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| Something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time. The sword is an anachronism in modern warfare. |
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| The repetition of an opening word or phrase in a series of lines. |
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| Addressing someone absent or dead or something inhuman as if it were alive and present and could reply. |
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| The close repetition of middle vowel sounds between different consonants Example: F ade / P ale |
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| A short narrative poem written in a songlike stanza form. |
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| A pause within a line of poetry. Usually a dash or comma will indicate the reader should pause |
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| a changing character; one who undergoes an awakening of some kind or gains some insight. Ex. Elizabeth Proctor from Miller’s The Crucible as she concludes she is somewhat to blame for her husband’s affair as she has been a suspicious and cold wife feeling she could not be loved (due to her plainness) by a man like John. |
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| a simple character with only a few traits. Ex. Paris from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet |
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| a complex character with many qualities and traits. Ex. Romeo from Shakespeare’s Romeo and |
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| a character remaining the same throughout; does not experience change or grow as an individual. Ex. Paris from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as he does not waver in his betrothal to Juliet and remains unchanged even by her death. |
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| Conversational or informal speech. Such speech may contain slang or non-standard grammar usage. |
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| An extended metaphor or simile often yoking together two apparently unconnected ideas |
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| The repetition of consonant sounds at the end of a word. Ex. Spook—plaque—sticker. |
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| The literal definition of a word as opposed to an implied meaning (connotation). |
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| The employment of “run-on” lines which carry the completion of a statement from one line to anther without rhetorical pause. |
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| The part of a complex poem that ends with 3 lines which include repeated end words sprinkled in the middle of the lines and then concluding the lines using some of the same 6 end words. |
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| A type of understatement replacing an offensive term with a more mild one less likely to offend or be thought of as harsh. An example is substituting the term "downsizing" for "lay-off." |
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| A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts. |
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| A minor character whose situation or actions parallel a major character’s. By contrast, the minor character illuminates distinctive qualities of the major character. An example would be Mercutio as foil to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Mercutio makes light of every situation using bawdy and witty language in his comments on romance. His character emphasizes Romeo’s romantic view of love and his lovesick nature. |
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| A method used to build suspense by providing hints of what is to come. |
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| An extreme exaggeration in order to emphasize a truth. Always brings hero[s downfall |
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| An extreme exaggeration in order to emphasize a truth. |
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A rhythmical pattern of syllables consisting of poetic lines of five feet of unstressed and stressed syllables. An iamb is a metrical unit made up of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable (like the word goodbye with bye being the stressed syllable.) Pentameter is a line that has 5 feet.
These lines in iambic pentameter are from "Sonnet 18," by William Shakespeare. The feet are separated by slashes and the stressed syllables are in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS while the unstressed syllables are in lower case letters. Shall I / com PARE/ thee TO / a SUM / mer’s DAY?
Thou ART / more LOVE / ly AND / more TEM / per ATE (Sonnet 18) |
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| When the audience knows something the character does not. Ex. In The Scarlet Letter Hester asks Reverend Dimmesdale to help her persuade the governor to allow her to keep her daughter Pearl. The audience knows Dimmedale is the father, but the governor does not. |
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| When there is a disparity between appearance and reality or when a disparity exists between an actual situation and what is appropriate or when there is a situation with a recognizable oddity. Ex. The owner of an airline wins a free plane ticket. This is situational irony as it is ridiculous that he has one the very thing he does not need. An odd situation or what is inappropriate for this airline owner has occurred creating situational irony. |
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| saying one thing but meaning the opposite. Ex. Upon attempting to enter a friend’s room, you see dirty clothes, food wrappers, books, sports equipment and other paraphernalia blocking the doorway. You say, “What a clean room you have here.” Clearly, the room is not clean, and you do not mean your friend’s room is clean, but you make your point with verbal irony. |
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| A figure of speech characterized by substituting an aspect or detail from the experience or closely related to the experience to represent the whole experience. Ex. Using the words “the crown” to denote the king. |
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| A lyrical poem of elaborate metrical form and expressing enthusiastic emotion. |
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| A lyrical poem of elaborate metrical form and expressing enthusiastic emotion. |
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| A contrasting statement or phrase which illuminates a truth or insight. An example is evil innocence. This is a contradictory phrase which can illuminate a poignant truth when applied to specific instances. |
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| A repeated work, phrase, or line or group of lines, normally at some fixed position in a poem written in stanzas. |
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| Humorous writing or speech that is meant to point out the errors, lies, foibles, or failings. Its purpose is to inform and reform human behavior or society and its social institutions |
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| A change in perspective or moving from one line of thought to another often signaled by words like: if, but, however or therefore. |
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A fourteen-line lyric poem that focuses on a single theme.
Shakespeare wrote the "Elizabethan sonnet" also known as the "Shakespearean sonnet." This type of sonnet consisted of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. The meter was iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. Often the quatrain verses build upon a theme with the final couplet providing a conclusion and insight into the meaning of the poem. |
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A complex form of a poem that consists of 6 stanzas for the body of the poem with each line ending in 1 of 6 chosen end words.
Normally with Envoi at end. |
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| A line-for-line, verbal fencing match, used by the principal characters who retort sharply to each other, echoing their opponent's words and figures of speech. It is a play on words. |
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| A literary technique presenting the thoughts of a character as they occur. |
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| The pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language. Authors and poets manipulate the order of words to create meaning and purpose. An example from Patrick Henry’s speech to the Continental Congress is “Give me liberty or give me death!” By placing contrasting phrases right next to each other, Henry has created emphasis of his idea that liberty must be gained at any cost. |
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| A group of three lines of verse, often rhyming together or with another triplet. |
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The overall meaning of the work - the point the author has made, the questions or issues he or she has raised. The theme is rarely directly stated or explicit, but is usually stated indirectly, requiring the reader to draw conclusions.
Moral of the story! Message made! |
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| How the theme of a novel or play applies to individuals, transcending race, class, gender, and other systems which tend to segregate individuals. |
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Creating an accurate and truthful portrayal of something.
Exp: The execution of the play was admirable but the plot lacked verisimilitude; there were too many convenient coincidences.
Dev: From, verum, truth (verumserum!) and similitude, likeness or resemblance. |
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