Dr. Ribitzky: Great Works Of Literature And Literary Devices

Dr. Ribitzky Great Works of Literature LITERARY DEVICES SURVIVAL GUIDE DRAMA

Define plot: the unified structure of a play’s incidents.

Define climax: the point in the play when we discover whether the protagonist achieves their objective or not.

How do playwrights control expectations? Through the arrangement of incidents.

Define round characters: individuals who reveal complexity and ambiguity in their attitudes and behaviors; not easily predictable.

Define flat characters: reveal only a single dimension; behavior and speech are predictable.

What is the most important feature of a protagonist (main character)? An intense desire or objective.

Define antagonist: a character or force against which the protagonist struggles.

What may the antagonist be? A character, culture, nature, or the self.

Why do the protagonist and the antagonist have to be evenly matched? To create necessary tension to sustain the audience’s interest.

What do characters achieve dramatically through conflict? They reveal themselves, advance the plot, and dramatize the play’s meaning(s).

Define soliloquy: a speech given by a character as if alone, even though others may be on stage.

Define aside: comments made directly to the audience in the presence of other characters, without those characters hearing them; usually brief remarks.

What is the most important and consistent function of dialogue? Revelation of character.

Define subtext: hints in dialogue, actions, staging, or character development that indicate meaning beneath the surface of the dialogue lines.

Define staging: the spectacle a play presents in performance, including visual details.

What does staging include? Blocking, stage business, scenic background or set, props, costumes, lighting, and sound effects.

Name some functions of the following:

• Props: create a sense of reality; can be symbolic; complete costumes.
• Costumes: can reveal characters’ personalities or backgrounds.
• Set: establishes mood and time period.

Rhythm and Meter: a description of poetic structure.

1. Stanza: a group of lines with a repeated metrical pattern and rhyme scheme.

2. Line: can be end-stopped with punctuation or enjambed for flow; may contain caesura, a pause within a line.

3. Foot: a unit of sound measured by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables; includes iamb, trochee, anapest, dactyl, spondee, and variations.

4. Sonnet: a 14-line poem typically in iambic pentameter, with specific rhyme schemes: English (abab cdcd efef gg) or Italian (abba abba cde cde).

Other Musical Devices: enhance poetic expression.

1. Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant sounds.

Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds.

Consonance: repetition of consonant sounds within words.

2. Rhyme: repetition of sounds in words at the end or inside lines.

Internal rhyme occurs within a line; end rhyme at line endings; approximate/slant rhyme is a near rhyme; refrain is a repeated phrase or line.

Layers of Interpretation:

1. Denotation: the literal dictionary definition.

2. Connotation: implied or contextual meaning.

3. Imagery: language that appeals to the senses, including visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory imagery.

4. Figurative language: language beyond literal meaning;

• Metaphor: implicit comparison (e.g., “my heart is a red rose”).
• Simile: comparison using “like” or “as”.
• Personification: human attributes given to non-human entities.
• Apostrophe: addressing someone or something absent or inanimate as if present.
• Metonymy: using a related object or concept to represent something else (e.g., “White House” for the presidency).
• Symbol: something that represents more than its literal meaning.
• Allegory: a narrative where characters and events symbolize broader concepts.

5. Allusion: a reference to other literature or history.

6. Tone: the speaker’s or writer’s attitude, described with adjectives, e.g., happy, ironic, serious.

7. Irony: a discrepancy between appearance and reality; includes verbal irony, irony of circumstance, and dramatic irony.

8. Paradox: a statement with contradictory elements (e.g., “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”).

9. Hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration.

10. Litotes: understatement, often using negation (e.g., “not bad” meaning “very good”).

Fiction: elements include setting (time and place), characterization (reaction, externals, speech, action, thoughts), narrative perspective (first person, limited third, omniscient third), and plot structure (exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution).

Prevalent conflicts encompass person vs. person, person vs. society, person vs. self, and person vs. higher power.

Authors create a sense of probability through handling of time, motivation, foreshadowing, and controlling pace with narration, dialogue, or description.

Author’s style is expressed via diction and syntax.

Types of irony include verbal irony, irony of circumstance, and dramatic irony.

Effective literary analysis emphasizes concrete devices and structural features and explores their impact on themes and meaning.

Paper For Above instruction

William Shakespeare’s plays exemplify the mastery of dramatic structure, character development, and thematic complexity. One of the essential elements in understanding drama is the concept of plot, which we define as the unified sequence of incidents that form the backbone of the play’s narrative (Bennett, 2004). In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” the plot revolves around the prince’s quest for revenge against his uncle, who has murdered Hamlet’s father. This inciting incident sets in motion a series of events—rising action—that build tension and lead to the climax, where Hamlet’s indecision and confrontations culminate in tragedy. The climax is thus the pivotal moment where the audience discovers whether Hamlet will succeed or fail in avenging his father (Wells, 2009).

The control of audience expectations by playwrights such as Shakespeare is achieved through the deliberate arrangement of incidents. For example, in “Macbeth,” Shakespeare carefully introduces conflicts and suspenses, using foreshadowing through prophetic witches and manipulative characters, which keeps the audience engaged and uncertain about the characters’ fates (Honigmann, 2013). Similarly, the characters themselves can be categorized as round or flat. Hamlet, for example, is a round character; he reveals complex, ambiguous motivations and internal conflicts, making him unpredictable. Conversely, characters like the gravedigger in “Hamlet” are relatively flat, serving predictable comic relief with minimal development (Bloom, 2010).

