Term Definition Example Unit 1 1. metaphor a comparison between two things wherein one thing is spoken of as though it were something else

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1 Term Definition Example Unit 1 1. metaphor a comparison between two things wherein one thing is spoken of as though it were something else "Life is a broken-winged bird." 2. hyperbole a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement "No; this my hand will rather/the multitudinous seas incarnadine,/making the green one red." 3. images; there are seven types: visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic, and kinetic a description or representation of an experience of one of the five senses or an experience of motion: visual=sight; auditory=sound;gustatory=taste; olfactory=smell;tactile=touch; kinesthetic=human or animal movement; kinetic=general movement Unit 2 4. euphemism a device where being indirect replaces directness to avoid unpleasantness "passed away" instead of "died" 5. farce a drama intended to create (lots of) laughter and dependent less on plot or character; the laughter is largely derived from coarse humor and impossible exaggerations 6. stanza a group of lines roughly analogous in function in poetry to the paragraph's function in prose 7. cacophony a harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds; the opposite of euphony 8. refrain a line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem

2 9. sonnet a poem almost invariably of fourteen lines and following one of several set rhyme schemes; ITALIAN/PETRARCHAN: two divisions called the octave and the sestet;english/ SHAKESPEAREAN: four divisions-- three quatrains and a concluding couplet (two lines) 10. lament a poem of sadness or grief over the death of a loved one or over some other intense loss 11. juxtaposition a poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to each other 12. caricature a portrait (verbal or otherwise) that exaggerates a facet of a personality Unit allusion a reference to a well-known person, the picture of King David and the place event, literary work, or work of prophet Nathan--who accused art; often divided into historical/biblical/mythological David of adultery--in Dimmesdale's apartment in The Scarlet Letter 14. masculine rhyme a rhyme ending on the final stressed syllable regular old rhyme; lines ending with fire and aspire 15. aside a speech (usually just a short comment) made by an actor to the audience, as though momentarily stepping outside of the action on stage; the actor acknowledges the audience's presence 16. soliloquy a speech spoken by a character alone on stage; it is meant to convey the impression that the audience is listening to the character's thoughts, though it is NOT meant to imply that the actor acknowledges the audience's presence

3 17. paradox a statement that seems contradictory or absurd but that expresses the truth "For when I am weak, then I am strong." 18. abstract a style of writing that is typically complex, discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, and seldom uses examples to support its points 19. interior monologue a term for novels and poetry, not plays; it refers to writing that records the mental talking that goes on inside a character's head, and it is usually coherent and resembles actual speech 20. simile when like or as is used to make a comparison between two basically unlike subjects "She is as flighty as a sparrow." 21. aphorism a terse statement--often witty--which expresses a general truth or a moral principle "A classic? That's a book that people praise and don't read." 22. elegy a type of poem that meditates on death or mortality in a serious, thoughtful manner; an elegy often uses the recent death of a noted person or loved one as a starting point; an elegy also memorializes specific dead people Unit lyric a type of poetry that explores the poet's personal interpretation of and feelings about the world (or the part that this poem is about); when used as a tone word it refers to a sweet, emotional melodiousness 24. apostrophe when a speaker directly addresses an absent person or a personified quality "Age, thou art sham'd/ Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!" 25. parody a work done in imitation of another, usually in order to mock it

4 26. tragedy a work of literature, especially a play, that results in catastrophe for the main character Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet 27. colloquialism an expression used in informal conversation but not accepted universaly in speech or writing; lies between formal language and slang "I'm toasted"; "Now I've got this wicked headache" 28. feminine rhyme lines rhymed by their final two syllables lines ending with running and gunning 29. euphony pleasing sounds; the opposite of cacophony; a subjective element 30. bombast pretentious, exaggeratedly learned language; when a person tries to be eloquent by using the largest, most uncommon words, one falls into bombast 31. catharsis refers to the "cleansing" of emotion an audience member experiences, having lived (vicariously) through the experiences presented on stage; this term is drawn from Aristotle's writings on tragedy Macbeth allows us to feel the intensity of ambition and the hardening of sin 32. understatement saying less than is actually meant, usually in an ironic way No, that didn't hurt at all. Unit anachronism something out of its normal time "There in the coffin lies Caesar" (In ancient Rome, coffins had not yet been invented.) 34. irony; there are three types: verbal, dramatic, and situational the basic meaning is a difference between reality and appearance; verbal irony occurs when what is said is the exact opposite of what is meant; dramatic irony occurs when the audience has knowledge that is hidden from the characters; situational irony emphasizes that humans are subject to forces beyond their comprehension and control and thus are often helpless verbal-"brutus is an honorable man"; dramatic-we know Juliet is not dead but Romeo does not; situational-piggy is murdered when he acts with the defiance the tribe exhibits

5 35. point of view; there are four types: first person, third person omniscient, third person limited ominiscient, and third person objectice the basic meaning is the position from which details of a story are perceived and told; first person p.o.v. is characterized by the pronoun "I", "my", "we", or "our", and the narrator is either a direct participant or observer of the action; third person p.o.v. is characterized by the pronouns "she", "he", "it", or "they"; in third person omniscient, the activities and thoughts of all characters are fully and openly known; in third person limited omniscient, the activities and thoughts of only one character are known; in third person objective, the narration is confined only to what can be seen and heard with no commentary nor ability to see into the thoughts of characters 36. enjambment the continuation of a syntactic unit (sentence or phrase) from one line of a poem to another with no pause "Turning and turning in the widening gyre/the falcon cannot hear the falconer" 37. oxymoron when two opposing or contradictory ideas are combined freezing fire Unit hubris the excessive pride or ambition that leads to the main character's downfall (also drawn from Aristotle's writings on tragedy) 39. denouement the final unraveling of a plot; the solution of a mystery; an explanation or outcome (sometimes denouement is used as a synonym for falling action) 40. persona the narrator or speaker of a poem 41. exposition the part of a story or play that introduces the characters, the setting, and the basic situation; any writing that informs 42. consonance the repetition in two or more words of final consonants in stressed syllables the first scene in Romeo and Juliet wherein the families fight hid head

6 43. dramatic monologue when a single speaker in literature says something to a silent but present audience "Dover Beach" (poem) 44. alliteration the repetition of initital consonant sounds 45. assonance the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two or more stressed syllables silence cynically surged softly weak and weary 46. onomatopoeia the use of words that imitate sounds subtle:"the moan of doves in immemorial elms/ And murmuring of innumberable bees"; obvious: "hiss", "buzz", "sizzle" 47. personification when a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics The lone tree stood at attention in the bare plain. Additional Words