| A | B |
|---|
| tragedy | play in which a character has a uniqe flaw and suffers a major downfall or tragedy |
| blank verse | poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter; lines of iambic pentameter contain ten syllables with an accent on every other syllable; five feet or sections to a line or poetry |
| rhymed couplets | a long speech by a character in a play. |
| soliloquy | a long speech by a character while alone on stage; often used to reveal a characters emotions or thoughts |
| anachronism | an object, custom, or reference that does not belong in the established setting |
| oxymoron | two contradictory terms used to describe something; links opposite and contradictory attributes that result in a paradox; |
| pun | a play on words for comic effect |
| aside | a comment made by a character that is only to be heard by one other character or the audience; for comic relief |
| dramatic/verbal irony | occurs when the audience or reader of the play has important information that characters in the play do not have; |
| verbal irony | usually refers to the act of stating one thing and meaning something entirely different, namely the unexpected |
| simile | comparison of two unlike things using the words "like" or "as" |
| metaphor | compares two unlike things but does NOT use the words, "like" or "as" |
| chiasmus | a pattern in which the second part is balanced against the first part with the parts reversed; any elements subject to arrangement can take on this chiastic or mirror-image design |
| allusion | figure of speech that makes brief reference to a historical or literary figure, even or object; depends on the readers knowledge and memory for effect |
| prose | the ordinary language of every day spoken by servants or lower class characters in a Shakespearean play |
| Shakespearean play | has FIVE acts, and like the plot pyramid, the climax (turning point) occurs in the third act |
