Elements of Drama and Shakespeare's Language
Across
- 2. a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is replaced by another, often indicating a likeness or similarity between them
- 5. a humorous work of drama
- 7. when the audience or reader knows something that the characters in the story do not know
- 8. normal speech rhythm; Shakespeare often wrote certain characters speaking either in all verse or all prose, indicating some personality trait of the character. If the character deviates from its normal form, be aware of a changing state of mind...often prose signals a character slipping into insanity!
- 9. two rhyming lines at the end of a speech, signaling that a character is leaving the stage or that the scene is ending
- 12. a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by "like" or "as"
- 13. a line of poetry that contains 5 iambs of two syllables each
- 14. italicized comments that identify parts of the setting or the use of props or costumes, give further information about a character, or provide background information
- 16. a serious work of drama in which the hero suffers catastrophe or serious misfortune, usually because of his/her own actions
- 19. a division within a play, much like chapters of a novel
- 20. most of Shakespeare's plays are written in this form, which is very close to normal speech rhythms and patterns. Often Shakespeare will deviate from this form in order to make a point about the character's state of mind or for other emphasis, like a change in the mood.
- 21. thoughts spoken aloud by a character when he/she is alone, or thinks he/she is alone
Down
- 1. a character who is nearly opposite of another character; the purpose of this character is to reveal a stark contrast between the two characters, often the protagonist and antagonist
- 2. a long speech spoken by a character to himself, another character, or to the audience
- 3. a work of literature designed to be performed in front of an audience
- 4. a list of characters presented before the action begins
- 6. phrases or words which have double meanings, one of which is usually sexual in nature
- 8. a play on words that either sound alike or that have multiple meanings
- 10. language which works to evoke images in your mind
- 11. lines that are spoken by a character directly to the audience
- 15. a protagonist with a fatal flaw which eventually leads to his/her demise
- 17. a division of an act into smaller parts
- 18. conversation between two or more characters