English Mid-term terms

Feudalism

A type of government system in which the lord or the king owns all of the lands and gives the land to the noble men/knights in exchange for protection.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that compares things that don't have anything in common without using 'like' or 'as'.

Hamartia

A personality trait of a character that causes their downfall, such as ambition, hubris, or pride.

Iambic pentameter

A line of verse consisting of 10 syllables, with a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables.

Soliloquy

A device where one person on stage talks about their thoughts and feelings out loud to the audience.

Aside

A dramatic dialogue where multiple people are on stage, but only one character can be heard.

Myth

A story that has been passed down but is based on fictional events.

Legend

A story based on historical truth that is passed down through generations.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Courtly love

A platonic relationship between a knight and an older, married aristocratic noble woman, requiring the knight to be submissive and respectful.

Quatrain

A stanza or poem consisting of four lines.

Couplet

A pair of lines in poetry that rhyme.

Blank verse

Poetry written in regular meter that does not have a rhyme scheme.

What sonnets did Shakespeare write about?

Sonnets 127-154 are about the dark lady, and sonnets 1-126 are about the fair youth.

Verbal irony

The use of sarcasm, where one says one thing but means the opposite.

Situational irony

A situation where the outcome is the exact opposite of what is expected.

Great chain of being

A hierarchical structure in the Middle Ages and Renaissance that states everything has a rightful place, from God down to animals, and breaking that chain causes chaos.

A bob and wheel consists of ___ lines and has the __ rhyme scheme.

5 lines with an ABABA rhyme scheme.

Volta

A shift in meaning or tone within a sonnet.

Paradox

A contradictory statement that contains an element of truth, such as an oxymoron.

Octave

A stanza or poem consisting of eight lines.

Sestet

A stanza or poem consisting of six lines.

Sonnet

A 14-line poem that typically deals with themes of love or mortality/immortality.