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A reference to a person, place, event or literary work that a writer expects a reader to
recognize and respond to. Allusions may be drawn from history, literature, myth or religion. |
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| Something placed in an inappropriate period of time (a clock in Julius Caesar) |
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| A rhetorical figure in which sharply opposing ideas are expressed within a balanced grammatical structure. Usually prevalent in poetry and more specifically couplets |
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A direct address to an absent or dead person, to an abstract quality or to something
nonhuman. (Ex. “Death, where is thy sting?”) |
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Use of neutral or inoffensive words in place of harsher, more realistic words.
(Ex. To say a car is “pre-owned” instead of “used”) |
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| Deliberate exaggeration used for effect. |
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| Words or phrases that create pictures in the reader’s mind. |
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A contrast in which positioning is important (ex. two contrasting characters placed
side by side in a story). |
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| A direct comparison between two dissimilar things. |
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| A comparison, often elaborate, extended, or startling, between objects which are apparently dissimiliar. A type of extended metaphor |
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A figure of speech in which something very closely associated with a thing is used to stand
for the thing itself. (ex. “the crown” to mean king; ”the White House” to mean U.S. President) |
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| A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory ideas or terms. |
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A statement that reveals a kind of truth, although at first it seems contradictory.
(Ex. “Stone walls do not a prison make,/ Nor iron bars a cage”) |
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The arrangement of equally important ideas in similar grammatical structure often reinforced by verbal echoes
(Ex. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple”) |
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| When the weather parallels events on earth (King Lear, Julius Caesar) |
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| The quality in a work which evokes from the reader feelings of pity, tenderness and sympathy. Common in Shakespeare tragedies. |
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| To give human qualities to something nonhuman. |
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A word used to suggest more than one meaning. Words used in puns sound the same, but have
different meanings. (principal/principle; guilt/gilt) |
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| A comparison between two dissimilar things introduced by like, as or than. |
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| A figure of speech that substitutes a part for a whole. (ex. all hands on deck ) |
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The repetition of initial sounds of two or more words. It is the sound, not the spelling,
that is considered. (Ex. “I’d rather wrench...”). |
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The repetition of stressed vowel sounds in a group of words.
(Ex. “our echoes roll from soul to soul”) |
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The repetition of consonant sounds that is not limited to the initial sounds of each word,
as is alliteration. (Ex. “high school girls with clear skin smiles” ) |
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| The juxtaposition of harsh and jarring sounds or rhythmical patterns –synonym for cacophony |
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| The use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning. Ex. “bang” “meow” |
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| Of, characterized by, or producing a hissing sound like that of (s) or (sh): the sibilant consonants; a sibilant bird call |
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| One of 5 major divisions in a play |
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A short speech made to the audience while other characters are present, but do not
hear. The purpose is to reveal a character’s thoughts. |
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occurs when what a character says or believes contrasts with what the reader
(or audience) knows to be true. |
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| An exit of two or more characters |
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| A play based (usually loosely) on historical facts |
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| someone who gives a formal address to an audience- usually a gifted speaker |
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| The idea that good is rewarded and evil punished |
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| The division of the action within an Act |
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A speech made to the audience by a character alone on stage.
Again, the purpose is to reveal a character’s thoughts. |
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| A play in which the hero does not achieve their goals- death is usually the conclusion |
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| The trait in a character that leads to the hero’s downfall (pride and greed) |
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| A character who is responsible for their own demise |
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