SHAKESPEAREAN LANGUAGE TEST

act

a main division of drama

allusion

a reference to a literary or historical person or event to explain a present situation

aside

a brief remark made by a character and intended to be heard by the audience but not other characters

atmosphere

the mood established by events, places, or situations

chorus

in ancient greek drama, the singing and dancing group whose words formed commentary or interpretation of action

comic relief

a humorous scene or speech in a serious drama which is meant to provide relief from emotional intensity

imagery

the term used to describe words or phrases that appeal to the five senses

irony

a contrast between what is and what appears to be

metaphor

a figure of speech that implies or states a comparison between two unlike things which are similar in some way

paradox

a statement which seems to be contradictory but at the same time profoundly logical

scene

a small unit of a play in which there is no shift of locale or time

simile

a figure of speech that states a comparison between two essentially unlike things which are similar in one aspect

soliloquy

a speech given by a character alone on the stage

tragedy

a type of drama of human conflict which ends in defeat and suffering

inference

a conclusion based on information given

theme

the general idea about life that the play commucates

ambition

an urge desire for some type of achievement

prose

everyday laguage

iamb

one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

rhyme

the repetition of sound in two or more phrases that usually appear close to each other in a poem

sonnet

a fourteen line lyric poem, usually written in iambic pentameter

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

heroic couplet

a pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter