Aside
A device in which a character in a drama makes a short speech which is hear by the audience but not by other characters in the play
aphorism
A brief statement which expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation.
apostrophe
A figure of speech wherein the speaker speaks directly to something nonhuman
Ballad
A story in poetic form, often about tragic love and usually sung
denotation
The dictionary definition of a word
blank verse
A poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
antagonist
A person or force which opposes the protagonist in a literary work
allegory
A story illustrating an idea or a moral principle in which objects take on symbolic meanings
assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds in a literary work, especially a poem
caesura
A pause within a line of poetry which may or may not affect the metrical count
climax
The decisive moment in a drama, the climax is the turning point of the play to which the rising action leads. Determines the outcome of the conflict
concrete poetry
A poem that visually resembles something found in the physical world
conceit
A far fetched simile or metaphor, a literary conceit occurs when the speaker compares two highly dissimilar things
alliteration
Used for poetic effect, a repetition of the initial sounds of several words in a group
allusion
A reference in one literary work to a character or theme found in another literary work
connotation
The emotional implications and associations that a word may carry.
comedy
A literary work which is amusing and ends happily
soliloquy
In a drama, a moment when a character is alone and speaks his or her thoughts aloud
anapest
In a line of poetry, two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable forming the pattern for the line or perhaps the entire poem
ambiguity
A statement which can contain two or more meanings.
consonance
The repetition of consonant sounds with differing vowel sounds in words near each other in a line
couplet
A stanza of two lines, usually rhyming
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