Types of Consonants in English, Phonetics

 Consonant Sounds

There are forty-four sounds in English and they are divided into two groups: Consonant sounds and vowel sounds. 

Consonant sounds are sounds whose articulation involves the contact of the organs of speech. This means that when we produce consonant sounds, our speech organs (our lips, teeth, tongue, alveolar ridge, hard palate, soft palate) make contact with each other.

There are twenty-four consonant sounds in English, and they are divided into different groups using three criteria:

1. Place of articulation,

2. Manner of articulation 

3. Voicing

1. PLACE OF ARTICULATION:

By “place of articulation”, we mean the speech organs that are involved in the production of the consonant in question. Some sounds are produced with the two lips, some with the tongue and teeth, the tongue and alveolar ridge etc. Using this criteria, we have seven types of consonant sounds:

1. Bilabial sounds: Produced with the two lips:  (p, b, m)

2. Labia-dental sounds: Produced with the lower lips and upper front teeth (f, v),

3. Dental sounds: Produced with the contact of the tips of the tongue and the upper front teeth:

4. Alveolar sounds: Produced with the contact of the tip of the tongue and the alveolar ridge

5. Palatal sounds: Produced with the contact of the blade of the tongue and the hard palate

6. Velar sounds: Produced with the contact of the back of the tongue and the soft palate

7. Glottal sounds: Produced in the larynx- h

2. MANNER OF ARTICULATION:

By “manner of articulation”, we mean the manner in which the pulmonic air (the air we use to form speech sounds) escapes from the mouth. With some sounds, the air is completely blocked, with some, it escapes with difficulty through the mouth, and with some others it escapes through the nostrils. Using these criteria, we have six types of consonant sounds:

1. Plosives or stops: Sounds in which the air is completely blocked: (p, b, t, d)

2. Fricatives: Sounds in which the air escapes with difficulty (f, v, s, z etc)

3. Affricates: Sounds that combined the feature of plosives and fricatives)

4. Nasals: Sounds in which the air escape through the nostrils (m, n,)

5. Liquids: Sounds in which the air is blocked, but not as much as in stops and fricatives. The air escapes through the sides of the mouth (r, l)

6. Glides: Consonants that have no obstruction of pulmonic air, the speech organs do not make any form of contact. That is, they are like vowels (w, j)

3. VOICING:

By “voicing”, we mean whether or not there is vibration in the vocal cords when the sound is produced. Using this criterion, we have two types of sound 1. voiceless sounds (those produced without vibration) and 2. voiced sounds (those produced with vibration).

 The chart below illustrates the above explanation:

 

With the above chart, you will be able to describe each of the sounds. For instance:

1. /p/ is voiceless bilabial plosive 

2. /b/ is voiced bilabial plosive 

3. /f/ is voiceless labia-dental fricative,

4. /z/ is voiced alveolar fricative Etc.

Shakespearean Comedy Characteristics | Romantic Comedy of Shakespeare I Types of Comedy

 

ROMANTIC COMEDY:

Shakespearean Romantic Comedy

Explained by Dr. Vipul V. Kapoor, Associate Professor

 

“Soul of the age!

The applause, delight, the wonder of our stage!

My Shakespeare, rise; I will not lodge thee by Chaucer or Spenser,

Thou art a monument, without a tomb,

And art alive still, while thy book doth live,

And we have wits to read , and praise to give.”

Ben Jonson

INTRODUCTION:

Human life is both a tragedy and a comedy. Tears and smiles, sighs and shouts of joy, marriage and funerals go side by side. Tragedy and comedy are the twin sisters of the same mother called “LIFE”. Goethe says, “Human life is a tale, told in tears with smile.”

WHAT IS A COMEDY?

·       Aristotle defines comedy:

“Comedy is an imitation of men worse than the average… not productive of pain or harm to others.”

·       Horace Walpole also writes:

“Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think.”

1.   Comedy is a play which ends with a happy note.

2.   Comedy deals with light or trivial subject matter.

3.   It arouses humour and laughter.

4.   It aims at reforming the follies or weaknesses of mankind.

5.   It appeals our intelligence.

SHAKESPEARE’S CONCEPT OF ROMANTIC COMEDY:

The above views expressed about comedy are generally not applicable to the Shakespearean comedy.

·       Shakespeare’s romantic comedy does not make an appeal so much to our intelligence as to the heart of man.

·       Its primary aim is neither satire nor correction of the evils of the society. Its aim is just to give pure pleasure and joy.

·       Unlike classical comedies, Shakespeare’s romantic comedies do not follow the unity of time, place and action.

