Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 12 ]

12- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

English Phonetics and Phonology .

Language starts with the ear . When a baby starts to talk he does it by hearing the sounds and imitating them . It is well known that a child of ten years old or less can learn any language perfectly , if he is brought up surrounded by that language . But often this age the ability to imitate perfectly becomes less and well all know only too well that adults have great difficulty in mastering pronunciation [ as well as other parts ] of foreign languages . Some people are more talented than others . Our native language won’t let us . By the time we are grown up the habits of our own language are so strong that they are very difficult to break .

Letters and Sounds :

    Letters are written , but sounds are spoken . In ordinary English spelling it is nit always easy to know what sounds the letters stand for , for example in the words “ ‘city’ , ‘busy’ , ‘pretty’ , ‘women’ , ‘village’ ” , the letters “ i, y , e, u , o and a” all stand for the same vowel sound ‘i’ which occurs in ‘sit’ . Some vowel sounds which are ordinarily spelt in the same way sound different . The word ‘lead’ as a verb ‘li:d’ sounds different as an adjective ‘led’ as in ‘lead pipe’ . It is also clear that some words which are spelt differently sound the same , for example ‘rain’ , ‘rein’ , ‘reign’ which are all pronounced ‘rein’ .

In any language we can identify a small number of regularly used sounds [ vowels and consonants ] that we call phonemes ; for example , the vowels in the words ‘pin’ and ‘pen’ are different phonemes and so are the consonants at the beginning of the words ‘pet’ and ‘bet’ . Because of the notoriously confusing nature of English spelling , it is particularly important to learn to think of English pronunciation in terms of phonemes rather than letters of the alphabet ; one must be aware , for example , that the word ‘enough’ begins with the same vowel phoneme as that at the beginning of ‘inept’ and ends with the same consonant as ‘stuff’ . We often use special symbols to represent speech sounds . They must be known .  There are more than forty four sounds in English . Each of the sounds is represented by one letter of the phonetic alphabet called ‘phonemes’, and the method of representing each phoneme by one syllable is called ‘phonemic transcription .They are vowels and consonants . English speakers vary quite a lot in their vowel sounds , the vowels used by an Australian , an American and Scotsman in the word ‘see’ are all different , but they are all recognized as ‘i:’.The larger units of speech such as the syllable and the aspects of speech such as the stress [ which could be roughly described as the relative strength of a syllable ] and intonation [ the use of the pitch of the voice to convey meaning ] . Languages have also different accents ; they are pronounced differently by people from different geographical places , from different social classes , of different ages and different educational backgrounds . The word ‘accent’ is often confused with dialect . We use the word ‘dialect’ to refer to a variety of a language which is different from ‘dialect’ to refer to a variety of a language which is different from others not just in pronunciation but also in such matters as vocabulary , grammar and word order . Differences of accent , on the other hand , are pronunciation differences only . The pronunciation of English in North America is different from most accents found in Britain . There are exceptions to this – you can find accents in parts of Britain that sound American , and accents in North America that sound English . But the pronunciation that you are likely to hear from most Americans does sound noticeably different from BBC pronunciation .

When we speak , we produce a continuous stream of sounds . In studying speech we divide this stream into small pieces that we call ‘segments’ . The word ‘man’ is pronounced with a first segment ‘m’ , a second segment ‘æ’ and a third segment ‘n’ . The letter of the alphabet in writing is a unit which corresponds fairly well to the unit of speech  - the segment . If we look at the letters of the alphabet we use in writing English we have five letters that are called vowel : ‘a’ , ‘e’ , ‘i’ , ‘o’ , ‘u’ . Substituting one letter for another will change meaning . Thus with a letter ‘p’ before and a letter ‘t’ after the vowel letter , we get the five words spelt ‘pat’ , ‘pet’ , ‘pit’ ,’pot’ , ‘put’ , each of which has a different meaning . We can do the same with ‘sounds’ . If we look at the short vowels I ,e , æ , Λ , D, U for example , we can see how substituting one for another in between the explosive ‘p’ and ‘t’ gives us different words  ‘pit / pıt’ , ‘pet / pet’ , ‘pat / pæt’ , ] putt / pΛt’ .

