of 'epic proportions'. Tragedy is generally built up in 5 stages: a) happy times b) the introduction of a problem c) the problem worsens to a crisis or dilemma d) the characters are unable to prevent the problem from taking over e) the problem results in some catastrophic, grave ending, which is the tragedy culminated. Example: In the play Julius Caesar, the lead character is an ambitious, fearless and power hungry king who ignores all the signs and does not heed the advice of the well-meaning: finally being stabbed to death by his own best friend and advisor Brutus. This moment has been immortalized by the phrase "Et tu Brute?", wherein Caesar realizes that he has finally been defeated, and that too through betrayal.

Suspense

Definition: Suspense is the intense feeling that an audience goes through while waiting for the outcome of certain events. It basically leaves the reader holding their breath and wanting more information. The amount of intensity in a suspenseful moment is why it is hard to put a book down. Without suspense, a reader would lose interest quickly in any story because there is nothing that is making the reader ask, "What's going to happen next?" In writing, there has to be a series of events that leads to a climax that captivates the audience and makes them tense and anxious to know what is going to happen. Example: A cliffhanger is a great way to create suspense. You remember when you were a kid and very excited to watch those Saturday morning shows. You can probably recall the feeling you had at the pit of your stomach when, after about 25 minutes and lots of commercials, you were hoping to find out what happened to your favorite character. However, you didn't get to find out. Instead they would make the "Tune In Next Week" announcement and you already knew that you would be there. Same time, same place. Suspense is a powerful literary tool because, if done correctly, you know your audience will be back for more and more.

Dramatic exposition

Exposition Definition Exposition is a literary device used to introduce background information about events, settings, characters etc. to the audience or readers. The word comes from the Latin language and its literal meaning is "a showing forth." Exposition is crucial to any story, for without it nothing makes sense. There are many ways to present an exposition and they include monologues, dialogues, in-universe media (newspaper, letters, reports, journal etc.), a protagonist's thoughts or a narrator's explanation of past events. It is one of the four rhetorical modes of communication - the other three being narration, description and argumentation. Exposition Examples Exposition in Movies Example #1 There are countless examples of exposition in many great movies and one of them, which comes across particularly well is from Star Wars. The exposition in this movie is the opening title sequence that gives information about the past events to the viewers. The crawling text on the screen at the beginning of each part gives the audience every piece of information they need to understand the upcoming events in the film. The opening lines usually begin like this: "A long time ago in a galaxy far away, far away..." Example #3 Act I: the opening scene of Othello shows a fierce argument between Roderigo and Iago, which helps build the interest of the readers. The readers/audiences realize that Iago is persistently trying to convince Roderigo to be his accomplice in destroying Othello. The exposition in this scene plays the following roles: It explicates Iago's treacherous, spiteful and scheming nature. The main conflict of the play is revealed here. It revolves around Iago's concealed bitterness towards his boss Othello who, in Iago's opinion, is overloooking him for promotion. It ascertains two basic themes of the play: racism and that appearance is not always the same as reality.

Character

Fictional representation of a person, usually but not necessarily in a psychologically realistic way. E. M. Forster classified characters as round (well developed, closely involved in the action and responsive to it) or flat (static, stereotypical, or operating as foils for the protagonist). Characters can also be classified as dynamic (growing and changing in the course of the action) or static (remaining unchanged).

Stream of consciousness

Form of narration controlled not by external events but by the thoughts and subjective impressions of the narrator, commonly found in modern literature, such as the work of Virginia Woolf and James Joyce.

chorus

Group of actors in classical Greek drama who comment in unison on the action and the hero; they are led by the Choragos.

Couplet

Group of lines in a poem that forms a metrical or thematic unit. Each stanza is usually separated from others by a blank space on the page. Some common stanzaic forms are the couplet (two lines)

Hamartia

Hamartia Definition Hamartia is a personal error in a protagonist's personality that brings about his tragic downfall in a tragedy. This defect in a hero's personality is also known as a "tragic flaw. Aristotle used the word in his "Poetics" where it is taken as a mistake or error in judgment. The term envelops wrongdoings which may be accidental or deliberate. One of the classic hamartia examples is where a hero wants to achieve something but, while doing so, he commits an intentional or accidental error and he ends up achieving exactly the opposite with disastrous results. Such a downfall is often marked by a reversal of fortune. Hamartia and Hubris A typical example of hamartia in tragedies is "hubris" which is excessive pride and ego in a hero's character which ultimately brings his tragic downfall in a tragedy. In Greek tragedies, the "hubristic" actions of a hero, in a powerful position, causes his shame and humiliation. Hamartia Examples in Literature Example #1 "Oedipus" in a famous Greek Tragedy is a perfect example of hamartia i.e. his downfall is cause by unintentional wrongdoings. His "hubris" makes him try to defy the prophecy of gods but he ends up doing what he feared the most. "The Oracle of Delphi" told him that he would kill his father and marry his mother. To avoid this, he leaves "Corinth" and headed towards "Thebes". On his way, he killed an old man in a feud and later married the queen of "Thebes" as he was made king of the city after he saved the city from a deadly "Sphinx". He committed all these sins in complete ignorance but he deserved punishment because of his attempting to rebel against his fate. His reversal of fortune is caused by his actions, which are in a sense blasphemous. Example #2 Hamlet's tragic flaw in Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" determines his tragic downfall. Hamlet's hamartia is his indecisiveness. He cannot make up his mind about the dilemmas he confronts. He reveals his state of mind in the following lines from Act 3 Scene 1 of the play: "To be, or not to be-that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep..." He wants to kill his father's murderer "Claudius" but ruined his life by delaying acting as he looks for proof to justify his action. In the process he spoils his relation with his mother and sends "Ophelia" into such a state of depression that she commits suicide. This indecision got almost everyone killed at the end of the play. He killed "Claudius" by assuming fake madness because of his indecisiveness in action so that he will not be asked for any justification.