Shakespeare has his own norms of writing romantic comedies. Let’s examine the chief characteristics of Shakespearean Romantic Comedy:

FEATURES OF ROMANTIC COMEDY OF SHAKESPEARE:

1.   Fanciful World of Imagination

2.   Element of Realism

3.   Element of Humour

4.   Subject Matter of Love

5.   Light Mood

6.   Music and Songs

1.              FANCIFUL WORLD OF IMAGINATION:

Shakespeare’s comedies such as ‘As You Like It’, ‘The Twelfth Night’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ have their scenes of actions located in a far, distant land, far from the hurry of modern life. They are staged in a remote and fanciful world of imagination. In his romantic comedies, we come across some fairy land, magical woods and so on. In short, the places in his romantic comedies are the creation of imaginative fertile brain of the dramatist which we never see on the earth.

 

2.      ELEMENT OF REALISM:

The background and atmosphere of Shakespearean romantic comedies is highly imaginative and fanciful. However, “Life keeps hovering over it and enter into it.” It is Shakespeare’s unique quality that he combines the real and unreal in his comedies. The romantic world of fairy land has life like characters like merchants Antonio and Shylock, real lovers like Portia and Bassanio, Helena and Demetrius. They face the same real problems that we face in our real life. “The path of true love never did run smooth.” This lines applies to the characters of Shakespeare’s comedies and to us in our real life too. The mischeveous characters like Puck as found in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ are also found in our neighbourhood. The love triangles presented by Shakespeare is found in our life too. So, we can say that there is a touch of realism in his comedies.

 

3.       ELEMENT OF HUMOUR:

Humour is the soul of Shakespearean Romantic Comedy. While watching the play, the audience cannot control their laughter. Shakespeare’s humour is harmless, he does not laugh at anyone. He does not aim at reforming the social evils as we generally see in other comedies. His funny clown characters like Puck and Bottom have become immortal in English literature.

4.               SUBJECT MATTER OF LOVE:

Shakespeare’s romantic comedy is primarily the comedy of love. Love is the life blood of all his comedies. The plots of his comedies are those of love intrigues. Here, the lover meet, depart, fight, hate each other and then compromise and marry at the end. ‘The merchant of Venice’ deals with the love story of Bassanio and Portia. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ present the love story of Helena and Demetrius, Hermia and Lysander, Oberon and Titania.

 

5.       MUSIC AND SONGS:

In Shakespeare’s comedies, music and songs predominate. The tone of his romantic comedies is lyrical. There are six melodious songs in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

 

“Over hill, over dale

Through bush and brior

Flood and fire.”

What a melodious music is displayed in this song! Each line and stanza of the songs can well be sung with music.

CONCLUSION:

Thus, we may sum up by saying that the Romantic Comedy of Shakespeare is altogether different from other comedies of English literature. It creates gentle, innocent humour and laughter. It does not harm anyone and does not aim at reforming the society. It is full of realism and imagination. Here, love is the central subject matter and music and songs make his comedies more appealing and interesting.

Click to watch a video on Shakespeare as a Sonneteer

Comedy of Humour by Ben Jonson II Comedy of Humour Characteristics II Types of Comedy

COMEDY OF HUMOUR: BEN JONSON

INTRODUCTION:

“Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think.” - Horace Walpole

Drama is primarily divided into two types. – Comedy and Tragedy. The play with a happy ending is called a comedy and that with a sad ending is known as a tragedy. In English literature, there are different types of comedies. - Romantic Comedy, Comedy of Humour, Comedy of Manners, Sentimental Comedy etc.

‘Ralph Roister Doister’ (1566) by Nicholas Udall was the first comedy of English literature. William Shakespeare popularized a new kind of comedy – Romantic Comedy – during the Elizabethan Age. But towards the end of the 16th century, Ben Jonson came out with his new innovative concept of comedy which was known as Comedy of Humour.

THE TERM HUMOUR:

The term “humour” comes from the ancient Greek physicians. It is a medical term. As per the ancient medical system, there are four major humours or elements in human body. 

1. Blood or fire (heat)

2. Phlegm or air (cold)

3. Choler or Yellow Bile or earth (dryness)

4. Meloncholy or Black Bile or water (moisture)

These four elements (heat, cold, dryness, and moisture) represent the quality of our health.

According to ancient physics, the nature or temperament of man depends on these four elements –fire (heat), air (cold), earth (dryness) and water (moisture). When there is an imbalance of all any one of these four in our body, it creates some complexities in our nature, behavior and health.

