Common Vocabulary
the deeper meaning or lesson of a literary work
What is a theme?
the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of several words
What is alliteration?
a unit of a poem, similar to a paragraph in prose
What is a stanza?
a formal, lengthy poem that celebrates a particular subject
What is an ode?
grammatical structure or word order in prose and poetry
What is syntax?
the speaker of a literary work
What is a narrator?
a direct comparison of two dissimilar things
What is a metaphor?
a pattern in end rhyme
What is a rhyme scheme?
a 14-line poem about love in iambic pentameter, with four quatrains and a couplet, and a specific rhyme scheme
What is a Shakespearean sonnet?
an image, idea, or symbol repeated throughout a work
What is a motif?
the hero or main character of a work
What is a protagonist?
a description in literature using any of the five senses
the pattern of beats in poetry
What is a rhythm?
What is blank verse?
a text that criticizes, critiques, or makes fun of some element of society
What is a satire?
What is a symbol?
the use of extreme exaggeration in literature
What is hyperbole?
two rhyming lines of poetry
What is a couplet?
a simple narrative poem, often incorporating dialogue that is written in quatrains
What is a ballad?
seemingly contradictory elements
What is a paradox?
a character of noble birth who has a fatal flaw which leads to his or her own downfall
What is a tragic hero?
a collection of devices that enables a writer to operate on levels other than the literal one
What is figurative language?
a direct address in poetry; a move from speaking to the general audience to a more specific group or person
What is an apostrophe?
a poem that laments the dead or a loss
the symbolic or interpretive meaning of a word or phrase, rather than the literal meaning
What is a connotation?