Vocab 3

Digression

Digression

Use of material unrelated to the subject of the work

Dramatic Monologue

A poem in which the speaker addresses one or more listeners who remain silent or whose replies are not revealed

Economy

A style of writing characterized by brevity and conciseness

Ekphrastic Poetry

A form of poetry that comments on a work of art in another genre, such as painting or music.

Elegy

A solemn, reflective poem, usually about death, written in a formal style

Ellipsis

Omission of an element from a sentence so that the grammatical is incomplete but the meaning is clear; often appears in aphorisms, epigrams, proverbs, and maxims

End-stopped lines

Lines of poetry that end with punctuation marks

Enjambment

In poetry, the running over of a sentence from one line, verse, or stanza to the next without stopping at the first

Epic

Long narrative poem dealing with heroes and adventures, usually having a large setting and involving supernatural forces, written in a ceremonial style

Epigram

A short witty verse or saying, often ending with a wry twist

Epigraph

A motto or quotation at the beginning of a story, novel, or chapter, often indicating theme

Epiphany

A character’s transformative moment of realization

Epistolary Novel

A novel comprised of letters written by one or more of the characters

Euphemism

Describing something negative in a positive way

Euphony

A choice and arrangement of words creating a pleasant sound

Fable

A brief tale that teaches a moral truth and usually features animals as characters

Farce

A dramatic form marked by wholly absurd situations, slapstick, raucous wordplay, and sometimes innuendo

Figurative Language

Language that uses figures of speech; non-literal language usually evoking strong images. Common types include metaphor, simile, personification, paradox, hyperbole, litotes, and irony.

Fixed form

Poetry which follows a specific rhyme, meter, and/or stanza arrangement

Flashback

Going back in time to reveal past history that is important to the work

Foot

A unit of meter that contains a set number of syllables

Foot, Dactylic

A metrical foot with one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables

Foot, Iambic

A metrical foot comprised of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable

Foot, Trochaic

A metrical foot comprised of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable

Foot, Anapestic

A metrical foot comprised of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable

Foot, Spondee

A metrical foot comprised of two stressed syllables

Form

The external pattern of the poem (continuous, stanzaic, free verse, fixed form, blank verse)

Foreshadowing

A literary technique in which the author gives hints about future events

Frame

A narrative device presenting a story or group of stories within the context of a larger work or plot

Free Verse

Poetry with no set form or meter