ENGELS
UNIT 5 SWEET SWAN OF AVON
1| Tragedies .
Different aspects
● a hero of noble birth
→ nowadays:
○ ordinary people bcs we can relate to them
→ Shakespeare’s days:
○ important people bcs there is drama in the fall of a great person
⇒ taken from Aristotle
○ we are curious about them
→ Shakespeare:
○ the characters are more ‘human’ than the characters in classical drama
⇒ more believable
○ the unimportant characters also get a tragedy in the story
● the fatal flaw
= weakness
→ it’s the reason for the final tragedy
→ we feel that there is no turning back,
but we feel that it could’ve been avoided from the start
● reversal of fortune
→ typical structure of a tragedy:
○ beginning:
something awful happens
○ middle:
a series of awful events
○ end:
all main characters are dead
⇒we get a feeling that the order has been restored
→ ‘rollen zijn omgedraaid’
, ● madness
= gekkigheid
→ every character goes mad
⇒ they become insane, feel a powerful emotion or even fake being mad
→ catharsis = emotionele zuivering
⇒ we felt the emotions ourselves and keep them under control
⇒ when we witness these emotions get out of control, we feel them safely
⇒ we cleanse ourselves of these emotions when we see them being portrayed
● soliloquies
= monologue
⇒ the actor talks to himself
→ allows us to see inside a character’s mind
⇒ similar to voice-over in a movie
→ Shakespeare:
to find a way to express thoughts that are hard to put into words
● death
→ always in the ending
○ mostly the main characters
○ last scene is a pile of corpses
○ tragic deaths
○ ‘If only’ feeling >< inevitable from the start
⇒ we feel stressed, but also relieved ( ⇒ catharsis)
2| Not of an Age, but for All Time .
historical context
● monarchy
→ religious revolution:
○ Henry VII >< pope (he wanted to divorce)
⇒ Anglican church (protestants) >< catholic church (christian)
⇒ whitewashing = removing all catholic imagery
○ 3 changes in 12 years ⇒ chaos
○ mystery plays became forbidden
→ educational revolution
UNIT 5 SWEET SWAN OF AVON
1| Tragedies .
Different aspects
● a hero of noble birth
→ nowadays:
○ ordinary people bcs we can relate to them
→ Shakespeare’s days:
○ important people bcs there is drama in the fall of a great person
⇒ taken from Aristotle
○ we are curious about them
→ Shakespeare:
○ the characters are more ‘human’ than the characters in classical drama
⇒ more believable
○ the unimportant characters also get a tragedy in the story
● the fatal flaw
= weakness
→ it’s the reason for the final tragedy
→ we feel that there is no turning back,
but we feel that it could’ve been avoided from the start
● reversal of fortune
→ typical structure of a tragedy:
○ beginning:
something awful happens
○ middle:
a series of awful events
○ end:
all main characters are dead
⇒we get a feeling that the order has been restored
→ ‘rollen zijn omgedraaid’
, ● madness
= gekkigheid
→ every character goes mad
⇒ they become insane, feel a powerful emotion or even fake being mad
→ catharsis = emotionele zuivering
⇒ we felt the emotions ourselves and keep them under control
⇒ when we witness these emotions get out of control, we feel them safely
⇒ we cleanse ourselves of these emotions when we see them being portrayed
● soliloquies
= monologue
⇒ the actor talks to himself
→ allows us to see inside a character’s mind
⇒ similar to voice-over in a movie
→ Shakespeare:
to find a way to express thoughts that are hard to put into words
● death
→ always in the ending
○ mostly the main characters
○ last scene is a pile of corpses
○ tragic deaths
○ ‘If only’ feeling >< inevitable from the start
⇒ we feel stressed, but also relieved ( ⇒ catharsis)
2| Not of an Age, but for All Time .
historical context
● monarchy
→ religious revolution:
○ Henry VII >< pope (he wanted to divorce)
⇒ Anglican church (protestants) >< catholic church (christian)
⇒ whitewashing = removing all catholic imagery
○ 3 changes in 12 years ⇒ chaos
○ mystery plays became forbidden
→ educational revolution
