Vocab Flashcards
ALLEGORY
noun
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
ALLITERATION
noun
the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
ALLUSION
an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.
ANTAGONIST
a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.
ARCHETYPE
a very typical example of a certain person or thing.
“the book is a perfect archetype of the genre”
ASSONANCE
in poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in nonrhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible
BLANK VERSE
Verse without rhyme
CARPE DIEM
used to urge someone to make the most of the present time and give little thought to the future.
CHARACTER
the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual
CLASSICAL UNITIES
rules for drama derived from a passage in Aristotle’s Poetics
COMEDY
movie, play, or broadcast program intended to make an audience laugh.
CONFLICT
a serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one.
CONNOTATION
an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
CONSONANCE
agreement or compatibility between opinions or actions.
DENOTATION
the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.
DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE
noun
a poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined person, in which the speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character while describing a particular situation or series of events.
FLASHBACK
a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story
FOIL
prevent (something considered wrong or undesirable) from succeeding.
FORESHADOWING
be a warning or indication of (a future event)
HYPERBOLE
exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
IAMBIC PENTAMETER
nounPROSODY
a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable, for example Two households, both alike in dignity.
LITOTES
ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary
METAPHOR
a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
METER
the rhythm of a piece of poetry, determined by the number and length of feet in a line.