Shakespeare Essay Question (AQA GCSE English Literature): Flashcards

Speech by character alone on stage, revealing inner thoughts

Audience knows something characters don't

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

By lower-class characters or in informal situations

Similes use 'like' or 'as', metaphors don't

Exaggeration for emphasis or dramatic effect

Attributing human qualities to non-human things

Builds anticipation & prepares audience for future events

Fatal flaw (hamartia) that leads to downfall

Audience but not other characters

Five-act structure

Placing contrasting ideas, characters or scenes close together

Character who contrasts with another, usually protagonist

Emotional release felt by audience at end of tragedy

14-line poem with specific rhyme scheme