Comic relief

In a literary work, comic relief is an author's use of humor to give the reader or audience an emotional break from the tension and heavy mood of a serious or tragic plot. This can include humorous characters, clever dialogue, and funny scenes. Comic relief also functions as an element of contrast to intensify the tragedy to come, and it can be found in all genres of writing. Now, let's look at some examples of comic relief from the work of three different writers noted for their use of this important literary technique: William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Harper Lee. William Shakespeare We'll start with William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was a master of comic relief and frequently incorporated comedic elements into many of his plays. He often used a clownish, bumbling type of fool to provide comic relief. Let's look at a few prominent examples of comic relief in Shakespearean tragedies. In Act II: Scene iii of Macbeth', the drunken porter (gatekeeper at Macbeth's castle) is a buffoon who appears between the horrific murder of King Duncan and the gruesome discovery of his body. He imagines that he is the gatekeeper of hell, and his hallucinations are delivered with enough slapstick, dirty jokes, and vulgarities to keep the audience in stitches. After this, the horror of King Duncan's butchered corpse is magnified for the audience. In King Lear, the court jester, called ''The Fool,'' provides comic relief in the form of his crazy behavior, jokes, and mockery of Lear's stupidity. There is actually a lot of wisdom in the madcap riddles and jokes made at Lear's expense. This supplies welcome relief from the king's insanity and the play's violence. Another example of comic relief occurs in Act V: Scene i of Hamlet.' By this point, Ophelia has committed suicide, and Claudius and Laertes are plotting to poison Hamlet, who has just returned to Denmark. To lighten the mood, Shakespeare inserted the scene with the clownish gravedigger who enjoys jerking Hamlet around every time he asks him a question about the grave he is digging. This gives the audience a much-needed comic respite from the bloodbath that is to come by the end of Act V.

Inner dialogue

In inner dialogue, the characters speak to themselves and reveal their personalities. To use inner dialogue, writers employ literary techniques like stream of consciousness or dramatic monologue. We often find such dialogues in the works of James Joyce, Virginia Wolf and William Faulkner.

Paradoxical statement

It is often easier to explain what a paradox is by giving examples. A paradox is used to challenge the mind and make you think about the statement in a new way. A paradox is often used to intrigue and question common thoughts. Take the statement "Less is more." This statement uses two opposite words that contradict one another. How can less be more? The concept behind this statement is that what is less complicated is often more appreciated. Another well-known example of a paradox is the Liar paradox, which offers up the simple sentence: "This statement is false." If this is true, then the sentence is false, but if the sentence states that it is false, and it is false, then it must also be true! So the sentence is both true and not true at the same time. Some more examples of paradoxical statements are: You can save money by spending it. I know one thing; that I know nothing. This is the beginning of the end. Deep down, you're really shallow. I'm a compulsive liar. "Men work together whether they work together or apart." - Robert Frost "What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young." - George Bernard Shaw "I can resist anything but temptation." - Oscar Wilde

Blank verse

Lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter in no particular stanzaic form. Because iambic pentameter resembles the rhythms of ordinary English speech, blank verse is often unobtrusive; for instance, Shakespeare's noble characters usually use it, though they may seem to us at first reading to be speaking in prose. See Meter.

Monologue

Monologue comes from Greek word monos means alone and logos means speech. It is a literary device, which is the speech or verbal presentation that a single character presents in order to express his/her collection of thoughts and ideas aloud. Often this character addresses directly to audience or another character. Monologues are found in the dramatic medium like films, plays and also in non-dramatic medium such poetry.

Motivation

Reasons behind a character's behavior that make us accept or believe that character.

End rhyme

Repetition of concluding sounds in different words, often intentionally used at the ends of poetic lines. The most common type of rhyme within a poem is end rhyme, where the rhyming syllables are placed at the end of a line. Internal rhyme consists of rhyming words found within a line of poetry.

Epiphany

Term first applied to literature by James Joyce to describe a sudden moment of revelation about the deep meaning of something, such as the boy's realization at the end of "Araby."

Coincidence

The chance cocurrence of two events having a peculiar correspondence between them.

Chance

The occurance of an event that has no apparent cause in antecedent events or in predisposition of a character.

Absurd

The word "absurd" can mean a lack of purpose, and this is exactly the meaning taken in absurdist fiction. Absurdist fiction,1 a genre of literature made famous by Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Kurt Vonnegut, and Paul Auster, focuses on experiences of characters, who, unable to find an intrinsic purpose in life, are represented through meaningless actions and events. Nothing about this genre is standard: the 'moral' of the story isn't explicit1 (often the author rejects standard morality completely), and the structure of absurdist stories differs from traditional story structure. Thus, writers have great freedom to create unique works of art. The aim of absurdism is to get at least a tiny step closer to the answers that matter, that offer consolation to the kindred-hearted, and bring forth the author's individual reasoning that can serve as an aid to others.

Poeticizing

Writing that uses immoderately heightened or distended language to sway the reader's feelings.

Dramatic convention

a piece of drama has its own conventions. It is structured in acts and scenes: an act is a large chunk or section and scenes are used to divide up the acts. At the start of a new act or new scene, you are usually given detailed stage directions which inform the actors what to do and how to do it. Stage directions can also give information about setting and props for the benefit of the director and designer. They can, however, choose to ignore these directions if they so wish. The script that you read is not a finished product - you could see it as a blueprint for a performance.