Shakespeare Glossary Flashcards
Alliteration
When a series of words all start with the same letter or sound
Ambiguity
When a word or idea can be interpreted in different ways
Anaphora
The repetition of the word or sequence of words at the beginning of nearby clauses or lines
Antagonist
A character who provides the main opposition to the protagonist
Antithesis
The direct opposite of something else
Apostrophe
A rhetorical device where a speaker addresses an absent person or inanimate object
Aside
When a character in a play speaks directly to the audience
Blank verse
Unrhymed verse in iambic pentameter
Caesura
A pause in a line
Catharsis
According to Aristotle, the purging of pity and fear that the audience feels at the end of a tragedy
Chorus
A dramatic convention used in plays to narrate the plot and comment of it’s action
Consonance
When words have the same consonant sounds but different vowel sounds
Couplet
A pair of lines in verse that rhyme and have the same rhythm
Deux ex machina
An unrealistic plot device used to solve problems in a play
Everyman
A character that represents ordinary people
