| A | B |
|---|
| alliteration | repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of words |
| anachronism | an event or detail out of its proper time in history |
| aside | a short speech spoken by one character, as if thinking aloud; not meant to be heard by others on stage |
| chorus | traditionally, a group of actors (but often just one) used to introduce the play; summarize the plot, or comment on the action |
| context | the social and historical influences on the author |
| dramatic irony | when the reader or audience knows more about what is going on that the characters do |
| foreshadowing | hints, clues, or other information that suggest what will happen later on |
| imagery | a kind of word picture used to make an idea come alive; examples: simile, metaphor, personification |
| metaphor | a direct comparison not using the words like or as |
| motif | can be seen as an image, sound, action or other figures that have a symbolic significance and contributes toward the development of the theme |
| oxymoron | poetic use of opposites to express paradox (contradiction) |
| personification | giving lifelike qualities to inanimate objects |
| plot structure | the organization of the plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution |
| prose | language in which, unlike verse, there is not set number of syllables in a line, and no rhyming |
| pun | use of a word with two meanings, or of two similar-sounding words, where both meanings are appropriate in different ways |
| rhyming couplet | a pair of rhyming lines, often used as at the end of a speech |
| setting | where and when a story takes place; example: Denmark, Elsinore Castle |
| simile | a comparison of two thing using the words like or as |
| soliloquy | a speech in drama in which a character speaks his thoughts aloud while alone |
| sonnet | a poem of 14 lines, broken into three sections |
| theme | the main point or idea about life that the author is trying to get across |
| tragedy | a play focusing on a tragic hero |
| tragic hero | a character whose nobility or achievements we admire, and whose downfall and death through a weakness or error, coupled with fate, arouses our sympathy |
| tragic flaw | a weakness in a hero that destroys him |
