Literary Elements of Twelfth Night Mrs. Cole OMMS

Literary Terms Aside – an actor’s speech, directed to the audience, that is not supposed to be heard by other actors on stage Blank Verse – poetry made up of unrhymed iambic pentameter Blank verse is considered best for dramatic verse in English since it is the verse form closest to the rhythms of everyday English speech and has been the dominant verse form of English drama and narrative poetry since the mid-Sixteenth Century.

Iambic pentameter – a verse with ten syllables per line, beginning with an unstressed syllable Iamb means “foot;” pentameter means “five in the meter.” Together, you have a five pairs of unstressed/stressed syllables.

Shakespeare often uses contractions to make lines shorter, or stresses to make lines longer, in order to fit this strict meter. Use of contractions “My soul the faithful’st off’rings have breathed out/ that e’er devotion tendered – what shall I do?” V.1.116-117 Extra Stresses “More than light airs and recollected terms of these most brisk and giddy-paced times.” II.4.6-7

Poetry Vs. Prose Shakespeare uses both poetry and prose in his plays In most modern editions of the plays, each line in multi-line verse passages begins with a capital letter. Each line in multi-line prose passages begins with a small letter except the first line or a line beginning with the opening word of a sentence. In addition, verse passages have a shortened right margin, but prose passages have a full right margin.

Poetry Vs. Prose Why alternate between the two? Both higher class and lower class characters use poetry, so it is not just a class distinction. What seems more likely is that the use of poetry indicates high emotion, wit, and clarity of mind. A person speaking in prose, then, would be considered less intelligent. Or, what they are saying could be considered more common and everyday.

Poetry Vs. Prose Consider Maria’s marriage to Toby. Although they are different in social class, what makes them equal enough to be considered a good match? What does that tell us about Shakespeare’s values?

Literary Terms Dramatic Irony – when the readers know things the characters do not Monologue – A long speech delivered by one character to another Soliloquy – Occurs when a character stands alone on the stage and makes a speech. Rhyming Couplet – A pair of lines ending with rhyming words that sum up a speech

Literary Terms Paradox – Two seemingly contradictory ideas that make sense together “Wise enough to play the fool” III.1 Oxymoron – A pair of words that are opposite alone, but together make sense “The Fortunate Unhappy” II.5 Pun – a play on words, including two words that sound alike “Hart” and “Heart” I.1

Literary Terms Epigram: a very short humorous poem. Apostrophe: an address to someone or something that is absent, abstract, or inanimate. “Come away, come away, death/ And in sad cypress let me be laid.” II.4.49 -50 Epigram: a very short humorous poem. “You water the grass to make it grow/Then you find out you have to mow!”

Forms of Comedy Few comedies are one purely distinct form or another, but rather they include a blend of types. Here are some rough categories that can help focus discussions. Low Comedy: Laughter is often based on the physical mishaps, slapstick, and bodily functions. Ex. Beavis and Butthead, Dumb and Dumber

Farce: The devices that drive the plot identify this form of comedy: mistaken identities, coincidences, and mistimings. The characters become puppets of fate. Characters interested in each other must often struggle to be together as others contrive to keep them apart. There are always coincidences, doublings, or obstacles, i.e. twins, busybodies, marriages that happen at the wrong time. Money and class figure prominently in the action. Ex. Seinfeld, That ’70s Show, Sydney White

Uses clever insults, put-downs, puns, paradoxes, and epigrams Comedy of Manners: emphasizes the mechanisms of language and reduces life and its problems to verbal repartee. Uses clever insults, put-downs, puns, paradoxes, and epigrams Does not hesitate to sacrifice a character’s feelings to the cause of witty dialogue 3 groups of characters: the true wits: insightful, self-aware the would-be wits: witty, but not insightful the witless: unaware of the true meaning of lives around them Ex. The Office, Thirty Rock

Comedy of Ideas: Characters argue about important issues like war, gender, marriage, religion, class, and government. Characters represent different approaches to these issues. Satire is a type of comedy of ideas, that is often irreverent and challenges the conventional thinking on issues. Ex. Monty Python, M*A*S*H, and, at times, South Park and The Simpsons

What type of comedy would you guess Twelfth Night to be What type of comedy would you guess Twelfth Night to be? Remember, Shakespeare had to entertain an audience of multiple classes. Forms of Comedy courtesy of apcentral.collegeboard.com/PreAPWorkshops Copyright 2004 College Entrance Examination Board