| A | B |
|---|
| analogy | compares two things for the purpose of explaining |
| antithesis | clear contrast between two ideas |
| comic relief | humorous speeches and incidents within the serious action |
| aphorism | witty statement |
| aside | actor addresses audience but cannot be heard by other actors |
| apostrophe | addresses directly a person or personified thing |
| rhymed couplet | a pair of successive verses that rhyme |
| tragedy | a serious play which ends in disaster |
| pun | humorous use of words; play on words |
| oxymoron | two terms which are opposite or contradictory |
| metonymy | an object or concept that stands for another it is related to |
| soliloquy | actor alone on stage speaks his innermost thoughts and feelings |
| pathos | stimulates emotions of pity, sorrow, or tenderness |
| motifs | recurring subject, themes, or ideas |
| personification | inanimate objects are given human traits |
| iambic pentameter | line consisting of 5 feet; one accented, then one unaccented syllable |
| imagery | allows reader to have a mental picture (appeals to senses) |
| allusion | indirect reference to another piece of literature or historical event |
| hyperbole | conscious exaggeration used to heighten effect |
| foreshadowing | use of hints or clues to reveal future events |
| conceit | unusual extended comparison between two very different things |
| foil | character whose traits are the opposite of another character |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| poetic justice | idea that judgment rewards virtue and punishes vice |
| metaphor | comparison between two things |
| simile | comparison of two things using "like" or "as" |
| alliteration | repetition of initial consonant sound |
| sonnet | 14 lines of rhyming poetry |
| irony | what the audience expects is not what actually happens |
| pyramid plot line | the structure of Shakespeare's play where the climax occurs in Act III |
| non-sequitur | reply or statement that has no relevance to what preceded it |
| paradox | self-contradictory statement that in reality expresses a possible truth |
| symbolism | something that suggests or stands for something else without losing its original identity |
| rhetorical question | question solely for an effect and does not require a reply |
| synecdoche | a part is used for the whole |
| tragic flaw | flaw in a character that causes his/her ruin or downfall |
