Question 1
- Chorus
Chorus is a literary device that refers to the situation when people do something in unison. It was used in the ancient Greek drama. As seen in Lysistrata when the old women chastised the younger women when they said they would not give in to the demands of their husbands (pg 149).
- Dramatic irony
Dramatic irony is seen when the audience or readers get to know certain things that certain characters in the play do not know. An example of dramatic irony in ‘trifles’ is when the women find the evidence to show that Mrs. Wright killed her husband, the women stashed the evidence away before the men could arrive.
- Soliloquy
Soliloquy is a common device in literature. It describes the situation where the character speaks to himself/ herself. At the beginning of ‘Trifles’ Hale is talking to himself. Hale’s monologue qualifies as soliloquy. Hale is talking about how he found out that Mr. Wright was dead.
- Embedded stage direction
- Iambic pentameter
It is a literary device that refers to lines with five feet (groups of syllable) in each line. The iambic part stresses on the lines having both stressed and then unstressed syllable dominant
Scan the sentence, ‘Disguise, I see thou art wickedness’
Viola said the above sentence when she found out that Olivia was falling in love with her. The scansion of the sentence is as follows:
Question 2
- As a literary form, how does drama essentially differ from any other (fiction, poetry, and nonfiction prose)?
Drama differs from other fiction, poetry and non-fiction prose because they all utilize linguistic and structural techniques differently. Drama can have staging directions, it usually has a list of characters, it is written to be performed, and drama can include directions for the physical setting on stage and costumes. Another characteristic of drama is that it can take several forms: Plays, skit, opera, musicals and monologue.
2. Authors of the Renaissance were not bound by the classical rules. They were inspired by plays such as Gammer Gurton's Needle and Ralph Roister Doister (both c. 1553) Shakespeare is a notable author during the English Renaissance. He perfects the art of form and language such that it captures the spirit of ordinary speech. The characterization is subtle but perfect and the plot, imagery and verse movements are well synchronized. These techniques of drama are perfected in the Renaissance English drama.
3. There are distinct differences between Spartans and Athenians. During the time of Lysistrata, the Spartans and Athenians were fighting. When they encountered each other subtle differences were seen in their languages. Spartans seem more subtle when talking about sex as compared to the Athenians.
4. Drama in the middle ages focused on religious topics. It represented what was going on in the society. The church was unable to do away with the festive lives that people enjoyed. Morality play became a famous theme during those days, as the plays depicted the struggle between evil and good.
5. Written words get transmitted into action when there is unity of genre and clear style in the script.
Question 3
1. The dramatic situation throughout the drama is whether the motive of the murder will be known. Mrs. Wright is a suspect of the crime, but nothing has been proven. Will the prosecutor come up with substantial motives to prosecute the suspect?
- The main theme in Lysistrata and the ‘trifles’ is the rise of feminism. Female seem to have had enough of being dominated and looked down upon by men, that is why they take drastic measures. In ‘trifles’ men think that women only care about trifles, which is not true as portrayed by the women in the play. Lysistrata leads a sex-rebellion against men.
4.
(a)‘Importance of being Earnest’ is satirical. It criticizes the practices that we condone in the society such as planned marriages. He criticizes the English literature.
‘Importance of being Earnest’ has some true things in it. For instance, the way in which the main characters love each other is phenomenal.
