Shakespeare Introduction Flashcards
Grade 8 · English · Flashcards
Key terms, plays, and concepts for understanding Shakespeare's life and works.
Flashcards
- William Shakespeare (dates)
- Born 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England; died 1616. Wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and several longer poems.
- Tragedy
- A play ending in disaster or death for the protagonist; examples: Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear.
- Comedy
- A play featuring humor, romantic confusion, and a happy ending; examples: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night.
- History play
- A play based on the lives of English kings; examples: Richard III, Henry V, Henry IV.
- Sonnet
- A 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter. Shakespeare's are divided into three quatrains and a closing couplet.
- Iambic pentameter
- A poetic rhythm with 10 syllables per line: five unstressed-stressed pairs (iambs). Example: 'Shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer's DAY?'
- Soliloquy
- A speech in which a character, alone on stage, reveals their inner thoughts directly to the audience.
- Globe Theatre
- Open-air theater in London (built 1599) where Shakespeare's acting company, the King's Men, performed his plays.
- Aside
- A brief remark a character makes to the audience that other characters on stage cannot hear.
- Folio
- A large-format book; the First Folio (1623) was the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, published after his death.
- Protagonist
- The main character of a play; in Shakespeare's tragedies the protagonist usually has a fatal flaw that leads to downfall.
- Fatal flaw (hamartia)
- A character trait or error in judgment that leads to a tragic hero's downfall — e.g., Hamlet's indecision, Macbeth's ambition.
- Early Modern English
- The English spoken and written roughly 1500–1700. Features thee/thou, doth/hath, and inverted word order unfamiliar to modern readers.
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