ENG 101- Terminology Flashcards
Alliteration
The repetition of initial stressed, consonant sounds in a series of words within a phrase or verse line. Alliteration need not reuse all initial consonants; “pizza” and “place” alliterate.
Allusion
A brief, intentional reference to a historical, mythic, or literary person, place, event, or movement. (often from the Bible)
Anaphora
Often used in political speeches and occasionally in prose and poetry, anaphora is the repetition of a word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines to create a sonic effect. EG. The repetition of “I have a dream” in Martin Luther King Jr’s speech
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds without repeating consonants. Sometimes called vowel rhyme.
“between trees” “great flakes” “leaping deep”
Concrete poetry
poetry in which the poet’s intent is conveyed by graphic patterns of letters, words, or symbols rather than by the meaning of words in conventional arrangement.
Consonance
A similarity in sound between 2 words, or an initial rhyme. Consonance can also refer to to shared consonants when in sequence “bed and bad” or inversed “bud and dab”
End-stop
Ends at grammatical boundary or break such as dash or closing perenthesis- or with punctuation such as a colon, semicolon, period, or completion of a phrase.
Endjambment
running-over of a sentence/phrase from one poetic line to the next, w/o terminal punctuation; the opposite of end-stop
Free-Verse
Nonmetrical, nonrhyming lines that closely follow the natural rhythms of speech. A regular pattern of sound or rhythm may emerge in free-verse lines, but the poet does not adhere to a metrical plan in their composition.
Lyric Poem
feelings or meditations of a single person.
fairly short poem expressing the mood, feelings, or characteristics of a person.
Metaphor
A comparison that is made directly without pointing out a similarity by using words such as “like,” “as,” or “than.”
Onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which a word imitates its sound. “choo-choo” buzz”
Personification
A figure of speech in which the poet describes an abstraction, a thing, or a nonhuman form as if it were a person.
Rhyme
The repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line. Rhymed words conventionally share all sounds following the word’s last stressed syllable.
End rhyme vs. Internal rhyme
End rhyme is at the end of a poetic line, and internal rhyme is harder to spot within the line.
Perfect rhyme
Cat, hat, bat
Near/Slant-rhyme
close enough. like son/song
Eye-rhyme
Through/rough
simile
A comparison (see Metaphor) made with “as,” “like,” or “than.”
Action Text
Physical language of the play
Character
A person in a play; also refers to their characteristics, personality, motives, and actions
Classical unities
unity of action (the plot must be unified so that every scene contributes to it), unity of place (setting should be in a single location), and unity of time (all happen in one day).
Climax
A moment of great intensity in the play- the crucial moment where the various threads of the plot come together
Comedy
Conflict
When characters are in tension with one another- there are at least three in SOMEDAY
Denouement/Falling Action
Brief period following a plays climax where the drama reaches toward the conclusion
Dialogue
the verbal exchange between characteristics- because there is no narrator in the play the dialogue must tell the whole story
Dynamic character
a character who undergoes some important change in the course of the story. usually main characters with more lines
Exposition
an explanation of what’s happened before the play starts
Static character
A static character is one who doesn’t undergo any significant change in a story, whereas a flat character is a one-dimensional character who isn’t layered or deep—rather, a flat character just has one or two traits that make up their whole personality.
Monologue
a long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program.
Movement
The physical movement of characters on stage
Performance
That specific group, that specific night
A play
A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. THE WIRTTEN PART
Plot
the structure of interrelated actions, consciously selected and arranged by the author.
Production
A theatrical production is any work of theatre, such as a staged play, musical, comedy or drama produced from a written book or script. (everything that comes from the script. a group of people brining it to life)
Rising action
builds towards the climax
Setting
refers to both the time and place of the play, as well as the scenery put on stage
Spoken text
things said aloud by characters in the story. the spoken language in use
Stock character
stereotypical character used frequently in literature eg. “the mad scientist” and “the jock”
subtext
the implicit meaning of a text—the underlying message that is not explicitly stated or shown. Subtext gives the reader information about characters, plot, and the story’s context as a whole
suspense
an uneasy feeling that a reader gets when they don’t know what is going to happen next.
Theme
plays message, central concerns, and what the play is about
Tragicomedey
Tragicomedy is a literary device used in fictional works. It contains both tragedy and comedy. Mostly, the characters in tragicomedy are exaggerated, and sometimes there might be a happy ending after a series of unfortunate events. It is incorporated with jokes throughout the story, just to lighten the tone.
Tragedy
branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual.
Acting
the performance of the actors in the film
Cinematography
how the camera person sets up the shot (including framing, angle, and movement)
Diegesis
“The imagined world of the story”
Non-diegetic or extradiegetic
“A term used for any narrative, sound, or visual element not contained in the story world.”
Editing
elements added to the film after shooting including arranging shots (montages and sequences), cuts, sound, and visual effects (now including digital effects)
Mise-en-Scène
everything the director puts into the scene (including lighting, décor, acting, costuming, sets)
Motif
Any narrative, visual, or sound element that is repeated and thereby acquires and reflects its significance to the story, characters, or themes of the film.
Narrative
the story the film is telling; its plot (what is told but also how)
Visuals
the filmic images captured by the camera
Sound
any aural components that a film might have including dialogue, sound effects, musical score, and silence
the sounds captured by microphones and spliced onto film
What are the dimensions of film
Visuals and sound
