Literary Terms You should follow along in your Act I note packet

Tragic Flaw (Hamartia) The character defect that causes the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy Examples: Samson is a Bible character whose fatal flaw was related to a woman. His love for Delilah – a wicked woman who was paid by the Philistines to find the source of his great strength. When he finally revealed that his strength was due to his long hair, Delilah’s servant shaves his hair and his strength is taken away from him. In the Back to the Future film series, Marty McFly gets himself into trouble several times due to his fatal flaw – the inability to walk away when someone suggests that he is too afraid to follow through. His unwillingness to be labeled a "chicken" is an instance of hamartia.McFly

Tragedy Examples: Othello : Due to his trusting nature, Othello allows himself to be convinced that his wife is cheating on him. Othello then murders his own wife, who is completely faithful and trustowrthy.Othello Branch of drama that has a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual.

Dramatic Irony Information or knowledge is known by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play. Examples: Othello : The audience knows the entire time that his wife is faithful, but Othello himself does not. Batman: the audience knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, but the chief commissioner doesn’tdoesn’t Inception: The audience knows that the main characters are in a dream, but some of the characters do not. dream

Soliloquy Passage in a drama in which a character expresses his thoughts or feelings aloud while alone upon the stage Examples: Jean Valjean Jean Valjean in Les Miserable sings his thoughts, allowing the audience to get inside of his mind and fully understand who he is and what he is going through.

Aside A character's dialogue is spoken but not heard by the other actors on the stage. Asides are useful for giving the audience special information about the other characters onstage or the action of the plot. Examples: In Saved by the Bell, Zach Morris has the ability to call timeout, and gives the audience small pieces of information, all while the other members of the show cannot hear what he says.timeout

Monologue A single speaker goes on and on and on, speaking to the other characters on stage, the audience, whomever. Examples: In Braveheart, William Wallace gives a long speech to his army and is the only one to talk for over three minutes straight. In Gladiator, Maximus talks for over a minute straight without interruption while he tells the Emperor who he truly is.Maximus

Anachronism Anachronisms happen when something in your book is out of sync with time. In other words, anachronisms are references that are out of place given the text's chronology, sequence of events, or historical setting. Examples: In Back to the Future, Marty Mc Fly plays a Gibson guitar, which didn’t exist yet.Gibson