Tragedy: refers to a type of drama that explores serious, sometimes dark, and depressing subject matter. Dramatic Monologue: a conversation a speaker has with themselves or which is directed at a listener or reader who does not respond. Carlson, Marvin. 1993. Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey from the Greeks to the Present. Expanded. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-8154-3.

Ancient Pistol is one of the best comedic characters in Shakespeare’s plays. He appeared in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry V and Henry IV, Part II. He’s described by Falstaff as his “ancient,” or his ensign, and first appears in the Boar’s Head Tavern uninvited. He’s pursued by police in this same play because he assaulted a man who died. He’s also punished along with Falstaff at the end of Henry IV, Part II. Act: a primary division of a dramatic work, like a play, film, opera, or other performance. The act is made up of shorter scenes. He falls from whatever remaining good reputation he has by the end of the play and is forced to beg for help. This gets at the heart of his true nature. He’s nothing but talk, and as soon as he encounters a difficult situation, his “bravery” abandons him. Here is a quote from All’s Well that Ends Well: His usual function is to impede the love of the hero and heroine, and his power to do so stems from his greater social position and his increased control of cash. In the New Comedy, he was often the father of the hero and so his rival. More frequently since, he has been the father of the heroine who insists on her union with the bad fiancé; as such, he appears in both A Midsummer Night's Dream, where he fails and so the play is a comedy, and Romeo and Juliet, where his acts are successful enough to render the play a tragedy.The senex iratus or heavy father figure is a comic archetype character who belongs to the alazon or impostor group in theater, manifesting himself through his rages and threats, his obsessions and his gullibility. In the play Miles Gloriosus ("Boastful Soldier") by Plautus, the term applies to the main character Pyrgopolynices. This foolish Miles Gloriosus brags openly and often about his supposed greatness, while the rest of the characters feign their admiration and secretly plot against him. Heavily borrowing from Plautus, the Stephen Sondheim- Burt Shevelove- Larry Gelbart musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum features a warrior named Miles Gloriosus. Frye, Northrop (1973) [1957]. "First Essay: Historical Criticism". Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. Princeton University Press. p.39. ISBN 0-691-01298-9. alazon, which means imposter, someone who pretends or tries to be something more than he is. The most popular types of alazon are the miles gloriosus and the learned crank or obsessed philosopher. Aside: a dramatic device that is used within plays to help characters express their inner thoughts. One might say: “The alazon in this story is particularly funny.” Or, “Did you hear what he said? He’s like a modern-day alazon.”

No, but love hath, as it were, milked my thoughts and drained from my heart the very substance of my accustomed courage. It worketh in my head like new wine, so as I must hoop my sconce with iron lest my head break, and so I bewray my brains; but I pray thee, first discover me in all parts, that I may be like a lover, and then will I sigh and die. Take my gun, and give me a gown. Frye, Northrop. 1957. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. London: Penguin, 1990. ISBN 0-14-012480-2. Examples of Alazons Ancient Pistol in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry V, and Henry IV, Part II by William Shakespeare Academic Drama: a theatrical movement that was popular during the Renaissance in the 16th-century. It was performed in universities.Alazons are usually used as a type of comic relief. These characters are clearly outrageous and admit to absurd deeds the reader, and the other characters, aren’t meant to take as fact. Depending on the character, they may be more or less likable. Someone like Falstaff is incredibly likable, while Pistol may be less so. Captain Parolles is a deceitful character who brags about his triumphs in war but actually turns out to be a coward. This is one of the central features of characters known as alazons. He’s abandoned by Bertram in this play, the only person who was willing to trust him. This was despite the fact that other characters had encouraged Bertram not to trust him to begin with.