Tragedy: The Shape of the Fall · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Tracing the shape of the fall

English · Reading Comprehension · ages 17-18
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What is the point of no return?

    • The interval between acts
    • The list of actors
    • The scene after which no choice can stop the fall

  2. Which three parts make the shape of a tragedy?

    • A hero, a joke, and a wedding
    • A protagonist with something to lose, a visible slide, and a costly ending
    • A storm, a ship, and a treasure

  3. Any play with a sad ending counts as a tragedy.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Why must tragedy arguments cite act, scene, and line?

    • So every claim points at checkable text
    • To fill the word count
    • To practise Roman numerals

  5. A hero's loyalty saves friends early, then destroys her late. Why does that flaw work?

    • It is also a strength, so the fall costs something real
    • It is spelled with many letters
    • It annoys the audience

  6. A modern film can be judged as a tragedy.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. An essay says the hero suffers from pride but quotes nothing. What is the sharpest fix?

    • Add a longer conclusion
    • Rename the pride as confidence
    • Quote the hero's own lines at the moment of choice and unpack them

  8. A king signs an order he cannot unsign, though ruin follows three scenes later. Where did the fall turn final?

    • Three scenes later, at the ruin
    • At the signing, which closed every other road
    • At the interval, when snacks arrived
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Tracing the shape of the fall W1-mt_PBjNKW9yUC-s1

  1. The scene after which no choice can stop the fall · Past that scene, every road bends toward ruin.
  2. A protagonist with something to lose, a visible slide, and a costly ending · Something to lose, a fall you can see coming, and a weighed cost.
  3. False · A tragedy needs the flaw, the narrowing, and the weighed cost.
  4. So every claim points at checkable text · Exact quotation lets the reader test each claim.
  5. It is also a strength, so the fall costs something real · A flaw that doubles as a strength makes the loss meaningful.
  6. True · Keep the flaw, the narrowing, and the cost, and the shape holds in any setting.
  7. Quote the hero's own lines at the moment of choice and unpack them · The play's language must carry the cost, not an imported label.
  8. At the signing, which closed every other road · Finality lands where choices run out, not where bodies fall.
Worksheet · LightMySky