Tragedy | A serious play in which the main character has a conflict with a larger or stronger force, with a disastrous conclusion that evokes fear and pity from the audience. |
Iambic pentameter | A line of poetry that consists of 5 iambs or 10 syllables |
Iamb | is a metered foot composed of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. |
Stressed Syllable= | bold |
Blank verse | Unrhymed verse written in a meter called Iambic pentameter. |
Monologue | A long speech that is spoken in the presence of other characters but is not interrupted |
Soliloquy | A speech in which a character ,alone on stage, expresses his or her thoughts aloud. It allows the audience to listen in to the private feelings and thoughts of a character. |
Aside | Words spoken by a character,usually in an undertone, not intended to be heard by other characters |
Foil | A character who sets off another character by contrast |
Irony | The contrast between appearance and reality or between expectation and fulfillment. |
Allusion | A reference in one work of literature to a person, place, or event in another work of literature or history, art, or music |
Pun | A play on words that sound similar but have different meanings. Often humorous. |
Dramatic Irony | This occurs when some of the characters are ignorant of the facts of which the audience, or the audience and some characters are fully aware. |
Double Meaning | Having more than one meaning at once. |
Comedy | A play dealing with its subject in a light or satirical manner. The plot has a happy ending. Shakespeare’s usually end in a marriage symbolizing fruitfulness and hope for the future. |
Rhyming Couplets | usually indicate the end of a scene |
Prose | ordinary speech, does not have a meter |
Simile | A comparison using “like” or “as” |
Metaphor | A comparison NOT using “like” or “as”, but stating one thing in comparison to another |
Personicfication | assigning human characteristics to a non-human object or concept |
Apostrophe | when a speaker detaches himself from reality and directly addresses an imaginary character or object as if it is present and capable of understanding |
Metonymy | a word or phrase that is used to stand in for another word; sometimes it represents a well-known characteristic of the word. |
Simile Ex. | This backpack is as light as a feather |
Metaphor Ex. | He was a lion in the face of danger |
Apostrophe Ex. | Twinkle, Twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are… |
Metonymy Ex. | “There was trouble on Wall St. today” or “lend me your ears.” |
Paradox | a statement that seems to contradict itself. It may seem absurd or impossible, but it is really founded on truth. |
Paradox Ex. | Come civil night…and learn how to lose a winning match |
Oxymoron | A figure of speech combining seemingly contradictory expressions |
Oxymoron Ex. | Cruel kindness, Falsely true |
Foreshadowing | to show or indicate beforehand |
Genres for Romeo and Juliet Test
August 14, 2019