The Dramatic Stage
An actor's speech, directed to the audience or another character, that is not supposed to be heard by the other characters on stage.
What is an Aside?
Uses the same word, phrase, or structure multiple times within a text to emphasize critical points and key ideas.
What is Repetition?
A figure of speech using "like" or "as" to compare two unlike things, clarifying complex descriptions using familiar comparisons.
What is a Simile?
A literary device in which an author gives advance hints, clues, or subtle warnings to build suspense about future plot events.
What is FoSoreshadowing?
The deliberate selection of words and phrasing by an author to establish a specific tone, narrative mood, or style.
What is Diction?
The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words, creating a rhythmic flow.
What is Alliteration?
Speech delivered by one character alone on stage to reveal his inner thoughts, providing direct insight into psychological motives.
What is a Soliloquy?
A four-line stanza of poetry
What is a Quatrain?
A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as if it were something else, uncovering hidden connections between unlike things.
What is a Metaphor?
A specific internal personality defect, error in judgment, or inherent weakness within an otherwise noble protagonist that inevitably sparks their downfall
What is a Tragic Flaw?
The underlying, universal message, central idea, or deeper lesson about life or human nature that an author delivers through a work.
What is a Theme?
When a speaker says the exact opposite of what they actually mean, often used for humor or sarcasm.
What is Verbal Irony?
A character who contrasts sharply with another character in order to highlight the primary character's specific qualities, flaws, or traits.
What is a Foil?
Two consecutive lines that rhyme and often share the same meter, signaling closure and memorable thematic conclusions.
What is a Rhyming Couplet?
A non-human thing, animal, or idea is given human characteristics to make them more relatable and emotive.
What is Personification?
A genre of literature that chronicles the sorrowful downfall and ultimate destruction of a noble, high-status protagonist.
What is a Tragedy?
The implied meaning associated with a word beyond its literal definition, which evokes specific positive or negative feelings
What is Connotation?
An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly, connecting the text to broader cultural knowledg
What is an Allusion?
A central character in the story who lacks heroic qualities, doing the right thing but often for the wrong reasons.
What is an Antihero?
A line of verse composed of ten syllables arranged in five metrical feet, each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
What is Iambic Pentameter?
A literary device that associates related symbols with larger concepts (e.g., using "the crown" to represent a king).
Answer: What is Metonymy?
A framework that highlights universal human journey patterns, elevating ordinary stories to grand scales.
What is the Campbell Hero Model (or Elements of the Epic)?
A statement or situation that seems completely self-contradictory or impossible on the surface, but reveals a deeper, latent truth.
What is a Paradox?
A figure of speech in which someone absent, dead, or something non-human is addressed as if it were alive and present, directing intense emotion toward the subject.
What is an Apostrophe?
When the audience or reader knows a vital piece of information or a secret that the characters in the story do not yet know.
What is Dramatic Irony?
A highly structured poem consisting of exactly 14 lines, traditionally written in iambic pentameter, and following a specific, rigid rhyme scheme.
What is a Sonnet?
A literary device that connects small components to entire wholes (e.g., using "wheels" to refer to a car).
What is Synecdoche?
A noble protagonist who possesses admirable and heroic qualities, but is ultimately brought to ruin because of an internal weakness and the cruel twists of fate.
What is a Tragic Hero?
When the final outcome of an event is the exact opposite of what everyone reasonably expected to happen.
What is Situational Irony?
A recurring element, image, or idea in a work of literature that serves to reinforce central themes
What is a Motif?