LITERARY TERMS AND FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Ms. Mathews

9th Grade English

POETIC TERMS SPECIFIC TO AND IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEAREAN PLAYS

ALLITERATION

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words

Example using the h sound:“The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, Went envying her and me;”

-Edgar Allan Poe, from “Annabel Lee”

ANAPHORA

The repetition of words at the beginning of neighboring sentences, which gives them additional emphasis

APOSTROPHE

An address to a person or personified object not present

ASSONANCE

The repetition of vowel sounds Example: “About the town the owl could not

be found.” “About” “Town” “Owl” “Found”

BLANK VERSE Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter Each line of blank verse has five pairs of

syllables In most pairs, an unstressed syllable is

followed by a stressed syllable Shakespeare’s plays are ALL written in blank

verse; however, you will notice that portions of Romeo and Juliet are written in the Shakespearean Sonnet format (14 lines, iambic pentameter, specific rhyme scheme)

CONSONANCE

The repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity, as in a sentence or a line

Example: “The archetypal arachnid attacked the critical acrobat’s katydid.”

ENJAMBMENT

A poetic device where syllables, within lines of patterned verse, run over into subsequent lines, making the lines of regular verse “irregular.”

Example: “I will not eat green eggs/ And ham, I will not eat them, Sam I Am.”

EPITHET

A phrase that is commonly used to describe a certain individual or characteristic

Example: To describe someone being “under the weather,” you are saying that the person is sick/ill.

EXTENDED METAPHOR

A figure of speech Compares two essentially unlike things at

some length and in several ways (2+ lines) Does not contain the words like or as

MOTIF

Any recurring element in a story that has a symbolic meaning

OXYMORON

A figure of speech that combines contradicting words

Examples: Bitter sweet Forward retreat Serious joke Deafening silence

PUN

A joke that comes from a play on words. Can make use of a words multiple meanings

or of a word’s rhyme

DRAMATIC TERMS

TRAGEDY

A dramatic work that presents the downfall of a dignified character or characters who are involved in historically or socially significant events.

The events in a tragic plot are set into motion by a decision that is often an error of judgment.

Succeeding events are linked in a cause and effect relationship and lead inevitably to a disastrous conclusions, usually death.

STAGE DIRECTIONS

Instructions in a play which are often printed in italic type at the beginning of a play and at the beginning of acts and scenes.

DIALOGUE

Written conversation between two or more characters

Writers use dialogue to bring the characters to life and give readers insight into the characters’ qualities, personality traits, and reactions to other characters

ASIDE

Dramatic device A character speaks his/her thoughts aloud Words are meant to be heard by the

audience, but not by the other characters

MONOLOGUE

A speech presented by a single character to an audience of any number of people.

SOLILOQUY

A long speech in which a character speaks to no one but themselves, thinking private thoughts aloud

Generally, the character is on stage alone, speaking his/her thoughts aloud for the audience to hear.