Poetry and Drama - Literary Terms

Flashcard 1
Definition: Repetition of beginning consonant sounds in nearby words.
Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Answer: Alliteration

Flashcard 2
Definition: A reference to a famous person, event, or work.
Example: He acted like Romeo when he saw her.
Answer: Allusion

Flashcard 3
Definition: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of sentences or lines.
Example: I have a dream… I have a dream…
Answer: Anaphora

Flashcard 4
Definition: When a speaker talks to someone absent, dead, or not human.
Example: O Death, where is thy sting?
Answer: Apostrophe

Flashcard 5
Definition: A character speaks directly to the audience without others hearing.
Example: A character turns and whispers their true plan to the audience.
Answer: Aside

Flashcard 6
Definition: Repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.
Example: The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.
Answer: Assonance

Flashcard 7
Definition: Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Example: Shakespeare often wrote dialogue in unrhymed ten-syllable lines.
Answer: Blank Verse

Flashcard 8
Definition: A funny scene used to lighten a serious moment.
Example: The gravedigger scene in Hamlet.
Answer: Comic Relief

Flashcard 9
Definition: An extended and unusual comparison between two things.
Example: Comparing lovers to a compass in a poem.
Answer: Conceit

Flashcard 10
Definition: The emotional or cultural meaning attached to a word.
Example: “Home” suggests comfort and family.
Answer: Connotation

Flashcard 11
Definition: Repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words.
Example: The lumpy, bumpy road.
Answer: Consonance

Flashcard 12
Definition: The literal dictionary meaning of a word.
Example: “Snake” means a legless reptile.
Answer: Denotation

Flashcard 13
Definition: A conversation between characters.
Example: Two characters talking back and forth in a play.
Answer: Dialogue

Flashcard 14
Definition: The author’s word choice.
Example: Choosing “slender” instead of “skinny.”
Answer: Diction

Flashcard 15
Definition: When the audience knows something the characters do not.
Example: The audience knows Juliet is alive, but Romeo thinks she is dead.
Answer: Dramatic Irony

Flashcard 16
Definition: Rhyming words that appear at the ends of lines.
Example: The cat sat on the mat.
Answer: End Rhyme

Flashcard 17
Definition: A poetic line that ends with a pause or punctuation.
Example: The sun set slowly. The night began.
Answer: End-Stopped Line

Flashcard 18
Definition: When a sentence continues onto the next poetic line without pause.
Example: One line flows directly into the next without punctuation.
Answer: Enjambment

Flashcard 19
Definition: A short speech at the end of a play that explains what happens later.
Example: A narrator tells what happens to the characters after the story ends.
Answer: Epilogue

Flashcard 20
Definition: A character who contrasts another character.
Example: Mercutio’s humor contrasts Romeo’s seriousness.
Answer: Foil

Flashcard 21
Definition: The basic rhythmic unit in poetry.
Example: An iamb contains one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.
Answer: Foot

Flashcard 22
Definition: Hints about events that will happen later.
Example: A character saying they feel something bad will happen.
Answer: Foreshadowing

Flashcard 23
Definition: Two rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter.
Example: Many Shakespeare sonnets end with two rhyming lines.
Answer: Heroic Couplet

Flashcard 24
Definition: Excessive pride that leads to a character’s downfall.
Example: A hero refusing help because they think they are unbeatable.
Answer: Hubris

Flashcard 25
Definition: Extreme exaggeration for effect.
Example: I’ve told you a million times.
Answer: Hyperbole

Flashcard 26
Definition: A poetic line with ten syllables following an unstressed-stressed pattern.
Example: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Answer: Iambic Pentameter

Flashcard 27
Definition: Language that appeals to the senses.
Example: Describing the smell of fresh cookies or bright sunset colors.
Answer: Imagery

Flashcard 28
Definition: A single row of words in a poem.
Example: One horizontal row in a poem counts as one line.
Answer: Line

Flashcard 29
Definition: A direct comparison saying one thing is another.
Example: Time is a thief.
Answer: Metaphor

Flashcard 30
Definition: The rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.
Example: Poems following repeating beat patterns.
Answer: Meter

Flashcard 31
Definition: Replacing a word with something closely related to it.
Example: Saying “The crown” instead of “the king.”
Answer: Metonymy

Flashcard 32
Definition: A long speech by one character to others.
Example: A villain explaining their plan to another character.
Answer: Monologue

Flashcard 33
Definition: A repeated idea, image, or element in a story.
Example: Repeated references to darkness representing evil.
Answer: Motif

Flashcard 34
Definition: The first eight lines of a sonnet, usually presenting a problem.
Example: The opening eight lines of a Petrarchan sonnet.
Answer: Octave

Flashcard 35
Definition: Words that imitate natural sounds.
Example: Buzz, splash, boom.
Answer: Onomatopoeia

Flashcard 36
Definition: Two opposite words placed together.
Example: Deafening silence.
Answer: Oxymoron

Flashcard 37
Definition: A statement that seems contradictory but reveals truth.
Example: Less is more.
Answer: Paradox

Flashcard 38
Definition: Giving human qualities to nonhuman things.
Example: The wind whispered through the trees.
Answer: Personification

Flashcard 39
Definition: A play on words using multiple meanings.
Example: A bicycle can’t stand alone because it is two-tired.
Answer: Pun

Flashcard 40
Definition: A four-line stanza in poetry.
Example: Many nursery rhymes are written in four-line groups.
Answer: Quatrain

Flashcard 41
Definition: Words that share similar ending sounds.
Example: Light and night.
Answer: Rhyme

Flashcard 42
Definition: The pattern of rhyming lines in a poem.
Example: ABAB or AABB patterns.
Answer: Rhyme Scheme

Flashcard 43
Definition: The final six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet, often giving resolution.
Example: The closing section answering the octave’s problem.
Answer: Sestet

Flashcard 44
Definition: A comparison using “like” or “as.”
Example: She is as fast as a cheetah.
Answer: Simile

Flashcard 45
Definition: A speech where a character speaks thoughts alone on stage.
Example: Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech.
Answer: Soliloquy

Flashcard 46
Definition: A 14-line poem with three quatrains and a rhyming couplet.
Example: Shakespeare’s sonnets follow this structure.
Answer: English (Shakespearean) Sonnet

Flashcard 47
Definition: A 14-line poem with an octave and sestet.
Example: Poems by Petrarch follow this format.
Answer: Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet

Flashcard 48
Definition: A group of lines in a poem, like a paragraph.
Example: Poems broken into sections of lines.
Answer: Stanza

Flashcard 49
Definition: An object that represents a deeper meaning.
Example: A dove representing peace.
Answer: Symbol

Flashcard 50
Definition: Using a part to represent the whole.
Example: Calling workers “hands.”
Answer: Synecdoche

Flashcard 51
Definition: The main message or lesson of a work.
Example: A story showing that love conquers hate.
Answer: Theme

Flashcard 52
Definition: The author’s attitude toward the subject.
Example: A sarcastic or joyful writing style.
Answer: Tone

Flashcard 53
Definition: A serious story where the main character falls due to flaws or fate.
Example: Romeo and Juliet dying at the end.
Answer: Tragedy

Flashcard 54
Definition: Making something seem less important than it is.
Example: Calling a broken arm “just a scratch.”
Answer: Understatement

Flashcard 55
Definition: Saying the opposite of what is meant.
Example: Saying “Great weather!” during a storm.
Answer: Verbal Irony