R + J literary terms

Tragedy

A serious play in which the main character passes through a series of misfortunes, leading to a final, devastating catastrophe

Protagonist

Character who moves the action forward, often associated with the hero

Antagonist

Character who provides opposition to the protagonist

Chorus

speaks to the audience

Setting

Time and place of the play

Tone

Overall feeling

Characters

The people of the play

Conflict

The opposition of two forces or characters in a drama or fiction

Pun

Play in words or wordplay (with sound or meaning or both)

Prologue

Introduction to the play, spoken by the chorus. Sonnet - R + J

Character versus character

Character versus others

Character versus self

Three types of conflict

Simile

Comparison of two unlike objects using like or as

Oxymoron

Paired opposites that somehow make sense

Allusion

Subtle reference to something well-known in history or literature

Classical Allusion

Subtle reference to classical Greek or Roman culture or mythology

Metaphor

Comparison of two unlike objects not using like or as

Extended Metaphor

Same as metaphor but developed over several lines

Alliteration

Repeated sounds at the beginnings of nearby words

Foreshadowing

Hint of what is to come which usually increases anticipation in the audience

Personification

Giving human characteristics to inanimate objects or animals

Sonnet

14 line poem with a rhyme scheme: ABABCDCDEFEFGG (ends in a couplet)

Rhyme scheme

Pattern of rhymes in a poem or poetic style (AA BB; AB AB)

Monologue

Long speech by one character to another character

Iambic pentameter

A line of poetry containing ten syllables, or five iambic feet or unstressed, stressed syllables

Symbol

A concrete object that represents an abstract idea

Aside

A line spoken to the audience that the other characters on stage are assumed not to have heard

Theme

The main idea of a work that the author/director wants you to think about

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration for effect

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something the characters do not

Verbal Irony

Words are spoken in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated

Soliloquy

A character alone on stage declares aloud his/her true thoughts or feelings

Comic Relief

Releases from the build of tragic emotion or tension through the use of humor

Catharsis

Emotional purification or relief from preceding tragic events

Prose

Writing without rhyme or meter

Onomatopoeia

Words which sound like what they mean

Tragic Flaw

A character trait which is excessive in the main character which brings about the downfall of the character

Foil

A character used to contrast with a main character in order to emphasize the main character’s traits