Potery and Drama Literary Terms

alliteration-literary device that reflects repetition in two or more nearby words of initial consonant sounds (ex. the phrase “kids’ coats” → though the words begin with different consonant letters, they produce the same consonant sounds)

allusion-a reference, typically brief, to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar → allows a writer to compress a great deal of meaning and significance into a word or phrase

anaphora-a rhetorical device that features the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences, phrases, or clauses (ex. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…” → it was)

apostrophe (not ‘)-a poetic phrase or speech made by a character that is addressed to a subject that is not literally present in the literary work → character talking to an inanimate object or an entity

aside-a short comment or speech that a character delivers directly to the audience, or to himself, while other actors on the stage appear not to hear; only the audience knows that the character has said something to them (similar to a soliloquy but shorter and reveals hidden secrets instead of motives/inner thoughts)

assonance-a literary device in which the repetition of similar vowel sounds takes place in two or more words in proximity to each other within a line of poetry or prose (ex. “he fell asleep under the cherry tree”)

blank verse-a literary device defined as an un-rhyming verse written in iambic pentameter

comic relief-a literary device used in plays and novels to introduce light entertainment between tragic scenes

conceit-a comparison that is convoluted, unconventional, and/or improbable; comparable to simile, metaphor, and allegory in that they all make use of comparison or symbolic imagery (simile but the comparison is super fantasy)

connotation-a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly (cultural and emotional associations or meanings)

consonance-a literary device that refers to the repetition of the same consonant sounds in a line of text; can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of words and must happen in quick succession

denotation-a literal, dictionary definition of a word

dialogue-refers to spoken lines by characters in a story that serve many functions such as adding context to a narrative, establishing voice and tone, or setting forth conflict

diction-refers to the linguistic choices made by a writer to convey an idea or point of view, or tell a story, in an effective way

dramatic irony-a useful plot device for creating situations in which the audience knows more about the situations, the causes of conflicts, and their resolutions before the leading characters or actors

end rhyme-occurs when the last syllables or words in two or more lines rhyme with each other

end-stopped line-a poetic device in which a pause comes at the end of a syntactic unit (sentence, clause, or phrase) → can be expressed in writing as a punctuation mark, such as a colon, semi-colon, or full stop

enjambment-a literary device in which a line of poetry carries its idea or thought over to the next line without a grammatical pause

epilogue-a chapter at the end of a work of literature, which concludes the work

foil-a literary device designed to illustrate or reveal information, traits, values, or motivations of one character through the comparison and contrast of another character

foot (type related to poetry)-a measuring unit in poetry, which is made up of stressed and unstressed syllables → stressed syllable is generally indicated by a vertical line ( | ), whereas the unstressed syllable is represented by a cross ( X )

foreshadowing-a literary device that writers utilize as a means to indicate or hint to readers something that is to follow or appear later in a story

heroic couplet-written in rhymed iambic pentameter and is the most commonly used in English poetry; a literary device featuring two consecutive lines of poetry that typically rhyme and have the same meter

hubris-character trait that features excessive pride or inflated self-confidence, leading a protagonist to disregard a divine warning or violate an important moral law

hyperbole-a figure of speech and literary device that creates heightened effect through deliberate exaggeration → a boldly overstated or exaggerated claim or statement that adds emphasis without the intention of being literally true

iambic pentameter-an iamb is a literary device that can be defined as a foot containing unaccented and short syllables, followed by a long and accented syllable in a single line of a poem (unstressed/stressed syllables)

imagery-a literary device that refers to the use of figurative language to evoke a sensory experience or create a picture with words for a reader

line (related to poetry)-a subdivision of a poem, specifically a group of words arranged into a row that ends for a reason other than the right-hand margin

metaphor-a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two non-similar things; creates implicit comparisons without the express use of “like” or “as.”

meter-a literary device that works as a structural element in poetry; the basic rhythmic structure of a line within a poem or poetic work

metonymy-a figure of speech in which one object or idea takes the place of another with which it has a close association (ex. silver screen → a substitute concept for movies, movie theaters, etc. “Screen” is related to the way movies were traditionally shown (or screened) in a theater; “silver” is associated with original black and white films and the glitter of Hollywood)

monologue-a literary device featuring a “speech” made by a single character in a work of literature or dramatic work (for theater or film); allow a character to address other characters present in the scene and/or the reader/audience

motif-an object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work

octave (related to poetry)-a verse form that contains eight lines, which usually appear in an iambic pentameter → any stanza in a poem that has eight lines and follows a rhymed or unrhymed meter

onomatopoeia-a word that sounds like what it refers to or describes (ex. hiccup)

oxymoron-a figure of speech pairing two words together that are opposing and/or contradictory (ex. same difference)

paradox-a statement that appears at first to be contradictory, but upon reflection then makes sense

personification-a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human

pun-a literary device that is also known as a “play on words.” (ex. denial is a river in Egypt)

quatrain-a series of four poetic lines that make up a verse of a poem known as a stanza, which can function as a poem on its own or as an individual stanza within a larger poem

rhyme-a literary device, featured particularly in poetry, in which identical or similar concluding syllables in different words are repeated

rhyme scheme-the pattern of rhyme that comes at the end of each verse or line in poetry; the structure of end words of a verse or line that a poet needs to create when writing a poem

sestet- the second part of the sonnet, while the first part is called “octave,” and comprises of eight lines; has six lines, and also refers to a poem of six lines, or a six-lined stanza in a poem, which can be distinguished from other units by line breaks

simile-a figure of speech in which two essentially dissimilar objects or concepts are expressly compared with one another through the use of “like” or “as.”

soliloquy-a literary device in the form of a speech or monologue spoken by a single character in a theatrical play or drama; purpose is for character to express their inner thoughts and feelings that are not intended to be heard or known by other characters in the play or the audience members

sonnet (English: Shakespearean and Italian: Petrarchan)-a poem generally structured in the form of 14 lines, usually iambic pentameter, that expresses a thought or idea and utilizes an established rhyme scheme

Petrarchan: pattern consists of an eight-line Octave with the rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA, followed by a six-line Sestet that follows one of two rhyme schemes, CDE CDE or CDC CDC

Shakespearean: variation of the Italian sonnet, this sonnet pattern consists of three four-line Quatrains and a concluding couplet with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

stanza-a division of four or more lines having a fixed length, meter, or rhyming scheme → like paragraphs but in prose

symbol-to convey the hidden meaning to the reader or listener; tells us about artistic expression and represents abstract ideas → uses a person, place, word, action, and object

synecdoche-a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to signify the whole, or vice-versa; allows for a smaller component of something to stand in for the larger whole, in a rhetorical manner (ex. asking for a hand in marriage isn’t just as small as a hand)

theme-refers to the central, deeper meaning of a written work; writers will typically allow the reader to perceive and interpret it, rather than overtly or directly state

tone-a literary device that reflects the writer’s attitude toward the subject matter or audience of a literary work; creates a particular relationship with the reader that, in turn, influences the intention and meaning of the written words

tragedy-a literary device signifying a story or drama that presents an admirable or courageous character that confronts powerful forces inside and/or outside of themselves; a protagonist is undone or brought to ruin by a critical character flaw or by the cruelty of fate

understatement-employed by writers or speakers to intentionally make a situation seem less important than it really is

verbal irony-occurs when a speaker speaks something contradictory to what he intends to say; an intentional product of the speaker and is contradictory to his/her emotions and actions → a character uses a statement with underlying meanings that contrast with its literal meaning