| allusion | a reference in one work of literature to a person, place, or event in another work of literature or in history, art, or music |
| analogy | an extended comparison showing the similarities between two things |
| antagonist | the character or force that works against the protagonist, introduces the conflict |
| aside | words spoken by a character in a play, usually in an undertone and not intended |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| characterization | the personality a character displays; also, the means by which the author reveals that personality |
| climax | the point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative |
| conflict | a struggle (between two opposing forces or characters) |
| couplet | two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme |
| diction | a writer’s choice of words for clarity, effectiveness, and precision |
| dramatic irony | a contrast between what the audience perceives and what a character does NOT know |
| dramatic structure | the structure of a play |
| epithet | a descriptive adjective or phrase used to characterize someone or something |
| figurative language | language that is NOT intended to be interpreted in a literal sense |
| foil | a character who sets off another character by contrast |
| foreshadowing | the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest what action is to come |
| iambic meter | unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable |
| iambic pentameter | five verse feet with each foot an iamb (a total of ten syllables) |
| imagery | language that appeals to any sense (sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell) or any combination of the senses |
| irony | literary technique that portrays differences between appearance and reality (dramatic irony; situational irony; verbal irony) |
| metaphor | comparison between two unlike things with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them |
| motivation | a reason that explains or partially explains why a character thinks, feels, acts, or behaves in a certain way (Motivation results from a combination of the characters personality and the situation to be dealt with.) |
| protagonist | the main character in a play or story |
| pun | the humorous use of a word or phrase to suggest two or more meanings at the same time |
| repetition | the return of a word, phrase, stanza form, or effect in any form of literature (forms: alliteration, rhyme; refrain) |
| monologue | a long, uninterrupted speech presented in front of other characters |
| oxymoron | a figure of speech that combines apparently contradictory terms |
| personification | a figure of speech in which an animal, object, natural force, or idea is given a personality and described as human |
| simile | a comparison made between two dissimilar things through the use of a specific word of comparison such as LIKE or AS |
| situational irony | a contrast between what is expected and what really happens |
| soliloquy | a speech in which a character is ALONE on stage and expresses thoughts out loud |
| sonnet | a fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, that has one of several rhyme schemes. A sonnet form used by William Shakespeare is called the Shakesperean sonnet. It has three four-line unites (quatrains) followed by a concluding two-line unit (couplet). The most common rhyme scheme for the Shakespearean sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg. |
| suspense | the quality of a literary work that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome of events |
| theme | the central idea of a work of literature |
| verbal irony | a contrast between what is said and what is meant |
Romeo and Juliet Literary Terms – Definition
August 27, 2019