Only by studying both the phonetics and the phonology of English it is possible to acquire a full understanding of the use of sounds in English speech . The most important thing for communication is that we should be able to make use of the full set of phonemes . In every language we find that there are restrictions on the sequences of phonemes that are uused . For example , no English word begins with the consonant sequence ‘zbf’ and no words end with the sequence ‘æh’ . In phonology we try to analyse the restrictions and regularities are in a particular language , and it is usually found helpful to do this by studying the syllables of the language .

The Syllable .

The syllable is a very important unit .A syllable is a part of a word that can be sounded by itself . Each syllable has its own vowel sound . For example the word ‘pillow’ is pronounced ‘pil – low’, so it has two syllables .The word ‘tablet’ is pronounced ‘tab – let’ , so it has two syllables . Most people seem to believe that , even if they cannot define what a syllable is , they can count how many syllables there are in a given word or sentence . If they are asked to do this they often tap they finger as they count , which illustrates the syllable’s importance in the rhythm of speech. As a matter of fact , if one tries the experiment of asking English speakers to count the syllables in , say , a recorded sentence , there is often a considerable amount of disagreement .

The structure of the English syllable :

Let us look in more detail at syllable onsets . The word can begin with a vowel , or with one , two or three consonants . In the same way , we can look at how a word ends when it is the last word spoken before a pause ; it can end with a vowel , or with one , two , three or [ in a small number of cases ] four consonants . No word ends with more than four consonants .

If the first syllable of the word in question begins with a vowel , we say that this initial syllable has a zero onset . If the syllable begins with one consonant , that initial consonant may be any consonant phoneme except [ing / dg ] .When we have two or more consonants together we call them a consonant cluster . It will be noticed that there must be a vowel in the center of the syllable .

Analyzing syllable structure can be useful to foreign learners of English . An understanding of the basic structures will help learners to become aware of precisely what type of consonant cluster presents pronunciation problems – most learners find some English clusters difficult , but few find all of them difficult . The study of syllable structure is a subject of considerable interest to phonologists. There are many different ways of deciding how to divide syllables .

[ You can see the Introductions to the ‘Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, Wells 2000 and the English Pronunciation Dictionary , Jones , Roach and Hartman ,1997 ] .

English has a more complex syllable structure than most languages , but it is advisable to discover exactly which types of consonant cluster are difficult for leaners of a particular native-language background and construct exercises to give practice in them .

Strong and weak syllables :

One of the most noticeable features of English is that some of its syllables are strong while many others are weak ; this is also true of many other languages , but it is necessary to study how these weak syllables are pronounced and where they occur in English . Stress is very important in deciding whether a syllable is strong or weak . When we compare weak syllables with strong syllables , we find the vowel in a weak syllable tends to be shorter  , of lower intensity and different in quality . For example ,in the word ‘father’ the second syllable which is weak is shorter than the first , is less loud and has a vowel that cannot occur in strong syllables . In a word like ‘bottle’ the weak second syllable contains no vowel at all , but consists entirely of the consonant ‘l’ . We call this a syllable consonant . The strong syllables are stressed and the weak syllables are unstressed .The most important thing to note is that any strong syllable will have as its peak on of the vowel phonemes .If the vowel is short then the strong syllable will always have a coda as well . Weak syllables can only have one of a very small number of possible peaks . At the end of a word we may have a weak syllable ending with a vowel [ with no coda ] .

Stressed and unstressed syllables :

     There is no simple way of knowing which syllable or syllables in an English word that must be stressed , but every time you learn another word you must be sure to learn how it is stressed – any good dictionary of English will give you this . If you stress the wrong word for it spoils the shape of the word for an English hearer and he may have difficulty in recognizing the word. 

   All stressed syllables have one characteristic in common , that is ‘prominence’ as stressed syllables are recognized as stressed because they are more prominent than unstressed syllables . What makes a syllable prominent these four factors 1-] Loudness . Stressed syllables are louder than unstressed . 2-] Length . If one of the syllables in a word like ‘nonsense’ is made longer than the others , there is a quite a strong tendency for that syllable to be heard as stressed . 3-] Pitch . Every voiced syllable is said on some pitch ; pitch is speech is closely related to the frequency of vibration of the vocal folds and to the musical notion of low- and         –high-pitched notes . If all syllables are said with low pitch except for one said with high pitch , then the high-pitched syllable will be heard as stressed and the others as unstressed . 4-] Quality . A syllable will tend to be prominent if it contains a vowel that is different in quality from neighboring vowels . We can look on stressed syllables as occurring against a ‘background’ of the weak syllables so that their prominence is increased by contrast with these background qualities . The most frequently encountered vowels in weak syllables are ‘i, u , ı, and schwa [ syllabic consonants  are also quite common ] .