BEN JONSON’S CONCEPT OF COMEDY OF HUMOUR:

Ben Jonson’s concept of Comedy of Humour is based on this theory. Ifor Evans has rightly said in his book A Short History of English Drama:

“In Elizabethan times, this medieval physiology was not treated with complete seriousness, but its vocabulary became a popular fashion in sophisticated conversation and this again Jonson exploited.”

During the Elizabethan age, these four terms were used to describe the mood or fancy of the people.

Ben Jonson believed that just as a man has in his physique a dominant humour, similarly he has in his psyche a dominant passion. Under the influence of this dominant passion a man may become, as the case may be, greedy, jealous, cowardly, perceptible, foolhardy and so on. As Jonson clarified in the Prologue to Every Man out of His Humour, he was taking the word “humour” from medicine and was using it as a metaphor for the general disposition of a man—that is, his psychological set-up. He explains:

“When some one peculiar quality
Doth so possess a man that it doth draw
All his effects, his spirits, and his powers,
In their confluctions, all to run one way;
This may truly be said to be a humour.”

In short, humour or laughter comes out in Ben Jonson’s comedy of humour when any one or more such whim or fancy is presented in an exaggerated manner. Unusual characters having such unusual personality traits are presented which arouse laughter in this type of comedy.

EXAMPLES OF COMEDY OF HUMOUR:

Ben Jonson’s ‘Every Man in His Humour’ (1598)

Ben Jonson’s ‘Every Man Out of His Humour’ (1599)

Chapman’s ‘All Fools’ (1604)

Middleton’s ‘A Trick to Catch the Old One’ (1605)

Massinger’s ‘A New Way to Pay Old Debts’ (1625)

CONCLUSION:

Comedy of Humour, innovated by Ben Jonson, became widely popular in the beginning of the 17th century. Such comedies were character oriented and full of realism. The story dealt with the everyday life of the people. However, this type of comedy lost its charm later and the authors of the 17th century made some changes into this type of comedy and a new type came into existence which was known as Comedy of Manners.

Click to watch another video on Ben Jonson.

How to Write an Introduction in Literature

HOW TO WRITE AN INTRODUCTION

The first paragraph is the first thing your examiner will read. Hence, it has to be the most appealing and impressive.

THREE THINGS TO CONSIDER IN INTRODUCTION:

1.  BEGIN WITH A QUOTATION

2.  USE ORNAMENTAL LANGUAGE 

3.  INTRODUCE THE THESIS

1. BEGIN WITH A QUOTATION

• Ben Jonson sings of the greatness of Shakespeare:

“Soul of the age,

Applause, delight, the wonder of the stage.

• Brigham Young remarks:

“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.”

• Ransom rightly avers:

“Coleridge is perhaps the best practitioner of criticism that we have in the classics of our language.”

• Critics shower their voice of appreciation unanimously on S. T. Coleridge.

• Coruscating the genius of …. John Dryden avers / remarks / opines/ says / states /  ……. In the following manner / as under / below.

• Eulogizing John Keats, T. S. Eliot remarks ……

• Appreciating the poetic talent of Wordsworth, I. A. Richards remarks ….

2. USE ORNAMENTAL LANGUAGE / ADJECTIVES

• Shakespeare is the most outstanding dramatist of the Elizabethan age.

• Shakespeare is one of the most loved and respected dramatist of English literature.

• Edmund Spenser is a magnanimous literary personality.

• Coleridge is undoubtedly a poet of high standard.

• Spenser is the most influential and imposing poet of Renaissance.

• Marlowe’s plays are packed with power and passion.

• John Donne is the most brilliant / dazzling star in the galaxy / sky / firmament of metaphysical poetry.

• John Milton is the invincible poet of English literature.

• Shelley’s poetic genius is invincible and unassailable in English literature.

• Hemingway is a myriad-minded man.

• Alexander Pope is a poet of high stature.

• John Dryden is a volcano from whom springs the dazzles of everlasting critical theories.

• Charles Dickens is revered / respected for his most outstanding work of art ‘David Copperfield’.

• Eliot’s poetry leaves an indelible imprint on the minds and hearts of the readers.

• Bernard Shaw has secured a perpetual / permanent place in the hearts of the lovers of English literature.

• Bernard Shaw’s name has been written with golden letters in the history of English drama.

• Marlowe’s plays create the feeling of owe and wonder among the critics and scholars.

3. INTRODUCE THE THESIS

• Marlowe’s ‘Doctor Faustus’ is indeed a ‘magnum opus’ / masterpiece of English drama.

• Hemingway’s ‘Old Man and the Sea’ is bubbling with high serious philosophies of life.

• Bernard Shaw’s ‘Candida’ is filled with fun, fervor and laughter.

Click to watch a video lecture.