English II Spring Semester Exam Review – Bryant

Drama – Shakespearean and Greek

A / soliloquy / Something that sounds impossible or contradicting, but actually can be true
B / aside / A character or group of characters who comment on action without being in it
C / dialogue / A speech onstage by one actor to other actors
D / dramatic irony / A word or phrase made up of contradictory words – bittersweet –crash landing
E / monologue / A recurring theme, symbol, element in a play or fiction
F / tragic hero / Inclusion of a humorous character or scene for the purpose of relieving tension
G / hamartia / The visual elements of a play created for theatrical effect
H / hubris / “God from machine” – where a god suddenly intervenes in the action
I / fate / Words spoken by an actor directly to audience not “heard” by other actors
J / tragedy / Play on words – Shakespeare used a lot of these
K / motifs / In drama, when audience “knows more” than onstage actors
L / groundlings / Recurring stereotyped characters across literary works even across cultures Example – knight in shining armour
M / spectacle / In a work of literature or play, a reference to another work of literature
N / chorus / The commoners in Shakespeare’s time who paid a penny to stand in the pit
O / Deus ex machina / A character of elevated status who, because of a flaw, suffers a fall from glory
P / Comic relief / A speech onstage by one actor when he thinks he is alone
Q / antithesis / Conversation between characters
R / paradox / Excessive pride or arrogance that can lead to a downfall
S / oxymoron / Contrasting ideas – heaven/hell hot/cold
T / puns / Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar are examples of this type of play
U / allusion / The tragic flaw that leads to the tragic hero’s downfall
V / archetype / A predetermined course of events

Fiction and poetry

A / protagonist / An unlikely comparison using “like” or “as”
B / antagonist / Words that make the sounds they represent
C / foil / Word choice
D / allegory / Something that represents something else
E / characterization / Giving an inanimate thing or idea person-like qualities
F / Internal conflict / Using sensory language to create strong images for the reader
G / External conflict / A narrator that lets the reader know thoughts of multiple characters
H / denouement / The underlying message or moral of a story
I / Figurative language / A narrator whose credibility is damaged and can’t be trusted
J / flashback / The type of narration a story has
K / foreshadowing / The character or force in a work of fiction that opposes the protagonist
L / quatrain / A character in fiction or drama whose primary purpose is to reflect the qualities of a major character.
M / metaphor / Non-literal language – used to create imagery and enhance the reader’s experience.
N / simile / Conflict that takes place outside of the character
O / personification / The emotional quality of a work of fiction, poem, or drama
P / understatement / When the narrator is in the story and uses “I” frequently
Q / onomatopoeia / The author’s, narrator’s, poet’s, or speaker’s attitude about the subject
R / elegy / The process an author or playwright uses to create characters
S / meter / When the narrator lets you know thoughts of only 1 character
T / Epic / A literary exaggeration for effect
U / symbol / A directly stated comparison between two unlikely things
V / speaker / When an author or narrator tells you about previous events in time
W / Tone / Conflict within a character
X / enjambment / The primary character who undergoes challenges
Y / 1st person / The resolution of a work of fiction
Z / 3rd person limited / The hints an author or narrator gives the reader about future events
AA / 3rd person omniscient / When a character says less than what he means – done for effect. Sometimes sounds sarcastic.
BB / Unreliable narrator / A symbolic work of fiction or drama where characters represent ideas or moral qualities.
CC / Stanza / The voice heard in a poem
DD / theme / The measured pattern of rhythmic accents in a poem
EE / imagery / A four-line stanza
FF / hyperbole / A metrical pattern in a poem composed of “stressed” and “unstressed” syllables
GG / mood / A run-on line of poetry where punctuation carries over into the next line
HH / Point of view / A long narrative poem that takes place over a long period and records adventures of a hero
II / diction / A type of poem that laments (mourns) the dead
JJ / foot / A “paragraph” in a poem

Julius Caesar

A / Casca / Hot-tempered, crafty, a reader and thinker, was jealous of Caesar.
B / Brutus / Tribunes
C / Antony / 15th
D / Cassius / A religious-type fertility festival
E / Flavius and Murellus / Caesar defeated his forces
F / Lupercal / Athletic; used rhetorical devices in his speeches to persuade the Romans to “rise and mutiny.”
G / Pompey / Stabbed Caesar first; known for being rude
H / Ides of March / Delivered the “unkindest cut of all.”
I / Letters / Cassius’s servant; held the sword while Cassius ‘ran on it’ to end his own life
J / Rome / Antony’s proof that he was not ambitious
K / Ambition / The mention of this helped caused Rome to mutiny
L / Portia / Antony, Octavius, Lepidus
M / Decius / Mistaking his fate led to Cassius’s death
N / Artemidorus and Soothsayer / A misunderstanding about this led to Brutus and Cassius’s big argument
O / Anachronism / Allegedly, what the priests found missing in the animal they sacrificed at Caesar’s request – very symbolic
P / Suicide / When Caesar was assassinated, he fell at the base of Pompey’s statue
Q / Caesar thrice refused crown / What Cassius sarcastically said everyone under Caesar suffered from – not just Caesar
R / “noblest Roman of them all,” according to Antony / Supposedly why Caesar was assassinated
S / The triumvirate after Caesar’s assassination / Strong; can bear pain; swallowed coals
T / Gold / Both tried to warn Caesar to no avail
U / Titinius / Re-interprets Calpurnia’s dreams and tricks Caesar into going to the Capitol
V / Pindarus / What Cassius had delivered to Brutus to “trick him”
W / Will / Brutus
X / heart / Cassius’s favorite remedy to his woes
Y / “falling sickness” / Clock chimed
Z / Situational irony / What Brutus allegedly loved more than Caesar

Shakespeare and the Globe Theater

A / Shakespeare’s birth year / 3000
B / Globe Theater burned / Anne Hathaway
C / The number of patrons the Globe would hold / Lord Chamberlain’s Men
D / Paid a penny to stand in the ‘pit’ or ‘yard’ to watch the play / 1599
E / Shakespeare married who? / He contributed more familiar expressions, lines, and idioms to the English language and, overall, more words to the English language than any other single person.
F / Number of plays Shakespeare wrote / 1616
G / Shakespeare’s death year / 38
H / Shakespeare’s theater company / groundlings
I / Shakespeare’s most notable contribution? / 1564