1. Shakespearian Literary Terms Review 1

2. one's opponent in a contest, conflict, or disputeadversary 2

3. References to well- known people, places, or events.Allusion 3

4. something out of place in time anachronism 4

5. a comparisonanalogy 5

6. the person or event that causes the protagonist's conflictantagonist 6

7. A brief remark by a character that expresses his/her thoughts and/or feelings.Aside 7

8. Unrhymed poetry in iambic pentameter. Blank Verse 8

9. a purifying or purging that brings spiritual renewal or release from tensionCatharsis 9

10. how the different people are described in a literary workcharacterization 10

11. A character who changes from events in the story Dynamic (round) Character 11

12. A character who does not change much throughout the play Static (flat) Character 12

13. a complex combination of elements or things; a minor conflictcomplication 13

14. a group who says things at the same timeChorus 14

15. the moment in a literary work at which the crisis comes to its point of greatest intensity and is resolvedClimax 15

16. Humor that lessens the seriousness of the plot Comic Relief 16

17. the problem in a storyconflict 17

18. A pair of rhyming lines, such as the last two lines of a sonnet.Couplet 18

19. A story written to be performed by actors.Drama 19

20. Words which let the audience interpret the word while the characters interpret differently Double entendre 20

21. exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution dramatic structure 21

22. a characterizing word or phrase associated with a person or thing epithet 22

23. speech or writing that departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a special effect or meaning, speech or writing employing figures of speech figurative language 23

24. A literary tool used to give a hint to future events.Foreshadowing 24

25. character who provides strong contrast to another characterfoil 25

26. an exaggeration made for rhetorical effecthyperbole 26

27. the expected pattern iambic meter 27

28. poetic meter in which each line has ten syllables: an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable iambic pentameter 28

29. the formation of mental imagesimagery 29

30. a difference between what is expected to happen and what actually happensirony 30

31. the audience knows something that the actors on stage do not dramatic irony 31

32. the outcome is the opposite of what is expected situational irony 32

33. the character says one thing and means another verbal irony 33

34. a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken or written about as if it were another. It invites the reader to make a comparison between the two things.metaphor 34

35. a long speech or written expression of thoughts by a character in a literary workmonologue 35

36. a device in which a character, alone onstage (or while thinking he is alone), reveals his or her private thoughts and feelings as if thinking aloud.soliloquy 36

37. figure of speech in which opposite ideas are combinedoxymoron 37

38. a seemingly contradictory statement, idea, or eventparadox 38

39. a figure of speech in which an idea, animal, or thing is described as if it were a personpersonification 39

40. A short introduction at the beginning of a play that gives a brief overview of the plotPrologue 40

41. Direct language written or spoken in ordinary use (not poetry)Prose 41

42. the main character; the "hero“protagonist 42

43. a play on wordspun 43

44. the solution to the conflictresolution 44

45. a comparison using "like" or "as“simile 45

46. A fourteen lined poem that is usually written in iambic pentameter and has one of several rhyme schemes (Shakespearean- 3 quatrains followed by a concluding couplet abab cdcd efef gg) So nnet 46

47. A feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work.Suspense 47

48. a word or object that stands for anothersymbol 48

49. the overall message of a literary worktheme 49

50. The writer's attitude toward his or her audience and subject.Tone 50

51. A play, novel, or narrative that depicts serious and important events in which the main character comes to an unhappy end usually deathTragedy 51

52. a flaw in character that brings about the downfall of the hero of the tragedy Tragic flaw 52