   Generally these four factors work together in combination , although syllables may sometimes be made prominent by means of only one or two of them . Experimental work has shown that these factors are not equally important ; the strongest effect is produced by pitch , and length is also a powerful factor . Loudness and quality have much less effect .

    In order to decide on stress placement , it is necessary to make use of some or all of the following information : 1-] Whether the word is morphologically simple or complex as a result either of containing one or more affixes , or of being a compound word . 2-] What the grammatical category of the word is [ noun , verb , adjective etc. ] . 3-] How many syllables the word has . 4-] What the phonological structure of those syllables is .

Some Spelling Patterns .

Words with ‘a’’a:’ sound :

Ask , mask , flask , fast , last , vast , blast , master , disaster , class , glass , grass , pass , task , cast , mast , ass  , fat , mat , rat  , hat.

Words with ‘u’ sound :

Bull , full , pull , dull , gull , bully , fully , gully , helpfully , sunny , cut , hut , nut  , put , push , bush , brush , hush , hug , rug , bug , but , run , sun ,gun , tub , rub , fun , dub , cup , rush  .

Words with ‘ qu ‘ sound :

Quack , question , quiz , quilt , quick , queen , quite , quiet , square , squeak , squirrel , banquet , liquid , conquer , quart , quality , quantity .

Words with ‘ow’ endings  sound:

Arrow , narrow , sparrow , yellow , elbow , pillow , window , follow , hollow , borrow , sorrow , burrow , shadow , shallow , allow , now , snow , blow , grow , show , glow , rainbow , slow , throw , cow .

Words with ‘en’ and ‘on’ endings sound:

Happen , seven , kitten , mitten , given , fatten , sudden , drunken , golden , fallen , bitten , weaken hasten .

Button , lesson , person , skeleton , prison , season .

Words with ‘ ild’ and ‘ ind’ sound s :

Mild , wild , child .

Bind , find , kind , mind , wind , blind , grind , minder , reminder , remind .

Words with the ‘ost’ and ‘oll’ sounds :

Post , host , ghost , most , almost .

Roll , toll , troll , stroll , scroll , swollen .

Words with the ‘soft c’ [ before ‘e , i, y’ sound :

City , circus , center , cereal , certain , cycle , bicycle , circle , December , except , excellent  recent , concert , face , race , pace , mice , nice , place , trace , space office , rice , notice , police , ice .

Words with the ending ‘le’ sound :

Candle , handle , paddle , middle , angle , bangle , rectangle , jingle , single , fumble , jumble , crumble , grumble , tangle , tingle , double , trouble , bubble scramble , simple , humble , rubble , couple .

Words with the ‘ie’ sound :

Brief , grief , chief , thief , frieze , priest , field , shield , belief , believe , relief , relieve , view , interview , piece .

Words with the ‘ei’ sound : Eight , eighteen , eighty , reins , vein , reign , sleigh , weigh , weight , freight , neighbour , height , either , neither , leisure , sleight , deceit , receive , achieve , wield , receipt , their , forfeit .

Words with the ‘able’ ending sound :

Table , able , stable , vegetable , capable .

Words with ‘ey’ ending sound :

Abbey  , alley , valley , donkey , key , monkey , honey , money , jockey , dopey , trolley , chimney , chutney , turkey , journey ,hockey , battery  .

Words with ‘et’ ending sound :

Jacket , packet , racket , ticket , wicket , cricket , thicket , locket , pocket , rocket , socket , bucket , upset , gadget , pellet , bullet , bonnet , cabinet , magnet , net , tablet , helmet  , triplet , puppet  , trumpet .

Words with silent letters :

Gnat , knee , wrap , lamb , tomb , comb , wraper , knife ,climb , thumb , write , knock , night , flight , sight , height .

Words with ‘o’ ‘ open o’ sound :

Top , hop , hot , shop , got , dog , frog , fog .

Words with ‘i’ sound  :

Sit , hit , hid , did , fit  , dig , pig , big , pin , win , sin , hill.

