English Honors Final

Anaphora

The repetition of the beginning phrase or word in multiple, consecutive sentences.

Syntax

Word order in a sentence

Peripeteia

The reversal of fortune for the tragic hero. Usually takes place in act 4 (hero’s fortune turns from good to bad). Moves towards the denouement.

Anagnorisis

the point in a play, novel, etc., in which a principal character recognizes or discovers another character's true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances.

Hamartia

The tragic flaw or error that reverses the protagonist’s fortune (Tragedy). Derived from the Greek phrase “hamartanein” meaning “to miss the mark”

Chorus

A group of actors in a play that summarize the plot and comment on the action.

Catharsis

Greek for “purge,” the arousal of pity or fear that is a release or cleansing.

Tragedy

A genre in which a hero is brought down by his/her own flaws, usually by ordinary flaws (greed, over ambition, hubris, loyalty, excess of love, etc). The resolution of the tragic situation often involves one or more deaths.

monologue

A long, interrupted speech made by one character to other characters

Soliloquy

A long, interrupted speech made by one character when they are ALONE, or think they are alone.

Apostrophe

Addressing something/someone dead or inanimate as if it could respond.

Pun

A play on words that have 2 meanings. Ex, son/sun, soul/sole

Oxymoron

A contradiction that is nevertheless true. Ex, “dead corse”

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as (Ex, she has a heart or gold)

Simile

A comparison using like or as (Ex, She is as sweet as candy)

Juxtaposition

The act of placing two opposite or contrasting things next to each other to create a contrasting effect (Ex, consecutive scenes of love and then violence)

Rhyme Scheme

A set pattern of rhyme of end rhyme. Ex, Shakespearean Sonnet: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

End Rhyme

Rhyme that occurs at the end of the lines as opposed to rhyming words within a line.

Rhyming Cuplet

2 consecutive lines of end rhyme. Usually joins a thought or idea and brings a scene, soliloquy, sonnet, or at to a close. Ex, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Alliteration

The repetition of the initial consonant sound. Ex, Pout, Pair, Peal