| Elements of Plot | Exposition, discovery, point of attack, foreshadowing, complication, climax, crisis, denouement |
| Exposition | Background, identification of characters, relationships, motivation, reveal past, establish environment |
| Discovery | Recognition of truth, character motivation, goals, relationships, emotions |
| Point of Attack | First complication, inciting moment |
| Foreshadowing | Clues inserted in early part of drama, prep for future developments, creates and builds tension, atmosphere, builds to entrance |
| Complication | New force in play, affects course of action, theme determined, beginning and end is planned, accelerate action until climax |
| Climax | Culmination of action, strain, tension, intensifies emotion |
| Crisis | Crossroads, alternate courses of action, good fortune or catastrophe, determines outcome |
| Denouement | Climax to curtain, unraveling, final placement of characters, restoration of order, completion of action |
| Protagonist | chief character |
| Antagonist | Primary opponent of protagonist |
| Irony | Difference between what appears to be and what is, verbal and dramatic |
| Theme | Central universal truth underlying the story, product of plot, universal application |
| Soliloquy | Dramatic character utters their thoughts allowed |
| Aside | Remark by a character in an undertone, only audience hears |
| Anachronism | Person or thing in a different period |
| Tragic hero | Good character, fails as a result of an error in judgment |
| Hubris | Over wheeling pride, arrogance, leads to a tragic hero’s downfall, setting oneself equal to the Gods |
| Appositive | phrase positioned next to a word that supplies defining details about the word-symptom for noun or pronoun |
| Participial phrase | Group of words introduced by a preposition that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to other words in the sentence |
| Relative Clause | Group of words with a subject and verb beginning with a relative pronoun, modifies the main clause |
| Simple sentence | one independent clause that makes sense |
| Compound sentence | more than one independent clause linked with a coordinating conjunction or a semi-colon |
| Complex sentence | one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses linked with a subordinating conjunction |
| Compound-complex sentence | two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clause linked with subordinating and coordinating conjunctions |
| Parallelism | a repetition of structure for effect |
| Cumulative or loose sentences | Begin simply, continue with phrase after phrase, clause after clause |
| Periodic sentence | delays basic sentence pattern |
| Balance statement | Sentence with two parts balanced on either side of a semicolon |
| Excess of phlegm | Sluggish, pale, slow, water |
| Excess of Yellow | Splenetic, choleric, fiery, quick to anger, fire |
| Excess of blood | Sanguine, jovial, lusty, air |
| Excess of black | Maudlin (somber), lovesick, languid, earth |
| Seven virtues | Prudence, fortitude, justice, temperance, faith, hope, charity |
| Seven sins | Pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, gluttony, lust |
| Character | Extended verbal representation of a human being |
| Close reading | Detailed study of a poem or passage |
| Complication | Stage of narrative and dramatic structure, major conflicts brought out |
| Contextual, private, or authorial symbols | Symbol that is derived from within the context of the work |
| Cosmic irony | Situational irony connected to a pessimistic or fatalistic view of life |
| Crisis | Point of uncertainty and tension |
| Cultural or universal symbols | Symbols recognized as part of common knowledge |
| Documentation | Granting recognition to the ideas and words of others |
| Double entendre | Double meaning, often sexual or humorous |
| Drama | Individual play, a major genre of literature |
| Dramatic or objective point of view | 3rd person narration reporting speech and action, excluding commentary on actions and thoughts |
| Dynamic character | Character that undergoes change and growth |
| Enjambment | Line that runs over to the next that has no punctuation |
| Epic | Long narrative poem |
| Essay | A short and tightly organized composition dealing with one topic |
| Fiction | Narratives based in the imagination of the author |
| First person point of view | The use of “I” by the speaker |
| Flashback | A method of narration in which past events are introduced into present action |
| Flat character | A character, who is minor, who is static, useful and structural |
| framing setting | The same features of topic or setting used at both the beginning and the end |
| Hero/ heroine | The major male and female protagonists in a drama |
| limited point of view | The 3rd person narrative in which the actions or thoughts of protagonist are the focus of the attention |
| Literature | Written or oral compositions that tell stories, express emotions, dramaticize ideas, etc |
| Myth | Story that deals with the relationships of Gods to humans |
| Nonfiction prose | A genre, essays, articles, and books about real occurences |
| Omniscient point of view | Third person narrative with no limitations describes any or all characters |
| Parable | Allegory designed to illustrate a religious truth |
| Point of view | Speaker or voice of the work |
King Lear Terms
July 22, 2019