Words with ‘e’ sound :

Let , hen , pen , pet , ten , get , men , leg ,beg , bed , fed , red , net   .

Words with ‘ ei’ pronounced  sound :

Make  , take , came , ate , late , fate , plate , shake , fake , brake , sake , cake .

Words with ‘ou’ sound :

Home  , rode , nose , hope , those , hose , go , so , no , do , to , slow , show , flow .

Words with ‘ ai’ sound :

Mine , like , hide , ride , time , shine , nine , pine .

Words with ‘i:’ ‘long i’ sound :

Be , he , she , me , we ,  sleep , tree , bee , keep , meet , sheet , green , spleen , greet , fleet , meal , read , mean , clean , team , eat , keen , heat , neat , beat , seem , see .

Words with ‘ ay ‘ ending :

Day , may , say , stay , way , lay , pray , bray , play , slay , gay  .

Words with ‘u:’ ‘long u’ sound :

Hoot , shoot , suit , flute , soon , moon , soothe , pool , pollute , proof , hoop , hoof , stoop , stool , prove , broom , brood , bruise , cruise , choose , shoe , glue , blue  , gloom , .

Words with ‘o:’ ‘long o’ sound :

Door , snort , shore , floor , store , snooze , snoop , snort , snore  , more  , glory , gore , horde , horn .

Words with ‘y’ ‘ai’ sound ending :

By , my , fly , try , why , shy , sky , fry , cry , ply .

Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 11 ]

11- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

Some Rules Of Adding Prefixes & Suffixes.

1- ]There are two rules for spelling words with prefixes . a-] When adding a prefix to a word , retain the spelling of the original word . e.g ir + rational = irrational ,

non + nuclear = nonnuclear  . b-] When adding a prefix to a lower case word , do not use a hyphen in most cases . When adding a prefix to a capitalized word , use a hyphen . Always use a hyphen with the prefix ex- ‘meaning “previous” or “former” . e.g. co- + author = coauthor , mid- + ocean = midocean .                       un + American = un-American , ex- + archer = ex-archer .

Most words that contain suffixes are spelled in a straightforward way . You will have to memorize exceptions to the rules .

2-] Adding suffix –ly .

When adding ‘-ly’ to a word that ends in a single ‘l’ , keep the ‘l’ . When the word ends in double ‘l’ drop the ‘l’ . When the word ends in ‘a consonant +le’ , drop the ‘le’ . e.g. accidental + ly = accidentally , lateral + ly = laterally , dull + ly = dully ,

smell + ly = smelly , able + ly = able , horrible + ly = horribly .

3-] Adding suffix ‘-ness’ :

When adding ‘-ness’ to a word that ends in ‘n’ , keep the ‘n’ .

 e.g. sudden + ness = suddeness  , lean + ness  = leanness , mean + ness = meanness

plain + ness  = plainness

4-] Adding suffixes to words ending in a silent ‘e’ :

Generally dro the final silent ‘e’ before a suffix that begins with a vowel . However , there are many exceptions to rules for words ending in a silent ‘e’ .

e.g. desire + able = desirable , judge + ing = judging .

Keep the final silent ‘e’ in words ending in ‘ce’ or ‘ge’ that have suffixes that begin in ‘a’ or ‘o’ . e.g. peace + able = peaceable , courage + ous = courageous .

Keep the final silent ‘e’ before a suffix that begins with a consonant .

e.g. complete + ly = completely , grace + ful = graceful .

5-] Adding suffixes to words ending in a consonant .

Here are some rules and examples for doubling the final consonant , when adding a suffix to a word :

A-] Double the final consonant :

1-] If the original word is one syllable . e.g. spin , spinner .

2-] If the original word has its accent on the last syllable and the accent remains there after the suffix is added . e.g. dispel , dispelling , occur , occurrence .

3-] If the original word is a prefixed word based on a one-syllable word .

e.g. reset , resetting .

B-] Do not double the final consonant :

1-] If the accent is not on the last syllable or if the accent shifts when the suffix is added . e.g. murmur , murmured , refer , reference .

2-] If the final consonant is ‘x’ or ‘w’ . e.g wax , waxing , flow , flowing .

3-] When adding a suffix that begins with a consonant to a word that ends in a consonant . e.g. daunt , dauntless , equip , equipment .

