stressed syllable, denoted with ′ (á)

Major division of a play.

a story where each character and action in the plot is a representation of real people during an actual event.

A reference to a famous person, character, or event.

The point at which a character understands his or her situation as it really is. Meaning: recognition.

lines made of anapests: two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable: ˘ ˘ ′

In drama, a line spoken by a character to the audience that the other characters on stage cannot hear.

the repetition of vowel sounds to create rhyme (boat and moat).

facts that give credibility to the statement expressed in the warrant.

the purposeful emphasis on a syllable or word for dramatic effect.

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.

The final resolution that unravels the intrigue and initiates the falling action.

conclusions whose merit must be established.

The moment at which the crisis reaches its point of greatest intensity and is thereafter resolved.

poetry written in a specific or traditional pattern according to the required rhythm, rhyme, meter, line length, line groupings, and number of lines within a genre of poetry.

A play with a “happy” ending. It doesn’t necessarily have to be humorous.

The final resolution that unravels the intrigue and initiates the falling action.

words that share similar consonant sounds but different vowel sounds (lark and lurk).

The turning point of uncertainty and tension resulting from earlier conflict in a plot. At this moment, it is unclear if the protagonist will succeed or fail.

lines made of dactyls: one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables: ′ ˘ ˘

ten meters

The outcome or result of a complex situation or sequence of events, an aftermath or resolution that usually occurs near the final stages of the plot. It is the unraveling of the main dramatic complications.

a poem intended to teach a moral lesson or impart a piece of knowledge.

two meters

a poem that depicts events that are either not real or not meant to be viewed as realistic; often these are part of a fictional story. The narrator of the poem is imaginary and is not the author.

A situation in a narrative in which the reader knows something about present or future circumstances that the character does not know.

A character whose personality changes or evolves over the course of a narrative or appears to have the capacity for such change.

rhyming words placed at the ends of lines of poetry.

an unexpected twist or change in direction at the end of a poem.

A sudden flare into revelation.

two words in which both the consonant sounds and vowel sounds match to create a rhyme (create and deflate).

Introduces the narrator, protagonist, and setting, and conveys relevant background information.

a metaphor that is built on throughout the work.

Events that wrap up a story after the climax.

the rhyme of any syllable in a word BUT the last, such as the first or middle (apple and sapling).

when a speaker or writer departs from the usual denotation of words for emphasis or artistic quality.

Someone is telling the story, referring to themselves as “I.”

A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events--usually in the form of a character's memories, dreams, narration, or even authorial commentary.

A character who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story.

one syllable of poetry.

Suggesting, hinting, indicating, or showing what will occur later.

the "shape" or organizational mode of a particular poem.

The imaginary wall of the box theater setting, supposedly removed to allow the audience to see the action.

An offense committed in ignorance of some material fact; a great mistake or accident as a result of an error by a morally good person. Meaning: error, sin.

seven meters

six meters

Overwhelming pride that leads to ruin. One of the tragic flaws.

lines made of iambs: an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable: ˘ ′

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."

he "mental pictures" that readers experience with a passage.

rhyming words placed within one line of poetry.

a person’s own take on a work of art or literature. Writers often choose to interpret famous work through their own perspective.

The opposite of what is anticipated or meant.

comparing two opposite ideas side-by-side.

the number of times a pattern (meter) is repeated within one line of poetry.

a poem depicting an abstract thought, idea, emotion, or feeling; from the Greek word “lyre” (a hand-held harp on which psalmists used to compose music).

the rhyme of monosyllabic words and the rhyme of a word’s final syllable (debauchery and archery

rhythmic patterns of stresses in verse; from the Greek word "measure."

A character speaking aloud to himself, or narrating an account to an audience with no other character on stage.

one meter

A conspicuous recurring element, such as a type of incident, a device, a reference, or verbal formula.

a poem that tells a story, complete with plot, characters, and setting.

The "voice" that speaks or tells a story.

nine meters

eight meters

two words with similar but not identical sounds (home and bone).

poetry written without specific rhythm (free verse), length, or rhyme scheme.

five meters

A reversal of fortune or a sudden change of circumstance affecting the protagonist. Meaning: reversal.

a fictitious character created by an author to be the narrator of a literary work; from the Greek word "mask."

giving human-like qualities to animals or inanimate objects.

a fixed form poem of 14 lines total, divided into two stanzas – an octave (8 lines) and a sestet (6 lines). The rhyme scheme is abbaabba cdccdc, cdecde, or cdcdcd. Named after Francisco Petrarch (1304-1374).

The phenomenon that occurs when morally good characters reach good, desirable circumstances or happy endings and morally bad characters reach bad, unenviable circumstances or unhappy endings.

literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature.

The way a story gets told and who tells it.

Articles or objects that appear on stage during a play.

written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure.

A play on words in which one word is substituted for another similar or identical sound, but of very different meaning; what the French call "double entendre," or double meaning.

words or phrases expressing how certain the author/speaker is concerning the claim.

Unbiased; concerned more with facts.

a question that does not elicit or expect an answer.

correspondence of sound between words or parts of words.

the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse.  

the varying speed, loudness, pitch, elevation, intensity, and expressiveness of speech, especially poetry.

Action leading up to the climax.

the practice of “scanning” lines of poetry to identify and diagram their rhythmic patterns.

A dramatic sequence that takes place within a single locale on stage.

The narrator is talking to someone, referring to them as “you.”

details that engage one of the five physical senses by describing what something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels like.

a fixed form poem of 14 lines total, divided into four stanzas - 3 quatrains (four lines) and a couplet (2 lines). The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. Named after William Shakespeare (1564-1613).

When accidental events occur that seem oddly appropriate, such as a pickpocket getting his own pocket picked.

unstressed syllable, denoted with ˘ (ă)

A monologue spoken by an actor at a point in the play when the character believes himself to be alone.

a fixed-form lyric poem of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter, usually ending with an epigram; from the Italian word "sonnetto," meaning "little song."

A playwright's descriptive or interpretive comments that provide readers (and actors) with information about the dialogue, setting, and action of a play.

a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse; the equivalent of a paragraph.

A word, place, character, or object that means something beyond what it is on a literal level.

four meters

There is no narrator, and the story is told from the perspective of “a fly on the wall,” witnessing what the characters say and do.

There is no narrator, and the story is told from a “God’s-eye” perspective, witnessing not only characters’ actions but their thoughts and feelings.

A British philosopher, author, and educator who devoted his works to the analysis of moral reasoning.

A diagram containing six interrelated components used for analyzing arguments.

A serious play in which the chief character, by some peculiarity of psychology, passes through a series of misfortunes leading to a final, devastating catastrophe.

A fatal weakness or moral flaw in the protagonist that brings him/her to a tragic end.

A literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.

three meters

lines made of trochees: a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable: ′ ˘

broad categories of poetry, determined by their purpose.

Biased; voices opinions.

A speaker makes a statement in which its actual meaning differs sharply from the meaning that the words ostensibly express.

writing arranged with a metrical rhythm, typically having a rhyme.

the line break between stanzas.

the statement authorizing the movement from the data to the claim.