Poetry & Drama terms Flashcards
Aside
Conveys information to certain characters, but other characters don’t hear
Allusion
References to other literary works, particularly mythology
Foil
A character whose personality or actions are in striking contrast to those of another character
Prologue
A preview
- Introduces the audience to the conflict
- Theme and setting
- Sets the length of the play
Monologue
A speech by one character in a play, story, or poem
Soliloquy
A speech a character makes when they are alone (let’s audience hear what the character is thinking)
Comedy
A play that begins in trouble and ends in peace
Tragedy
A play that begins calmly and ends in violence
Irony
A difference between reality and appearance
Verbal irony
A figure of speech where there is a contrast between what is said and what was meant
Situational irony
The contrast between what is intended or expected and what actually occurs
Dramatic irony
A contradiction between what a character thinks and what the audience knows to be true
Pun
A form of wit, not necessarily funny, involving a play in words with two or more meanings
Paradox
A statement that, while seemingly self-contradictory, is nonetheless essentially true
Oxymoron
A figure of speech on which two contradictory words or phrases are combined in a single expression (like a condensed paradox)
Colloquialism
A word or phrase in everyday conversation and informal writing, but sometimes inappropriate in a formal essay
