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| Repetition of initial letter in two or more words. |
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| Casual reference to an historical or literary figure or event. |
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| False asignment of an event, a person, a language etc... to a time when that event was not in existance. |
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| A comparison of two things by which one unfamiliar object or idea is explained by comparing it with other familiar objects or ideas. |
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| The character directly opposed to the protagonist; the rivial or villian. |
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| A literary technique in which opposite or strongly contrasting statements are balanced against each other for emphasis. There must not only be an opposition of ideas but it should be manifested through similiar grammatical structure. |
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| Words addressed to an absent person, or to a thing or an idea. |
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| A remark made by a character in a play which is intended to be heard by the audience but not by the majority of the other characters on stage. |
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| Similarity of sound between vowels; not perfect rhymes. |
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| Unrhymed verse, usually 5 stress lines, more particularly, iambic pentameter - lines of two feet (iambs) of alternating unstressed/stressed syllables repeated 5 times (pentameter). It has become the most widely used of English verse forms and is the one closest to the rhythms of everyday English speech. |
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| A witty repartee or statement; a clever saying. |
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| (Greek for "bad sound") Harsh or dissonant sounds deliberartely used by writers, espically poets, to achieve a particular effect. The opposite of euphony. |
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| (Latin for cutting) A break in the metrical progress of verse. Used for emphasis or to reduce stiffness of formarl patterns. Usually placed near the middle of a verse. |
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| An expression used in informal conversation but not accepted as good usage in formal speech or writing. |
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| A humourous scene introduced in the cource of a serious work. Consciously introduced by the author to provide relief from emotional intensity and at the same time, by contrast, to heighten the seriousness of the story. |
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| An additional, suggested, or implied meaning of words.Contrasts with denotation, which is the exact, literal meaning. Connotations may change with time, place and experience. |
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| Repeated identical constant sounds. Finally constants in the stressed syllables agree but the vowels that precede them differ. |
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| A rhetorical device by which one element is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clearness. The effect is to make both contrast ideas clearer than either would have been if described by itself. |
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| Two successive lines rhyming aa and containing with the two lines a complete, independent statement. |
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| The specific, exact meaning of a word, independent of its emotional colouration or associations. Dictionary definition. |
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| The use of words in oral or written form. The accurate, careful use of words through apt selection of specific words for a particular meaning to be conveyed. Four levels include: formal, informal, colloquial, and slang. |
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| Words or acts of a character carrying meaning unknown to him/her but understood by the audience. |
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| A lyric poem which reveals "a soul in action" through the conversation of one character in a dramatic situation. The character is speaking to an identifiable but silent listener in a dramatic moment in the speaker's life. |
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| The omission of part of a word for ease of pronunciation, to enhance rhythm or sound. Elision runs to words together and should not be confused with syncope. |
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| The device of continuing the sense and grammatical construction of a verse or couplet on into the next. One line wraps into the other. |
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| Adjective or phrase lighlighting a characteristic of a person or thing. |
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| (Greek = sweetness of sound) Pleasing, smooth sounds, usually produced by long fowls rather than consonants. The opposite of cacophony. |
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| Literally, a thin leaf of polished metal placed under a gem to give it added brilliance. By extention, a character whose behavoiur and qualities set off or enhance by contrast those of another. When the two are juxtaposed (placed side by side) the foil is in effect. |
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| An indication or hint of events that are to come. |
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| A term used to designate the distinct types or categories into which literary works are groupded according to form or technique. |
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| In tragedy, a human weakness which leads to action or inaction, contributing to the downfall of the hero. Often called the "tragic flaw". |
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| Overweening pride which results in the misfortune of the protagonist of a tragedy. |
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| (Greek = overcasting) Figure of speech containing an exaggeration for emphasis |
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| Figerative language to enrich poetry or prose. It converys images and/or appeals to the five senses. |
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| Speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words that carry the opposite meaning. |
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| The arrangement of two or more ideas, character, actions, settings, phrases or words side-by-side or in similar narrative movements for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspence, or character development. |
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| An inappropriateness of speech resulting from the use of one word for another which has some similarity. |
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| (Greek = name change) A figure of speech in which the name for one thing is substituted for that of another with which is closely associated. |
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| A reccuring image or symbol |
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| Retributative justice; a just punishment. In Greek mythology, Nemesis was the goddess of vengeance. |
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| The use of words in which the sense is suggested by the sound. |
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| A phrase bringing together two incongrous and apparently contradictory terms together. Closely related to antithesis and paradox. |
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| (Greek = beyond opinion) A statement that seems contradictory or absurd and yet is true. Used to attract attention and provide emphasis. |
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| Attributing human passions to inanimate things (like weather or unnatural events). |
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| (Greek = feeling, suffering) The portrayal of an incident in such a way as to arouse feelings of pity or sadness in the reader or audience. |
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| A figure of speech that endows animals, ideas, and inanimate objects with human form, personality, or feelings. |
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| The chief character in a play or story. Usually the hero or heroine. |
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| A play on words based on similarity of sound between two words with different meanings. They are often, but not always, intended to be humourous. |
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| A play on words based on similarity of sound between two words with different meanings. They are often, but not always, intended to be humourous. |
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| A figure of speech in which a comparisonm is explicit, recognizable by the use of "like" or "as" |
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| A speech of a character in a play delivered while the speaker is alone. The purpose is to make the audience aware of the character's thoughts or to give information concerning the other characters. |
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| A cutting short of words through the omission of a letter of syllable. |
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| An object which represents something else. A concrete object which represents an abstract idea. |
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| A form of metaphor in which the part mentioned signifies the whole. |
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| A character whose actions or qualities make him or her appear as a representaitive of a class or type. |
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| A form of irony in which something is intetionally represented as less than it is in fact. The opposite of a hyperbole. |
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| The appearance of semblance of truth and reality. The term is used in literary criticism to indicate the degree to which a writer faithfully presents the truth. |
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