6-] Forming compound words :

When joining a word that ends in a consonant to a word that begins with a consonant , keep both consonants .

 e.g. lamp + post = lamppost , break + through = breakthrough .

There are many spelling rules that must studied especially when we study grammar . such as ‘adding ed’ or ‘adding ing’ , ‘adding s , es , ies’ etc .

Spelling Challenges .

As we know , not all words follow spelling rules .To simplify spelling , some people have proposed changing the spelling of words so that every word would be spelled as it is pronounced . Since there are regional differences in pronunciation , however , that solution could cause more problems than it would solve . Your best strategy for spelling difficult words is to develop a list of words that you frequently misspell and study them often . You can master the spelling of those words  by writing and rewriting the words .

American Division Literature [ 20 ]

20- ] American Division Literature .

Genres of Drama .

One cannot look at the genre of drama played out on English and American stages without first looking at the history of drama in England – more specifically the Elizabethan popular theater .

  The early church in England in celebrating Christmas and Easter developed special music in which choir groups would musically respond to one another . Sometimes a soloist would answer the choral group or vice versa . This back-and-forth musical conversation eventually suggested to the early church the concept of dialogue . Soon , costumes and settings were added and people began to “act out” their roles in dramas . Crowds grew in number . Eventually the secular communities became involved , starting festivals at which dramatic episodes were enacted in cycles of plays . the subjects for these “ mystery” or “ miracle” plays were still based on events in the Bible and production fell into the hand of various trade guides .

        Secular involvement began to be reflected in these productions – at first minor changes like adding comic or tragic scenes that are not in the Bible ; but eventually they became completely secular works . The first formal tragedy written and enacted in England was in 1561 – Gorboduc by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton in the tragedy of blood tradition of Seneca , a first-century stoic philosopher .

        Drama can take two different fundamental forms under which many other genres fall : tragedy and comedy .

Tragedy .

   In a tragedy , the protagonist [ the tragic hero or heroine ] is overcome in the conflict and meets a tragic end . The tone is serious and builds in the audience a fatalistic sense of the inevitability of the outcome and as a result is sometimes frightening . Yet the inescapable aspects of the catastrophe serve as a catharsis that somehow inexplicably purges the viewer of pity and fear . The Significance , then is not that the protagonist meets with an inevitable catastrophe , but rather the degree to which he or she deals with the conflict and the tragedy with dignity , courage and honor .

The Basic Elements of Tragedy .

1-] Mode :  Narrative . 2-]Protagonist : a tragic hero , honorable , high character , a person of conscience . 3-] Catastrophe :  the tragic conclusion of the conflict – usually death of the hero or heroine . 4-] Catharsis : the purging of feelings of pity and fear through the vehicle of the play .                 5-] Spectacles : grand displays used to grasp the attention of the audience .

6-] Reversal :  the point when the protagonist’s situation changes from good to bad . 7-] Hamartia : the protagonist’s fatal error or the mistake made       [ for whatever reason ] that leads to his/her downfall . 8-] Recognition : simultaneous with the reversal , the protagonist’s recognition of the truth of the situation .The protagonist begins in a state of happiness and falls into a state of unhappiness or death .

Kinds of Tragedies .

1-]Classical Tragedies : are those written by ancient Greeks and Romans , those written about the ancient Greeks and Romans and those written in the style and form of those written by the ancient Greeks and Romans .

2-]Romantic Tragedies : are those that are not classical and include many of the tragedies written in the Elizabethan England .

3-] Revenge Tragedies : are characterized by 1-] Senecan technique .

2-] Plot line father revenges son at direction of son’s ghost or son revenges father at directions of father’s ghost . 3-] Sensationalized murders [ the most extreme called “ tragedy of blood”] .

4-] Domestic Tragedies : are tragedies in which the main characters are everyday people , who undergo disasters common to man .These are also called bourgeois tragedies .

 Comedy .

Some Characteristics Common to Many Forms of Dramatic Comedy :

1-] Purpose : to amuse the viewers . 2-] Problems facing the protagonist interesting to the viewer , but not threatening . 3-] Subject : generally a somewhat realistic view of people’s lives , including the disparities between what they should be and what they are . 4-] Emotional Involvement of Audience :  It is a balance between two elements : 1-]A superficial involvement based on relevance to their own lives and on familiarity .2-] Detachment arising from less involvement with the fate of the protagonist as contrasted to the high levels of emotional involvement of the audience with the fate of the tragic protagonist  . 3-] Intellectual laughter . 4-] Style : friendlier as contrasted to the exalted style of tragic drama . 5-] Includes a sustained plot . 6-] Uses humor . 7-] Laughter involved by a good-natured look at the inconsistencies in human nature of life . 8-] Uses wit [ the bright intelligent use of words to invoke laughter .

