Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Plot Summary of Revenge and Tragedy
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
A Kingdom in Turmoil
When Hamlet’s father, the old King of Denmark, died, his brother Claudius became the new king. After only a few weeks, Claudius married Gertrude, the old king’s wife. Hamlet was angry with his mother because she remarried so quickly. He also hated Claudius, his stepfather.
The Ghost’s Revelation
One cold, dark night on the walls of Elsinore Castle, a friend of Hamlet’s saw the ghost of Hamlet’s father. The friend told Hamlet about the ghost,
Read MoreInfant Language Acquisition: Key Stages and Processes
UNIT 2
U2B1 Questions
1. Usage-Based Accounts: Definition and Proposals
Usage-Based Accounts are theories proposed by Tomasello. According to this account, language is an inventory of constructions, each with a specific function in communication. One key concept in usage-based accounts is that of construction learning. These theories propose that language learning begins with the recognition of patterns in linguistic input.
Instead of focusing solely on individual words or grammatical rules, usage-based
Read MoreShakespearean Criticism: A Comprehensive Analysis
Unit 1: Critical Approaches to Shakespeare
1. Neoclassical Criticism (17th Century)
Key Critics: Ben Jonson, John Dryden, Thomas Rymer
Key Ideas:
- Emphasis on Aristotelian rules (unities of time, action, and place)
- Focus on decorum, order, and moral instruction in drama
- Shakespeare criticized for mixing tragedy and comedy
Jonson:
- Praised Shakespeare’s natural talent but noted his lack of classical discipline
- His poem To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare emphasized Shakespeare’s
Understanding Text Structures: Narrative, Description & More
Narrative
1. Statement of fact, real or fictitious, that happen to characters in a certain time and space.
2. The presence of a narrator who selects and organizes information.
3. The existence of characters that establish relations between them that determine the development of history.
4. The use of time both in relation to the characters and in relation to the order of the narrative. Using temporal adverbs and connectors.
5. The importance of space both in the organization of history and the character
Read MoreEagleton’s Literary Theory: Definition, Ideology, and Concepts
Eagleton: What is Literature?
1. Criteria for a Definition of Literature
Literature (LIT): Literature uses language in its own way, transforming and intensifying ordinary language. It is defined not according to whether it is imaginative fiction, but because the language is used in particular ways.
2. Literariness
Literariness is the special use of language distinct from ordinary language. It can be found in literary texts and also outside these. It refers to the term as a function of the differential
Read MoreGenerative Grammar: Core Concepts and Syntactic Theories
Unit 1: Introduction to Generative Grammar
Basic Syntactic Notions
Constituency & Hierarchical Structure: Sentences consist of smaller units (constituents) forming hierarchical structures, represented through tree diagrams or bracketing. Constituents are groups of words that function as a single unit.
Phrase Structure Rules (PSRs): Define how words form phrases and sentences.
NP → (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+)
VP → (AdvP+) V (NP) ({NP/CP}) (AdvP+) (PP+)
TP → {NP/CP} (T) VP
Constituency Tests:
- Replacement: