Literary Terms and Poetic Devices in *As You Like It* (Cambridge 2015)

Imagery

Language that creates strong pictures in the reader's mind, appealing to the five senses.

Simile

Compares two different things using 'like' or 'as' to make a description clearer or stronger.

Metaphor

Compares two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as,' saying one thing is another to show a similarity.

Personification

Gives human qualities or actions to something that is not human.

Epithet

A descriptive word or phrase used to describe a person or character, often highlighting a key trait.

Classical Allusion

A reference to characters, stories, or ideas from Greek or Roman mythology or history that the audience is expected to recognize.

Pun

A joke based on a word that has more than one meaning or sounds like another word.

Double Entendre

A phrase with two meanings, one of which is often humorous or suggestive.

Apostrophe

When a character speaks directly to someone who is not present, dead, or not human.

Irony

Occurs when there is a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.

Dramatic Irony

Happens when the audience knows something that one or more characters do not.

Soliloquy

A speech where a character speaks their thoughts out loud while alone on stage.

Aside

A short comment spoken directly to the audience that other characters do not hear.

Hyperbole

An exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

Oxymoron

A phrase that combines two opposite ideas, such as 'loving hate.'

Repetition

The repeated use of words or phrases to emphasize an idea or theme.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same starting consonant sound in a series of words.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or sentences.

Epistrophe

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive lines or sentences.

Antithesis

Places contrasting ideas close together to highlight their difference.

Polyptoton

When words with the same root are repeated in different forms.

Injunctions

Commands or strong instructions given by one character to another.

Burlesque

A comic style that mocks or exaggerates serious ideas to make them funny.

Prose

Ordinary speech or writing that does not follow a poetic structure.

Verse

Writing arranged in lines with rhythm, often used in poetry and speeches.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter, commonly used by Shakespeare.

Sonnet

A 14-line poem with a set structure, rhythm, and rhyme scheme.

Turn (Volta)

A sudden shift in mood or argument in a poem, often near the middle or end.

Quatrain

A stanza of four lines.

Rhyming Couplet

Two consecutive lines that rhyme and often complete an idea.

Octave (Octet)

The first eight lines of a Petrarchan sonnet.

Sestet

The final six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet.

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhymes at the ends of lines in a poem.

Shakespearean (English) Sonnet

Has three quatrains and one rhyming couplet with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet

Has an octave and a sestet, usually with the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA followed by varied rhymes.

Meter

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

Iambic Pentameter

Has five iambs per line, each with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.

Caesura

A pause in the middle of a line of verse.

End-Stopping

Happens when a line ends with punctuation, completing the thought.

Enjambment

When a line of poetry continues onto the next line without punctuation.

Muse

A source of inspiration for a poet or writer.