Denouement - The sequence of events that occur as a result of the events of the climax. It is most often referred to as the "unraveling of the main dramatic complications in a play, novel or other work of literature" (Wheeler, Kip). The occurrence of these events vary in length, depending on how much the conflict requires to be totally resolved.
Example - All of the events that occur in Act V are presented as the denouement. All of the dominoes fall in such a way that Eliza decides to leave Higgins and Pickering to go marry Freddy. She has a discussion with Higgins about their relationship, and after all the loose ends are tied, the play ends with the audience wondering what will happen between her, Freddy, and Higgins.
Foreshadowing - The hints and nudges that guide the audience's attention to what will happen in future events. Foreshadowing can take several forms, be it symbolism, dialogue, or narrative, but in most instances it clues in on major plot points.
Example - Eliza's dress changes signify both her growth as a person and her ascension in her social class. She makes a total of three changes throughout the course of the play, and each one takes the audience and the people around her by surprise.
Irony - Irony can be depicted in several different forms through several different mediums. It is simply defined as 'saying one thing and meaning another', but the term isn't quite synonymous with sarcasm.
Verbal irony is essentially an expressed statement that explicitly contrasts the speaker's intentions or point of views. This can sometimes take the form of sarcasm, but isn't necessarily the case.
Example - Higgins' orders to Mrs. Pearce to throw Eliza out should she cause a commotion are completely out of line, as the audience knows Higgins would very much like Eliza to stay so he can see the bet through.
Dramatic irony is any situation in a literary work in which the audience is aware of something that some characters are not. This can be expressed as a course of action that takes place as a result of ignorance that does not shadow the audience.
Example - At the party, the audience knows that Eliza is truly a street urchin of London, but everyone believes Nepommuck over Higgins that she is a Hungarian of royal blood.
Situational irony is "a trope in which accidental events occur that seem oddly appropriate, such as the poetic justice of a pickpocket getting his own pocket picked. However, both the victim and the audience are simultaneously aware of the situation in situational irony--which is not the case in dramatic irony" (Wheeler, Kip).
Example - Eliza's use of the name 'Freddy' in Act I as a coincidence towards Freddy's actual name shows as situational irony because there was no way she could have possibly known his name, and said 'Freddy' simply because it is a common name and she used it instead of giving him a title such as 'sir'.
Metaphor - A comparison made without using the words 'like' or 'as'. The analogy is meant less literally than a simile, and is used as a rhetorical trope, and the symbols used in these comparisons often carry great weight to the overall meaning or theme of the literary work.
Example - Higgins, in a fit of rage, calls Eliza a "squashed cabbage leaf" early on in the play. This is a metaphor for her deplorable state of being born in the low class, forced to be trod upon and unwanted all her life.
Example - All of the events that occur in Act V are presented as the denouement. All of the dominoes fall in such a way that Eliza decides to leave Higgins and Pickering to go marry Freddy. She has a discussion with Higgins about their relationship, and after all the loose ends are tied, the play ends with the audience wondering what will happen between her, Freddy, and Higgins.
Foreshadowing - The hints and nudges that guide the audience's attention to what will happen in future events. Foreshadowing can take several forms, be it symbolism, dialogue, or narrative, but in most instances it clues in on major plot points.
Example - Eliza's dress changes signify both her growth as a person and her ascension in her social class. She makes a total of three changes throughout the course of the play, and each one takes the audience and the people around her by surprise.
Irony - Irony can be depicted in several different forms through several different mediums. It is simply defined as 'saying one thing and meaning another', but the term isn't quite synonymous with sarcasm.
Verbal irony is essentially an expressed statement that explicitly contrasts the speaker's intentions or point of views. This can sometimes take the form of sarcasm, but isn't necessarily the case.
Example - Higgins' orders to Mrs. Pearce to throw Eliza out should she cause a commotion are completely out of line, as the audience knows Higgins would very much like Eliza to stay so he can see the bet through.
Dramatic irony is any situation in a literary work in which the audience is aware of something that some characters are not. This can be expressed as a course of action that takes place as a result of ignorance that does not shadow the audience.
Example - At the party, the audience knows that Eliza is truly a street urchin of London, but everyone believes Nepommuck over Higgins that she is a Hungarian of royal blood.
Situational irony is "a trope in which accidental events occur that seem oddly appropriate, such as the poetic justice of a pickpocket getting his own pocket picked. However, both the victim and the audience are simultaneously aware of the situation in situational irony--which is not the case in dramatic irony" (Wheeler, Kip).
Example - Eliza's use of the name 'Freddy' in Act I as a coincidence towards Freddy's actual name shows as situational irony because there was no way she could have possibly known his name, and said 'Freddy' simply because it is a common name and she used it instead of giving him a title such as 'sir'.
Metaphor - A comparison made without using the words 'like' or 'as'. The analogy is meant less literally than a simile, and is used as a rhetorical trope, and the symbols used in these comparisons often carry great weight to the overall meaning or theme of the literary work.
Example - Higgins, in a fit of rage, calls Eliza a "squashed cabbage leaf" early on in the play. This is a metaphor for her deplorable state of being born in the low class, forced to be trod upon and unwanted all her life.
Mood - Most commonly referred to as the overall tone or atmosphere of a setting or complete literary work. "Most pieces of literature have a prevailing mood, but shifts in this prevailing mood may function as a counterpoint, provide comic relief, or echo the changing events in the plot" (Wheeler, Kip).
Example - The mood in Shaw's Pygmalion shows one of a blurred sense of status. Higgins' house, though high class, is not well kept and could best be described as a general mess, and the high class party they go to in Act III holds a sense of fallacy to its cleanliness and pristine nature. This holds true to Shaw's theme that no class is truly above the other.
Plot - The order of structured of a literary work. The typical plot structure goes in order from setting, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. These events often compliment each other in that the rising action intensifies as a result of the problem arising and the falling action occurs as a direct result to what happens in the climax.
Example - The order of events follows the classic structure of problem, rising action, climax, etc. as in most literary works. Eliza has a problem that Higgins can solve, but things complicate matters until eventually Higgins wins his bet and everything is brought to a close.
Protagonist - The main character in a work, upon whom the narrator usually almost exclusively focuses.
Example - Prof. Henry Higgins is the best example of the protagonist for this play, as everything follows him and his work, not necessarily Eliza. The plot also follows his sense of accomplishment, not Eliza's sense of social graduation.
Example - The mood in Shaw's Pygmalion shows one of a blurred sense of status. Higgins' house, though high class, is not well kept and could best be described as a general mess, and the high class party they go to in Act III holds a sense of fallacy to its cleanliness and pristine nature. This holds true to Shaw's theme that no class is truly above the other.
Plot - The order of structured of a literary work. The typical plot structure goes in order from setting, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. These events often compliment each other in that the rising action intensifies as a result of the problem arising and the falling action occurs as a direct result to what happens in the climax.
Example - The order of events follows the classic structure of problem, rising action, climax, etc. as in most literary works. Eliza has a problem that Higgins can solve, but things complicate matters until eventually Higgins wins his bet and everything is brought to a close.
Protagonist - The main character in a work, upon whom the narrator usually almost exclusively focuses.
Example - Prof. Henry Higgins is the best example of the protagonist for this play, as everything follows him and his work, not necessarily Eliza. The plot also follows his sense of accomplishment, not Eliza's sense of social graduation.