A-] Low Comedy : It is just plain fun with jesting and clownish behavior .

B-] High Comedy :intends the laughter to be at the characters – at their ridiculous conduct or attitudes  - laughter that is intellectual , but not mocking.  The  degree to which humor is used , the form it takes and the manner of presentation are fundamental to it .

Comedy can take many forms and examples of each can be found in any age . Yes , some forms were more prevalent on a certain literary periods .

1-] Sixteenth Century [ particularly Elizabethan England ] .

Romantic comedy :

2-] Seventeenth Century .   Realistic Comedy .

3-] Eighteenth Century .  Comedy of manners [ sentimental] .

4-] Nineteenth Century .  Burlesque , operetta .

Romantic Comedy .

The plot revolves around a love story with a happy ending . Shakespeare’s  “As You Like IT”is a notable example of the romantic comedy .

Notice :  A peculiar characteristic of the romantic comedy is that the heroine often will pretend [ for whatever reason ] that she is a man . An interesting reversal on the convention is the trend in the modern “ romantic comedy” to have the hero mask as a woman [ e.g. Tootsie , Mrs. Doubtfire  ] .

 Realistic Comedy .

     A reaction that began late in the 16^th century against romantic comedy . This form is based on real life , usually in London and is characterized by a cynical tone and extensive use of satire . An example is Ben Jonson’s “The Alchemist” . Jonson joined George Chapman to introduce a new form of realistic comedy called “ the comedy of humors” Those plays focus on the humor or predominant character trait of the protagonist : melancholic , sanguine , choleric and phlegmatic .

Comedy of Manners .

    A realistic form practiced during the Restoration [ late 17^th century ] and later in the 19th century ] and later for two revivals [ late in the 18^th century and again late in the 19^th century ] . Its name is indicative of its subject : the contrived , self-conscious manners of society . The characters tend to be stereotypes , with heavy use of satire , clever dialogue , and forbidden illicit love . The comedy of manner is also called Restoration Comedy .

Sentimental Comedy .

Reacting to the immorality extant in the comedies of manners . This form came to be called “ reformed comedy” that aimed to restore virtue to the comic stage . The result was a form steeped in sentimentality with “ perfect” heroes and contrived plots that destroyed the dramatic reality of the plays . “The Conscious Lovers” by Richard Steele is an example .

Burlesque .

It uses an elevated style for a base subject of a base style for an elevated subject .In drama , this form of comedy has many devices available , including song and dance  routines and bawdy humor . An often cited example of burlesque in drama is “ The Beggar’s Opera" by John Gay .

Operetta .

It is called also the “ comic opera” . This colorful musical production such as those of Gilbert and Sullivan , blends dialogue with singing in plots that are often romantic .

Other Forms of Dramatic Comedy .

1-] Comedy of Intrigue .                                                                                 It is [ also called the comedy of situation ] in which the twists and turns of the plot line supersede the characters  involved in the situations .

2-] Farce Comedies  in which farce [ low comedy when the humor is based on the silliness of the situation ] is central to the play . The characters generally are exaggerated stereotypes who get into unbelievable situations that often result in “ slap-stick” comedy . “ Charlie’s Aunt” by Brandon Thomas [1892 ]is a farce .

3-] Court Comedies .  They are written for royal command performances in which a clever style and light tone work together with a plot somewhat devoid of action and with elements of mythology and contrasting characterization .

4-] Commedia dell’arte .  In it stock characters [ played by Italian actors ] were given a scenario or main idea of the plot and improvise the dialogue . Although Italian in origin , those improvisations greatly influenced Elizabethan dramatic comedy .

5-] Satiric Comedy . In it satire is used to make ridiculous the root causes of social problems , particularly  dysfunctional political policies , social customs and contemporary thinking .

6-] Tragicomedy , Neither writers nor critics have found all plays to fit neatly into either the comic or the tragic mold . Both forms can properly include elements of the other , sometimes to the point that they are called tragicomedy . This form was used in Elizabethan and Jacobean England and is characterized by inclusion of both characters from the higher classes usually found in tragedy and characters from the lower classes found in comedy .

The tragicomedy as a dramatic form is attributed to Beaumont and Fletcher in the first decade of the 17^th century . Shakespeare’s “ The Winter’s Tale” and Killingrew’s “ The Prisoner” are both tragicomedies .

American Division Literature [ 19 ]

19- ] American Division Literature .

Dramatic Elements .

         A playwright’s understanding of structure is not complete without a sense of awareness of the many techniques and devices – dramatic elements – available to create various effects .Here are just a few :

1-] Foreshadowing :

Hints at the future that can build anticipation and tension in the audience .

2-] Flashbacks :

Descriptions or enactments of past events for the purpose of clarifying the situation , usually as it relates to the conflict .

3-] Intrigue :

A scheme designed by one of the characters , the success of which depends on another character’s innocence or ignorance of the situation . The usual result is complication in the plot .

4-] Suspense :

Once the audience has a sense of expectation , events happen that are not expected .

5-] Reversal also called peripety  when the main character either fails or succeeds .

6-] Discovery :  When the main character finally realizes the reality of the situation .

7-] Deus ex machina :  Once referring to the Greek practice of physically lowering a "god” to the stage at the end of the play to solve all the problems , today it refers to a contrived element in the plot used to resolve a problem .

8-] Monologue :

 When an actor delivers a speech in the presence of other characters who listen , but do not speak .

9-] Three Unities :

Although not adhered to by many playwrights , French and Italian critics of the 16^th and 17^th centuries believed that a play needs three unities to achieve verisimilitude [ believability ] :

1-] Unity of action [ first suggested by Aristotle ] .

2-] Unity of place [ a single location ] .

3-] Unity of time [ the play portraying no longer than a 24-hour period ] .

10-] Dramatic conventions :

The elements of a play that the audience knows merely represent reality , but is willing to accept them as real for the sake of the story : Italians in Italy speaking English , the stage set representing a real location in time and space etc.

11-] The aside :

When an actor speaks directly to the audience , however , the rest of the actors on stage supposedly cannot hear him or her . The aside was used in Renaissance drama to let the audience know the actor’s inner feelings and was used in the 19^th century to interject elements of comedy or melodrama .

12-] Soliloquy :

When an actor delivers a speech when he or she is alone , expressing thoughts.

13-] Relief scenes :

They allow the audience to relax briefly in the tension of the drama and balcony scenes . Ex. Romeo and Juliet .

Comic relief scenes are widely used in English drama . Sometimes , their purpose is to ease tension , but also they can add a sense of poignant sadness .

14-] Music : A mainstay of the musical drama , however , early tragedies had both dancing and choral singing . Also back ground music is used extensively to set the mood and tone . Music can help psychologically establish the setting.  For example native drums for Africa and Italian opera for Italy .

16-] Setting :  The setting of a story refers to the time and place of the story and of the socioeconomic background of the means necessary to translate the story to the audience .

     In the theater , this translation depends greatly upon illusion – using lights , costumes , props and so forth to allow the viewers to suspend reality for a brief time and to accept the story as real .

    For the religious plays and classical drama enacted in Elizabethan and Jacobean theaters of the 16^th and the 17^th centuries , there were very few props and painted backdrops . Playwrights depended upon trapdoors , some sound effects , music , mechanical contrivances [ to raise and lower characters]  and dialogue to establish the setting of the story . Due to lack of sufficient lighting , there were no evening performances and only “ special” characters [ representing , for example , animals and royalty ] in the almost all-male acting troupes wore costumes . The stage was in an open-air public theater that included an area for some of the audience to stand and galleries with seats also available .

    The Puritans closed the English theaters in 1642 , however , when they reemerged in 1660 [ the Restoration ] , they had a new look , a new subject and a new audience . The religious plays and classical dramas of Elizabethan Theater gave way to the bright and colorful Comedies of Manners [ influenced by French and Italian Neoclassicism ] , with actresses playing female roles , prose dialogue and audiences that were predominantly upper classes and royalty . The Restoration saw a change in the theater itself , with an indoor construction that included balconies . The approach of the 1800s [ and well into the 19^th century ] brought a reaction against the rules of Neoclassicism and the Age of Reason . This less restrictive style and attitude ushered in Romanticism . The plays of the period are loosely structured and characterized by tragic love affairs , the use of dramatic effects such as intrigue and dialogue written in poetry rather than prose [ although the melodrama – also a product of the 19^th century literary world and considered to be of less literary value – was usually written in prose with the hero overcoming the obstacles by the end of the play ] .

