English Verse Unit Vocabulary

Prose

written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure

Verse

writing arranged with a metrical rhythm, typically having a rhyme

Alliteration

the use of words that begin with the same sound near one another

Elegiac

(especially of a work of art) having a mournful or sad quality

Britons

Early inhabitants of Britain and England. Did not speak Old English or have a written language

Anglo-Saxons

Raiders who came over to England from Germany and Denmark around 500 CE. Brought their language Old English to England

Normans

French who came and took over England in 1066 CE

The Great Chain of Being

Medieval worldview and religious view of the hierarchy people, beings, and entities of existence

Feudal System

The medieval hierarchy within a country and how everyone at a lower status must pay money or give military service/allegiance to the person above them

Chivalry

The qualities expected of an ideal knight, especially courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help women and people who may be more vulnerable

Ballad

A poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next as part of the folk culture. Sir Patrick Spens is an example of a ballad.

Rhyme Scheme

the ending sounds of lines within a poem. Originally used in poetry from the Romance languages - Middle English started to use rhymes during the medieval period

Iambic Pentameter

Having 10 syllables with a line of poetry. The rhythm of each two syllables is unstressed/stressed

Heroic Couplet

A couplet written in iambic pentameter

Thomas Becket

The Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered by supporters of the King of England. The cathedral he was murdered in became a holy place to visit - it is the place the travelers are visiting in Canterbury Tales

Renaissance

The term means “rebirth” since it looks back to the art and scholarship that was seen in ancient Greece and Rome (450 BCE - 450 CE). A time when new artistic expression flourished and new intellectual conversations began to dominate Europe from about 1495 to 1630. More emphasis is placed on the individual than in the medieval period

Soliloquy

When an actor speaks in his inner thoughts to the audience. This is not dialogue since the actor is speaking to his or her own self

Monologue

A longer speech that a character gives to others on stage - not necessarily his or her inner thoughts, but something he or she wants other characters to hear

“Et tu, Brute?”

You too Brutus?

Irony

A mode of expression in which the intended meaning is opposite of what is stated, often implying ridicule or light sarcasm; a state of affairs or events that is the reverse of what might have been expected

Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet

A 14-line poem typically structured with an octave followed by a sestet, often following the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA for the octave.

English/Shakespearean Sonnet

A 14-line poem typically composed of three quatrains followed by a couplet, often following the rhyme scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG.

Volta

Turn/shift in focus in a sonnet usually after line 8

Sublime

of such excellence, grandeur, power, or beauty

as to inspire great admiration or awe.

Nostalgia

a sentimental longing/yearning or wistful

affection for the past

Idealism

thought based on imagination or ideals, no

matter how unrealistic

Figurative Language

Language that is not literal:

Similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole

The Romantic Age

A period of artistic expression (1790s-1830s) that was a reaction to the “Age of Reason”

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply

Ode

An exaltation, praising, or deep mediation on an object or topic

Modernism

An experimental artistic movement of the first half of the 20th century that was seen as a rebellion against the previously more traditional artistic forms

Free Verse

No meter or rhyme in the poem - just words

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme