Know your A, B, C ...
the repetition of a speech sound in a sequence of words
Alliteration
a group or arrangement of a certain number of lines in poetry
stanza
the audience can feel that something bad is going to happen
(a sense of) foreboding
a pair of words that contradict one another
Oxymoron
You are like the sun to me
Simile
a reference to a person, place, or event, or to another literary work
Allusion
lines of iambic pentameter which rhyme in pairs
couplet
This character also has one or more fatal flaws—that leads to his or her downfall.
Tragic Hero
A long, uninterrupted speech by one person. This is presented in front of other characters
Monologue
The yellow rose cried with jealousy
personification
the insertion of humor during an otherwise serious moment
Comic relief
five pairs with a light syllable followed by a stressed syllable
iambic pentameter
when the author gives us clues or hints as to what will happen further on in the play
foreshadowing
The audience knows something some or all the the characters do not
Dramatic irony
He has a heart of gold.
metaphor
consists of lines of iambic pentameter (five-stress iambic verse), which are unrhymed
blank verse
A poetic measurement of rhythm
Meter
the secret weakness of character that brings about a tragic hero's downfall
tragic flaw
Comments heard by the audience meant to be heard by specific characters on the stage while other characters on stage don’t hear.
Aside
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
Pun
Rhyming that occurs within or in the middle of a line. Example: I will borrow a little sorrow.
internal rhyme
a lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of fourteen iambic pentameter lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme
sonnet
A character who acts as the opposite to another character
Foil
A speech a character gives when he/she is alone on stage. Its purpose is to let the audience know what the character is thinking.
Soliloquy
grass grows greener
Alliteration