Story that contains an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of a main character.
Tragedy
100
Figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind.
Simile
100
Word or phrase not used literally, usually for rhetorical emphasis or vivid effect
Figure of speech/Figurative language
100
Two lines of verse usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme that form a unit
Couplet
200
The principal character in a literary work
Protagonist
200
Author gives an advance hint of what is to come later. i.e. "These violent delights have violent ends" (Friar)
Foreshadowing
200
Formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named
Onomatopoeia
200
Deliberately exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally
Hyperbole
200
Main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work
Theme
300
Struggle between two opposing forces, usually a protagonist and antagonist
Conflict
300
Romeo! You idiot! Juliet isn't dead! She's just sleeping! We (the audience) know this! But you do not! And you cannot hear us screaming! Oh NOOOOOOOO poison........
Dramatic irony
300
Attribution of human characteristics or personal nature to something nonhuman
Personification
300
Joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings
Pun
300
The attitude of a writer toward a subject or audience
Tone/Mood
400
Character that actively opposes or is hostile to a protagonist
Antagonist
400
Discourse or utterance by a person who is talking to himself or herself -- usually meant to reveal thought processes or intimate feelings.
Soliloquy
400
Figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable
Metaphor
400
Figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction -- i.e. "brawling love, loving hate" (Romeo)
Oxymoron
400
Descriptive language meant to evoke the senses
Imagery
500
Particular point in a narrative at which the conflict hits the highest level of tension
Climax
500
Poem having 14 lines of iambic pentameter, usually expressive of one, complete thought -- i.e. Romeo & Juliet's first meeting
Sonnet
500
Use of objects, events, or characters to suggest deeper meaning or significance
Symbolism
500
Occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or connected words
Alliteration
500
Expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, usually for humorous or emphatic effect