Vignette – small impressionistic scene, an illustration, a
descriptive passage, a short essay, a fiction or nonfiction
work focusing on one impression
– Neither a plot nor a full narrative description
– “little vine” in French
– Printers (19th Century) decorate their title pages
with drawings of looping vines
– Descriptive
Genres of Poetry:
 Lyrical Poetry – does not tell a story
– Focuses on personal emotions, attitudes and the
author’s state of mind
 Narrative Poetry – tells a story
– Human interest
– Epic and ballad
 Dramatic Poetry – drama and recited
– Tells a story referring to a situation
History of English Drama
 Drama – literary composition performed by
professional actors before an audience
– Eye-catching make up, facial expressions and
body language
 Background & Origin
 Emergence – Romans introduced drama
to England during Medieval Period
 English Renaissance – cultural and
artistic movement in England paved the
way for the dominance of drama in the
country
– History, comedy and tragedy
– William Shakespeare, Christopher
Marlowe, Ben Jonson and John Webster
 Interregnum (1649-1660) – topical
writing and intro of professional female
actors
 18th Century – domestic tragedy and
sentimental comedy
 Victorian Era (1837-1901) – musical
burlesques and comic operas completed
with the plays by WS
– drama as profit-making business
– more people coming to theatres
 Emergence of New Medium – new
medium-motion picture
– motion pictures compromised by silent
movies
 The Present Time – dramas traveled to
Broadway in New York and around the
world
– many theatres around Shaftesbury
Avenue, in the western part of London
Technical Terms Used in Theatre
 Act – subdivision between sections of a play
 Aisle – passage through seating
 Backstage – out of sight of audience
– personnel who work in the tech dept.,
alongside the actors and musicians
 Blackout – absence of stage lighting
 Blocking – arranging moves made by actors
 Box Office – ticket booth
 Cast – members of acting company
– Dramatis Personae – Latin – list of characters
 Costumes – wardrobe dept., clothes
 Curtain Call – end of performance
– applause by actors
 Dialogue – spoken text
– convo between characters
 Props – properties
Readers Theatre
– Dramatic presentation in a script form
– No memorization, costumes, blocking, special
lighting
Verbals – formed from verbs
– Not used as action words
Types of Verbals:
 Gerunds – ends in -ing
– functions as noun (subject, DO, IO & OP)
Examples:
Reading is relaxing. (subject)
Patrick likes photographing nature. (DO)
The police arrested him for stealing. (OP)
 Infinitives – to + base form of verb
Examples:
To empower the youth, that is our aim. (S)
Emmanuel turns his head and refuses to look.
(DO)
The teacher is about to commend the student for
such a heroic deed. (OP)
The option, to have the cyst removed, entails
more health risks. (appositive)
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
 Setting: Verona, Italy
 Characters:
o The Montagues:
 Romeo – 16 yo
 Mercutio – kinsman to the prince
– Romeo’s close friend
 Benvolio – Romeo’s cousin
 Lord and Lady Montague
o The Capulets:
 Juliet – 13 yo
 Tybalt – Juliet’s cousin
 Lord and Lady Capulet
 The Nurse – breast-fed and took
care of Juliet
 o Others:
 Friar Laurence – Franciscan
friar
 Paris – kinsman to the Prince
– suitor of Juliet preferred by
her parents
 Rosaline – life of chastity
– nagustuhan ni Romeo
– used by own father to accomplish his
plans
– became insane
– drowned herself after father’s death
o Marcellus and Bernardo – guards
– saw King Hamlet’s ghost

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

 Setting: in a street of Venice
 Characters:
o Portia – wealthy heiress from Belmont
– beautiful and intelligent
o Antonio – merchant whose love for his
friend Bassanio prompts him to sign
Shylock’s contract and almost lose life
o Bassanio – gentleman of Venice,
kinsman & friend of Antonio
– love Portia – borrow money from
Shylock with Antonio as his guarantor
o Gratiano – Bassanio’s friend who
accompanied him to Belmont
– falls in love with Nerissa and weds
o Nerissa – Portia’s lady in waiting and
confidante
– disguised as law clerk of Portia
o Lorenzo – friend of Bassanio and
Antonio
– in love with Shylock’s daughter,
Jessica
– help Jessica escape from her father
and elope
o Jessica – hates life in Shylock’s house
and elopes with Lorenzo, a Christian
o Shylock – Jew

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

 Characters:
o Hamlet – prince of Denmark
– son of King Hamlet and Queen
Gertrude
– suicidal, cynical, intelligent and crafty
o Claudius – Hamlet’s uncle and murderer
of King Hamlet
– cunning politician whose lust for
power set the play’s tragic acts in
motion
o Gertrude – Hamlet’s mother
– queen
– great importance on social and
political status and uses the men in her
life to secure it
o Polonius – father of Laertes and Ophelia
– killed by Hamlet
o Ophelia – Hamlet’s love interest