   People soon tired of the idealism of Romanticism and as the century progressed , they began to turn to Realism , especially as seen in the plot         “ formulas” of Eugene Scribe [ French ] . The plays of realism lost the freedoms of their predecessors in favor of highly structured forms and prose dialogue with the plot trying to mirror real life . Naturalism emerged , whose playwrights presented a more victimized portrait of the lower classes in plays that focused on that victimization rather than on the structure of the plot . Experimental theaters emerged in which attempts were made to make the play seem so real as to make the audiences temporarily forget that they were watching a play .

       The cycles of innovation and reaction against those innovations continued as the symbolists reacted against the harshness of naturalism by using symbolism to convey meaning and as the expressionists reacted against realism for writing plays aimed at psychologically calling for social change . Some of their drama became quite didactic [ as in epic theater ] . Also , around this time the theater of the absurd emerged – a strange blend of satire , symbolism and dream imagery . Despite these reactions however , forms of realism have been carried into the modern theater as have a variety of other forms , and styles . The settings of modern plays incorporate a wider range of costumes , props , sets and other materials to convey the story to the audience.

American Division Literature . [ 18 ]

18- ] American Division Literature .

Chapter Four .

Drama .

Drama – a play is a literary composition or story that is intended to be acted out by actors or players [ usually ] on a stage . Drama was present in ancient Greek Dionysian religious ceremony , but modern drama is more closely a product of Western European medieval drama , a new form that was developed from Christian Church ritual in the ninth century .

Dramatic Structure .

    It refers of course to “ plot”. Just as in prose narrative , the plot of a drama centers around conflict : person vs. person , person vs. group , person vs. environment , person vs. nature , or person vs. self . Each event is arranged within the dramatic structure to move along the story line of the plot – the action and to have some impact upon the audience .

The structure of a typical stage play might look like this :

1-[ Exposition ; introduction or status quo:

   During the opening of the play the setting is established and the audience meets the main characters . The opening scene , however , develops  a sense of credibility by “ filling you in” on the circumstances that motivate the actors . Also , the introduction – sets the tone . Sometimes the story begins in the conflict to come .

2-] Conflict or exciting force :

   The conflict is the point at which you recognize a threat to something and / or to someone you have come to care about in the introduction or to something or someone that you are , in the course of the story , coming to care about . Obstacles are placed in the way of the protagonist [ the main character. These obstacles may arise from another person , a group , nature , the environment or from psychological conflict that are generated from within the protagonist . Called the “ exciting force" , it sets into motion the rising action in the play . It is very important because it gives the characters motivation for their words and deeds and it gives the audience motivation to care .

3-] Rising action or complication :

     Once the exciting force has set the action in motion , the struggle builds dramatic structure toward a confrontation . This stage in the dramatic structure consists of a series of emotional highs and lows , with each high gaining intensity . This conflict becomes more complicated .

4-] Climax , crisis or turning point :

  Then , it happens – the inevitable moment of confrontation . This is the point of climax – the turning point in the plot – the point at which there is a reversal from rising action to falling action .Climax is also a synonym for crisis when you are determining the structure of a story or a drama , but climax can also refer to the point of highest intensity for the reader or audience – a point that might come before or after the crisis .

5-] Falling action :

Briefer than rising action , the falling action may still have some suspenseful moments , but for the most part gives the reader or audience a sense of completion , with the various unsettled issues at work within the plot reaching some state of resolution .

6-] Resolution or dénouement :

The hero has won or lost ; issues are resolved ; order is restored .

      How the structure is handled depends on many factors , including the lengthy of the play and the intended audience , the use of dramatic elements , the settings and the genre of the play .

Length and Audience :

  In a typical three-act play , both the exposition and the introduction of the conflict may occur in Act 1 . The conflict may continue into Act 11 , with rising action , leading to the point of crisis [ the turning point ] happening just before the curtain closes on the second act . Act 111 , then , is left to the falling action and the resolution .