Archetype
A universal "mold" or model of plot, character
type, or setting that occurs across cultures,
languages, histories, and geographies
Drama
A literary genre that is meant to be performed; it
involves speaking lines and stage directions
Tragedy
A Shakespeare drama that ends in death
*Comedy
A Shakespeare drama that ends in marriage
*History
A Shakespeare drama about historical events,
people, and places
Sonnet
A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter; a
Shakespearean sonnet has an ABAB, CDCD,
EFEF, GG rhyme scheme (meaning it is
comprised of four quatrains and a couplet)
Meter
The regular pattern of accented (emphasized) and
unaccented (de-emphasized) syllables in a line of
poetry
Scansion
The act of graphing the meter of a line of poetry
Iambic
Pentameter
A metrical pattern of 10 syllables (called five
"feet") in unstressed/stressed order
Quatrain
A group of four lines of poetry written in iambic pentameter
Couplet
A group of two lines of poetry written in iambic
pentameter with an end rhyme
Rhyme Scheme
The pattern of end rhyme in a poem; we designate
rhyme schedule by using letters of the alphabet
Oxymoron
A seemingly contradiction of two words together
that actually makes sense
Paradox
A statement (more than two words) that seems to
contradict itself but is
nevertheless, true
Pun
A play on words
Monologue
A speech or conversation of one character
Stage Directions
Information and directions written within a play that dictates to actors how to move on stage and what emotions they are to communicate through speech, facial, and body language; often appears in brackets or italics to stand out from speaking lines
*Aside
Words that are spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character but are not "overheard" by the other characters on stage
Motif
A reoccurring element (like an idea, an image, or a word) in a text *does not necessarily need to have a deeper meaning like a symbol does
Extended Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike things without using "like" "as," or "than" that extends across several lines in some length, or in different ways
Soliloquy
A monologue given by a character about a deep series of reflections spoken to herself or himself
Apostrophe
When a character directly speaks to a non-present character or abstract idea
Foil Characters
Characters who are very similar but have a striking difference separating each other
Verbal Irony
When a character says one thing, but means another (can be but doesn't have to be, sarcasm)
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something that a character or characters do not
Anaphora
A repetition of word(s) in several lines of poetry in a row
Archetype
A universal "mold" or model of plot, character
type, or setting that occurs across cultures,
languages, histories, and geographies
Drama
A literary genre that is meant to be performed; it
involves speaking lines and stage directions
Tragedy
A Shakespeare drama that ends in death
*Comedy
A Shakespeare drama that ends in marriage
*History
A Shakespeare drama about historical events,
people, and places
Sonnet
A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter; a
Shakespearean sonnet has an ABAB, CDCD,
EFEF, GG rhyme scheme (meaning it is
comprised of four quatrains and a couplet)
Meter
The regular pattern of accented (emphasized) and
unaccented (de-emphasized) syllables in a line of
poetry
Scansion
The act of graphing the meter of a line of poetry
Iambic
Pentameter
A metrical pattern of 10 syllables (called five
"feet") in unstressed/stressed order
Quatrain
A group of four lines of poetry written in iambic pentameter
Couplet
A group of two lines of poetry written in iambic
pentameter with an end rhyme
Rhyme Scheme
The pattern of end rhyme in a poem; we designate
rhyme schedule by using letters of the alphabet
Oxymoron
A seemingly contradiction of two words together
that actually makes sense
Paradox
A statement (more than two words) that seems to
contradict itself but is
nevertheless, true
Pun
A play on words
Monologue
A speech or conversation of one character
Stage Directions
Information and directions written within a play that dictates to actors how to move on stage and what emotions they are to communicate through speech, facial, and body language; often appears in brackets or italics to stand out from speaking lines
*Aside
Words that are spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character but are not "overheard" by the other characters on stage
Motif
A reoccurring element (like an idea, an image, or a word) in a text *does not necessarily need to have a deeper meaning like a symbol does
Extended Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike things without using "like" "as," or "than" that extends across several lines in some length, or in different ways
Soliloquy
A monologue given by a character about a deep series of reflections spoken to herself or himself
Apostrophe
When a character directly speaks to a non-present character or abstract idea
Foil Characters
Characters who are very similar but have a striking difference separating each other
Verbal Irony
When a character says one thing, but means another (can be but doesn't have to be, sarcasm)
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something that a character or characters do not
Anaphora
A repetition of word(s) in several lines of poetry in a row