| sonnet | (n) a verse form of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme |
| octave (or octet) | (n) a rhythmic group of eight lines of verse |
| sestet | (n) a group of six lines of verse |
| quatrain | (n) a stanza of four lines |
| stanza | (n) a group of lines in a poem (like a pragraph in prose) |
| iamb | (n) a metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables (u /) “exCEPT” |
| trochee | (n) a metrical unit with stressed-unstressed syllables (/ u) “KAwel” |
| spondee | (n) a metrical unit with stressed-stressed syllables (/ /) “BASE-BALL” |
| Shakespearean sonnet | (n) a sonnet consisting of three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg |
| William Shakespeare | (N) English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616) |
| tragedy | (n) drama exciting terror or pity |
| comedy | (n) light and humorous drama with a happy ending |
| aside | (n) a line spoken by an actor not intended for others on stage |
| soliloquy | (n) a dramatic speech giving the illusion of unspoken reflection |
| foil | (n) anything that contrasts with and enhances something else |
| pentameter | (n) a verse line having five metrical feet |
| scansion | (n) analysis of verse into metrical patterns |
| verse | (n) poetry, especially that which rhymes |
| free verse | (n) unrhymed, unmetered verse |
| blank verse | (n) unrhymed iambic pentameter (must of Shakepeare’s plays are written in blank verse) |
| pyrrhic | a metrical foot of two unstressed syllables (u u) |
| dactyl | a metrical foot of three syllables, one strong followed by two feet (/ uu) as in “ENtropy” |
| anapest | a metrical foot of three syllables, two unstressed followed by one stressed (uu /) as in “IlliNOIS” |
| amphimacer | a metrical foot of three syllables, one strong + one weak + one strong (/ u /) as in “EMiNEM” |
| amphibrach | a metrical foot of three syllables, one weak + one strong + one weak (u / u) as in “NanTUCKet” |
| prosody | the patterns of rhythm and sound in poetry |
| scansion | the act of determining and (usually) graphically representing the metrical character of a line of verse. |
| … | … |
ENGL 2: Romeo and Juliet #1 (Scansion and Poetry)
November 29, 2019