Terminology

• Peripeteia: A reversal of fortune, a sudden change in fortune, or a reversal of the situation.

  Meant to surprise the audience.

  Example can be Blanche's return from her and Mitch's date, where it seems as if she will have security as his wife.
• Hubris:

  Excessive pride. Examples in Streetcar may include Blanche's refusal to return to Laurel even with a pre paid ticket or Blanche's fabrication of her image- specifically attempting to still appear upper-class.

  Examples in Duchess of Malfi could be the Duchess's own degree of hubris which ends up being her own harmartia/ downfall.
• Pathos:

  A quality evoking pity or sadness.

  Both SND and DoM hold the pathos of the weak woman who is destroyed by life and its cruelties- Blanche and the Duchess.
• Anagnorisis:

  The point in a play in which a principal character recognizes or discovers another character's true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances.

  In Streetcar, Blanche's anagnorisis is the recognition that she is not only physically attractive and Stanley's is about Blanche and her deceptiveness.

  In Duchess of Malfi, the main anagnorisis can be seen to be Ferdinand's discovery of the Duchess and Antonio's marriage.
• Catharsis:

  The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

  Coined by Aristotle.

  For example, bathing can be seen as Blanche's release but a more extreme example may be the rape of Blanche being a 'release' for Stanley.

  In Duchess of Malfi, it is strongly argued that we (as an audience) are denied a catharsis by the end.
• Sardonic:

  • Grimly mocking or cynical.
• Machiavellianism:

  The belief that the ends justify the means, and that the pursuit of power is the highest good.
• Sycophancy:

  Obsequious behaviour towards someone important in order to gain advantage
• Trepidation:

  A feeling of fear or anxiety about something that may happen
• Malcontent:

  The character is discontented with the social structure and other characters in the play, and is often an outsider who observes and comments on the action, and may even acknowledge they are in a play, e.g. Bosola in DoM.
• Anachronism:

  The action of attributing something to a period to which it doesn't belong.

  For example, in DoM, Webster mentions the discovery of the telescope by Galileo, which occurs a century later than when the play is set in 1504.
• Foil:

  A character who is the opposite of the protagonist, often used to show the protagonist's flaws.

  For example, in Streetcar, Stella acts as a foil to Blanche- Stella is calm and reasonable to Blanche's hysteria.

  In Duchess of Malfi, Julia and Duchess serve as foils to one another- the two central female characters whose agency and sexuality are policed by the men around them.
• Harmartia:

  The fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero.
• Motif:

  A repeated idea within a work of literature that has symbolic significance to the story.
• Epiphany:

  A moment of sudden and great revelation or realisation.

  For example, Stella's confusion seen in "What have I done to my sister".

  In Duchess of Malfi, it may be seen that Bosola has a moral epiphany after the death of the Duchess.
• Interior Monologue:

  A piece of writing expressing a character's inner thoughts.

  E.g Scene 6, Blanche's monologue of her dead husband- "he was a boy".
• Phonetics:

  A branch of linguistics concerned with the sound of speech.

  In Streetcar, Stanley often raises his voice to state his opinion, with prosodic features used when Stanley expresses his emotions- e.g. 'for this to go on forever'.
• Microcosm:

  A community, place or situation regarded as encapsulating (in miniature) the characteristics of something much larger.

  In Streetcar, the immediate setting is a microcosm of America at the time; the new America and old America.
• Bathos:

  An anticlimactic moment.

  For example, in Streetcar Named Desire, during the scene depicting the volatile relationship of Stanley and Stella, "she backs out of sight. he advances", it doesn't show the abuse of Stella. However, may be a representation of how domestic abuse often is behind closed doors.
• Antagonist:

  The principal opponent or foil of the main character.

  For example, Stanley and Ferdinand.
• Human Condition:

  The positive and negative aspects of being human and the experiences that follow.