English Shakespearen Language test

conventions

practices that become established and accepted by players and audiences

prose

paragraph form, typically reserved for comic passages and for low-class characters

verse

poetic form

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter, typically only used for nobility

soliloquy

a character speaks his or her innermost thoughts when no other characters are on stage

monologue

the character speaks directly to another character or to himself or herself

aside

a character says something to the audience that the other characters are not supposed to hear

iambic pantameter

ten syllables per line, and every second syllable is stressed

foil

a character who provides strong contrast to another character

heroic couplet

a pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter, typically closes a scene in Shakespeare literature