Dr. Stapleton
Final exam
Due by email no later than 9 a.m. Thurs. 26 June (note date) stapletm@ipfw.edu
Answer both questions to the best of your ability. Do your best to follow directions.
1) Definitions: find brief, concreted examples of each of these ten (10) terms or concepts in
Macbeth and / or Othello, cite them, and explain in a paragraph (not a vague sentence, please)
why a) your quotation exemplifies the definition and b) why Shakespeare may have chosen to
use the term or concept in that way. Avoid being merely prosaic. Put a little thought into it.
aurea mediocritas (golden mean);
antecedent action and nuncio (messenger who provides the info);
fortune;
fate;
providence;
a clear and important reference to one or more of the four elements;
a clear and important reference to one or more of the four humours (sanguine, choleric,
melancholic, phlegmatic);
a clear and important reference to one of the Seven Deadly Sins;
allegory;
and, finally:
find a line of iambic pentameter, explain how it scans and where the stresses are.
2) Analysis: as we discussed, Aristotle in his Poetics expressed an archetypal theory of tragedy,
trying to define it by using his favorite play, Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex, as an example. Some of
his key terms include hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and katharsis. It has been an attractive
prospect to relate this theory to Shakespeare’s plays, even though he could not have read the
Poetics in Greek or in translation into a modern language such as French or English because it
was not available until after his death. In spite of this inconvenient truth, let us engage in an
exercise in anachronism. Define these terms clearly, and then explain, using specific examples,
quotations, where you think they are in operation in Othello or Macbeth.
It might help if you check out Aristotle’s treatise for yourself. Here it is in a link from Penn
State, if you feel ambitious.
All told, your exam should be about 5 pp. long, double-spaced, in 12-point type. Late exams: 0 /
F. No exceptions. Exams turned in early would be greatly appreciated.