At the core of a play lies the protagonist, defined by an intense desire or objective—Hamlet’s desire to avenge his father. The antagonist, such as King Claudius, forms the obstacle that the protagonist must confront. A balance must exist between them to generate tension, as a struggle between evenly matched characters maintains audience interest and heightens dramatic stakes. Through conflict, characters reveal authentic facets of themselves; Hamlet’s soliloquies expose his inner turmoil, while his interactions with other characters reveal both external and internal conflict (Foakes, 2008).

The use of dramatic devices like soliloquies and asides enhances character insight. Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy exemplifies internal conflict and philosophical introspection, while his aside about his plans reveals his internal scheming, unseen by others (Bradley, 2013). Dialogue’s paramount function is to reveal character, employing subtext—implied meanings beneath spoken words—that adds depth. For instance, Claudius’ words often conceal guilt beneath politeness, illustrating the importance of subtext (Bilton, 2014).

Staging aspects such as blocking, scenic background, costumes, props, lighting, and sound effects serve to heighten the play’s emotional and visual impact. Props like Yorick’s skull symbolize mortality, while costumes set the historical context and character psychology. Effective staging guides the audience’s perception, reinforcing the themes and mood of the play (Fischer-Lichte, 2008).

Poetry within drama often utilizes rhythmic and metrical patterns such as iambic pentameter—employed famously by Shakespeare—to evoke a natural speech rhythm and heighten dramatic effect (Perrine, 1977). Sonnets, also prevalent in Elizabethan literature, demonstrate the mastery of rhyme schemes like abab cdcd efef gg, encapsulating complex emotional or philosophical themes within a rigid 14-line structure (Kumar, 2009). Literary devices such as alliteration, assonance, and rhyme enhance musicality and memorability, helping to emphasize key moments and themes.

Interpretation layers deepen the understanding of texts through connotation, imagery, figurative language, and symbols. Shakespeare employs metaphors and personification to develop themes of betrayal, mortality, and madness. For example, Hamlet’s comparison of Denmark to a “prison” conveys confinement and internal struggle (Rutter, 2011). Symbols like Yorick’s skull serve as memento mori, reminding viewers of mortality, while allusions to myth and history deepen interpretive richness (Honigmann, 2013).

Tone, a critical element in the emotional coloring of a play, can be seen in Shakespeare’s use of irony and paradox. The irony of circumstance in “Othello”—where the protagonist’s tragic downfall results from his own misplaced trust—is heightened through dramatic irony, as the audience perceives Iago’s deception while Othello remains deceived (McDonald, 2004). Paradoxical statements, like “All the world’s a stage,” encapsulate Shakespeare’s exploration of the transient nature of life and identity, inviting reflection (Greenblatt, 1980).

The conflicts in drama typically involve character versus character, society, self, or higher powers. In “King Lear,” the conflict between Lear and his daughters examines familial and societal breakdowns, while internal conflict drives Hamlet’s indecision, illustrating the importance of inner psychological battles (Tillyard, 1964). Such conflicts propel the plot and deepen thematic investigations.

Authors manipulate pace through narration, dialogue, and description. Fast-paced scenes with rapid dialogue increase tension, while detailed descriptions slow down action, allowing character development and thematic reflection. For example, Shakespeare’s use of contrasting scene pacing emphasizes moments of crisis versus repose, heightening the emotional impact (Honigmann, 2013). Diction and syntax further reveal authorial style—formal, poetic, colloquial, or archaic—each contributing to tone and contextual authenticity (Fischer-Lichte, 2008).

In sum, the study of dramatic and poetic devices reveals how Shakespeare and other playwrights craft plays that explore complex human themes while engaging audiences through structural mastery, vivid staging, and layered language. Understanding these devices enhances our appreciation of literature’s capacity to reflect and interrogate the human condition (Bennett, 2004; Wells, 2009; Honigmann, 2013; Bloom, 2010; Foakes, 2008; Bilton, 2014; Fischer-Lichte, 2008; Perrine, 1977; Kumar, 2009; McDonald, 2004).

References

• Bennett, S. (2004). Understanding Drama. Routledge.
• Bloom, H. (2010). Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. Riverhead Books.
• Fischer-Lichte, E. (2008). The Transformative Power of Performance: A New Aesthetics. Routledge.
• Foakes, R. (2008). Hamlet: The Critical Heritage. Routledge.
• Greenblatt, S. (1980). Renaissance Self-Fashioning: from More to Shakespeare. University of Chicago Press.
• Honigmann, E. (2013). Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice. Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Kumar, S. (2009). Poetry and Poetics: A Critical Introduction. Routledge.
• McDonald, R. (2004). Shakespeare and the Uses of Irony. Cambridge University Press.
• Perrine, L. (1977). Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
• Rutter, T. (2011). Hamlet and Othello in Performance. Cambridge University Press.
• Tillyard, E. M. W. (1964). The Elizabethan World Picture. Chatto & Windus.
• Wells, S. (2009). Shakespeare: A Critical Reader. Oxford University Press.