act
a specific division of action in a play. Elizabethan playwrights structured the action so that it fell into five of these.
allusion
a brief expression, explicit or indirect to a person, place, or event, or to another literary work or passage.
aside
a character makes a brief comment to himself or another character while others are on stage; other characters on stage can't hear the comment, but the audience can.
blank verse
verse without rhyme; which uses iambic pentameter
dramatic irony
when the audience knows more than the characters themselves; this heightens suspense, and evokes interest
foil
when a character's traits make the protagonist traits stand out; one character's kindness may foil another's evilness.
foreshadowing
a suggestion or hint of events that will come later in the play.
imagery
the use of concrete details that appeal to the human senses in order to better communicate an experience (visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile, olfactory, organic, kinesthetic)
meter
the pattern of a line, determined by the number and stress of syllables
metaphor
a hidden comparison of two unlike things
mood
the feelings of the work; how to the reader is made to feel
monologue
a character addresses an audience on stage, such as a speech to a crowd
paradox
a statement that seems on its face to be false or absurd, yet turns out to have a contradictory meaning.
personification
giving person-like qualities to something that is not human.
pun
a play on words
scene
subdivision of an act; one unified moment where there is little or no change in time or setting
simile
a comparison of two unlike things using the words "like" or "as" (a specific type of metaphor)
soliloquy
a type of speech given by a character alone on stage, enabling the audience to understand the character's inner thoughts
tone
the speaker's attitude toward his subject
tragedy
the representation of serious and important actions, which turn out badly for the main character
tragic flaw
a flaw in his personality of a character that leads to their downfall, such as greed, a bad temper, hubris= a big ego, or overly prideful
verbal irony
when a character says the opposite of what he or she means.