Terms : Hide Images
| 4977164539 | allegory | A work that functions on a symbolic level. | 0 | |
| 4977167906 | alliteration | The repetition of initial consonant sounds, such as "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." | 1 | |
| 4977177449 | allusion | a reference contained in a work | 2 | |
| 4977179982 | anapest | a metrical pattern of two unaccented syllables followed by an accented syllable | 3 | |
| 4977185932 | antagonist | the force or character that opposes the main character, the protagonist | 4 | |
| 4977190029 | apostrophe | direct address in poetry. yeats's line "Be with me Beauty, for the fire is dying" is a good example | 5 | |
| 4977198982 | aside | words spoken by an actor intended to be heard by the audience but not by other characters on stage | 6 | |
| 4977205175 | aubade | a love poem set at dawn which bids farewell to the beloved | 7 | |
| 4977209794 | ballad | a simple narrative poem, often incorporating dialogue that is written in quatrains, generally with a rhyme scheme of a b c d | 8 | |
| 4977217999 | blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter. most of Shakespeare's plays are in this form | 9 | |
| 4977227671 | cacophony | harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage of a literary work | 10 | |
| 4977231478 | caesura | a break or pause within a line of poetry indicated by punctuation and used to emphasize meaning | 11 | |
| 4977237294 | catharsis | according to Aristotle, the release of emotion that the audience of a tragedy experiences | 12 | |
| 4977245205 | character | one who carries out the action of the plot in literature. major, minor, static, and dynamic are types of characters | 13 | |
| 4977253843 | climax | the turning point of action or character in a literary work, usually the highest moment of tension | 14 | |
| 4977268622 | comic relief | the inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event | 15 | |
| 4977275949 | conflict | a clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs man; man vs nature; man vs God; man vs self | 16 | |
| 4986922405 | connotation | the interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning | 17 | |
| 4986925912 | convention | a traditional aspect of a literary work, such as a soliloquy in a Shakespearean play or in a Greek tragedy | 18 | |
| 4986933914 | couplet | two lines of poetry; often used by Shakespeare to conclude a scene or an important passage | 19 | |
| 4986940431 | dactyl | a foot of poetry consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables | 20 | |
| 4986944385 | denotation | the literal or dictionary meaning of a word | 21 | |
| 4986946847 | denouement | the conclusion or tying up of loose ends in a literary work; the resolution of the conflict and plot | 22 | |
| 4986952267 | deus ex machina | a Greek invention, literally "the god from the machine" who appears at the last moment and resolves the loose ends of a play. today, the term refers to anyone, usually of some stature, who untangles, resolves, or reveals the key to the plot of a work. see the conclusion of Euripides's Medea for an example or the sheriff at the end of Desire Under the Elms by O'Neill | 23 | |
| 4986974587 | diction | the author's choice of words | 24 | |
| 4986977139 | dramatic monologue | a type of poem that presents a conversation between a speaker and an implied listener. Browning's "My Last Duchess" is a perfect example | 25 | |
| 4986984549 | elegy | a poem that laments the dead or a loss. "elegy for jane" by roethke is a specific example. Gray's "elegy in a country church yard" is a general example | 26 | |
| 4986994781 | enjambment | a technique in poetry that involves the running on of a line or stanze. it enables the poem to move and to develop coherence as well as directing the reader with regard to form and meaning. walt whitman uses this continually | 27 | |
| 4987005083 | epic | a lengthy, elevated poem that celebrates the exploits of a hero. beowulf is a prime example | 28 | |
| 4987011120 | epigram | a brief witty poem. pope often utilizes the form for satiric commentary | 29 | |
| 4987015876 | euphony | the pleasant, mellifluous presentations of sounds in a literary work | 30 |
