AP Lit Vocab 4

Stress

Emphasis on a spoken syllable

Metric Feet

Unit of rhythm in verse

Metric Lines

rhythm established by the regular occurrence of similar units of sound

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

Heroic Couplet

Two rhymed lines in iambic pentameter, complete thought

In medias res

Beginning in the middle of things

Confidant

Protagonist’s intimate

Foil

Character’s illuminator through contrast

Aside

Actor directly addresses the audience, but is not heard by the other characters

Catastrophe

Conclusion of a tragedy and usually designates an unhappy ending where the hero dies

Hamartia

Error, frailty, mistaken judgment or misstep through which the fortunes of a hero in a tragedy are reversed

Hubris

Excessive pride or arrogance that results in misfortune

Monologue

Character speaking aloud in a situation with listeners

Soliloquy

Speech delivered when character is alone - only the audience hears

Tragic Flaw

Flaw in the hero causes their own downfall

Tragedy

Starts good, gets bad, hero destroyed

Comedy

Starts bad, gets good, hero triumphs

Comedy of Manners

Elevated, often satirical, from Restoration Period

Farce

Crude, often obscene

Melodrama

Excessive appeal to emotions