lit terms 101-110

scan

To mark off lines of poetry into rhythmic units, or feet, to show their metrical structure.

scansion

A system for describing conventional poetic rhythms by dividing lines into feet and marking accented and unaccented syllables.

scene

A short division within an act in a play or a particular setting in any work of literature.

simile

A figure of speech that compares two unlike quantities using 'like' or 'as'.

shift

A change in a passage created by syntax or diction.

soliloquy

A long speech made by a character alone on stage revealing innermost thoughts and feelings.

sonnet

A 14-line poem with three quatrains and a couplet, written in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme.

stream of consciousness

A narrative technique that presents thoughts as directly coming from a character's mind, often chaotic.

structure

The planned framework for a piece of literature.

style

A writer's typical way of expressing themselves.