Glossary

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Glossary

A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q R S T U V

abstract language: words which represent broad qualities or characteristics (e.g., interesting, good, fine, horrible, lovely)
allegory: an extended metaphor
alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds in words close together (e.g. “ sad Sunday school superintendent stare")
allusion: a reference to another literary / artistic/ historic, work, author, character, or event (frequently biblical or mythological)
amphitheater: a semi-circular large, outdoor theater with seats rising in tiers from a central acting area
anecdote: a brief personal story used to illustrate a point
archaic language: language no longer in use
arena stage: (or Theater in the Round) a theater with seats surrounding the stage
argumentative essay: an essay that tries to prove a point by supporting it with evidence
aside: a brief comment by an actor, heard by the audience, but not the other characters on stage
antagonist: a character who seems to be the major force in opposition to the protagonist or main character
assonance: the repetition of internal vowel sounds in words close together (time line, free and easy)
atmosphere: the dominant mood or tone of setting
autobiography: an account of the author’s own life
ballad: a narrative poem, usually sung or recited
blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter
box set: a stage set composed of “flats” or connected walls enclosing three sides of the stage, with an invisible “fourth wall” open to the audience
character: a person in fiction, drama, or poetry
characterization: the development of characters in fiction, drama, or poetry
catastrophe: the reversal of the tragic hero’s good fortune in Greek Tragedy
catharsis: an emotional purging or cleansing experienced by an ancient Greek audience at the end of a tragedy
chorus: A group of actors in Greek drama who comment on the action of the play. The role of the chorus came directly from drama as religious ritual and dates from a time when there were no individual actors. What the chorus says about the action reflects the traditional values of ancient Greek culture. Chorus members chanted their lines together and moved as a unit from side to side on the stage.
climax: the turning point of plot in fiction or drama
comedy: The traditional plot of comedy is the reverse of tragedy. The protagonist, usually an ordinary person, has a problem. The plot of the play is an extrication from the problem and improvement of circumstances. The reversal of fortune is from bad to good; the falling action becomes a rising action with a happy ending.
complication: the building of the conflict in plot as part of the rising action
concrete language: words which represent specific, particular, graphic qualities and characteristics
conflict: the struggle of opposing external or internal forces. External conflict may be physical (characters against nature) or social (characters against each other or against society). Internal conflict is a struggle of opposing forces within a character.
connotation: the personal definition or association triggered by a word
consonance: repetition of final consonant sounds in words close together (short and sweet, struts and frets)
convention: an accepted or traditional feature of a work (e.g., the Greek Chorus, the Shakespearian aside, blank verse)
couplet: a pair of rhyming verse lines
crisis: the turning point of plot (closely related to “climax” which seems to complete its action)
critical essay: an essay which interprets and/or evaluates
denotation: the literal, dictionary definition of a word
denouement: the resolution of the plot in fiction or drama (an “untying” of the complications at the end of the story line)
dialogue: conversation of characters in fiction or drama
didactic: teaching a lesson or having a “moral"
documentation: accounting for and giving credit to the origin of a source
dramatic monologue: In a dramatic monologue, the poet, like an actor in a play, speaks through the voice and personality of another person.
dramatis personae: the list of characters in a play
Elizabethan: the era beginning with the reign of Elizabeth I, Queen of England from 1558 to 1603 and ending with the Puritan’s closing of the theaters in 1642
ellipsis (. . .): indication of an omission of words in a quote
epic: a long narrative poem, usually depicting the values of a culture through the adventures of a hero
explication: a line by line explanation of a poem or other literary work
exposition: the introduction of essential characters, setting, circumstances of a story or play
expository essay: an essay which shares, explains, suggests, or explores information, emotion, and ideas
expressionism: a movement in drama which emphasizes subjectivity of perception
falling action: the action which follows the crisis and climax (see also catastrophe, denouement, resolution, catharsis)
figurative language: language which expresses more than a literal meaning (e.g., metaphor, simile)
flat character: a character not fully developed who seems to represent a “type” more than a real personality (see also stock character)
foot: a combination of syllables which represent one measure of meter in a verse line
"fourth wall": the invisible wall open to the audience in a box set (see also box set)
free verse: Poetry without standardized rhyme, meter, or structure. It is not formless, however, but relies on its own words and content to determine its best form.
genre: a form or type of literature (e.g., fiction, poetry, drama, the essay)
groundlings: Members of an Elizabethan audience who paid a very low entrance fee and stood in the open area below and around the stage. Because they stood on the ground unprotected from the weather—they were called “groundlings,” a term meant to disparage their social standing as much as to describe their location in the theater.
hubris: excessive pride which usually leads to the downfall of the tragic hero in Greek drama
hyperbole: an exaggeration in figurative language
iambic: an unstressed/stressed combination of syllables in a metrical foot
image / imagery: descriptive language which helps us see, hear, smell, taste, or feel
inductive/deductive reasoning: inductive reasoning moves from observation of specific circumstances and makes a general conclusion; deductive reasoning takes a general truth and applies it to specific circumstances
interpretation: an analysis of a work to determine its meaning
limerick: A five line poem. The first, second, and fifth lines rhyme (aaa - above) and so do the third and fourth (bb - above). The first, third, and fifth have the same verbal rhythm (meter) and length, and so do the second and fourth.
lyric poetry: characterized by the expression of the poet’s innermost feelings, thoughts, and imagination
melodrama: plays with elaborate but oversimplified plots, flat characters, excessive sentiment, and happy endings
metaphor: an implied comparison of two apparently dissimilar things
meter: Describes rhythm in a poem. It refers to the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse. The group of syllables making up one metrical unit is called a foot. The metrical feet most commonly used are iambic (unstressed - stressed), trochaic (stressed - unstressed), anapestic (two unstressed - one stressed), and dactylic (one stressed - two unstressed).
The number of feet in each line is described as monometer (one foot), dimeter (two feet), trimeter (three feet), tetrameter (four feet), pentameter (five feet), hexameter (six feet), heptameter (seven feet), and octometer (eight feet). The most common form of meter in poetry written in English is iambic (unstressed - stressed) pentameter (five feet)
microcosm: a smaller version or “little world"
monologue: a speech by a single character
mood: the atmosphere or tone of a work
narrative essay: An essay that tells a story. Most essays of this type spring from an event or experience in the writer’s life.
narrative poem: a poem that tells a story
narrator: the voice of the speaker in a story
Neoclassicism: a movement which dominated during the eighteenth century and was notable for its adherence to the “forms” of classical drama
ode: a formal lyric poem recited for ceremonial occasions
onomatopoeia: a word which sounds like what it represents (e.g., the “buzzing” of a bee)
orchestra: the playing area in an ancient Greek theater
parados: the ode chanted by the chorus as they enter in Greek tragedy
paraphrase: to record someone else’s words in the writer’s own words
pentameter: five feet of verse line
personal essay: an essay which emphasizes a personal, subjective view
personification: giving human qualities to things non-human
Petrarchan Sonnet: The oldest form of the sonnet is the Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet (named for its greatest practitioner—Petrarch). Its rhyme scheme is usually an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). The octave usually follows a pattern of abbaabba. The concluding sestet may be cdecde or cdcdcd or cdedce.
plot: The structure of the story. It’s the pattern of twists and turns the story takes.
point of view: The perspective from which the narrator speaks to us. Generally, the pronoun which dominates the narration will signal which point of view is represented. The terms most commonly used to identify point of view are first person, third person, omniscient, objective, and shifting.
primary / secondary sources: A primary source is the original text or materials. A secondary source is commentary about that original material.
props: objects or items used by the actors on the stage
proscenium arch: a frame around the stage which separates the actors and the set from the audience
protagonist: the main character in a story or drama
quatrain: a four line stanza
Realism: A movement in literature to represent life as it really is. It is often characterized by accurate depiction of ordinary people in their natural surroundings.
recognition: the point near the end of a classic tragedy when the protagonist recognizes the causes and consequences of his reversal
resolution: the final phase of the falling action in plot when things are returned to normal
reversal: the change from good to bad fortune in classic tragedy; from bad to good fortune in classic comedy
rhyme: when final vowel and consonant sounds in the last syllable of one word match those of another, usually at the end of lines
rhythm: The pattern of sound in a poem. The most structured form of rhythm is meter, the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
rising action: that point in the plot when conflict and our emotional involvement intensifies
round character: a fully developed character with the complexities of real person
satire: ridiculing stupidity, vice, folly through exaggeration and humor
scansion: analysis of the kind and number of metrical feet in a poem
script: the printed text of a drama
sentimentality: evoking a predictable emotional response with a clichéd prompt
set: structures on the stage which represent the setting of the play
setting: the environment in which the work takes place
Shakespearian Sonnet: The most popular form in English is the English or Shakespearian Sonnet. It is a fourteen line poem of three quatrains (four line units) and a final couplet (a two line unit) in the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg. It presents the content of the poem in predictable ways. The first two quatrains will often present a problem. The third quatrain is often pivotal and will begin a reversal. The final couplet most often suggests a solution.
simile: is an announced comparison introduced with the words “like” or “as"
soliloquy: Delivered by a character alone on the stage, soliloquy; is a “thinking out loud” shared with the audience. They are usually statements of a philosophical, reflective nature, and they are highlights of Shakespeare’s plays.
sonnet: a fourteen line lyric poem usually in iambic pentameter
speaker: the narrator of a story or poem
stage directions: descriptions (in the text of the play) of the set, the props, voice and movements of the actors, and the lighting
stanza: a unit of lines in a poem which usually share a metrical or thematic pattern
stock character: a character not fully developed who seems to represent a “type” more than a real personality (see also flat character)
style: the choice of words and sentence structure which makes each author’s writing different
summary: the material condensed to its main points
surrealistic drama: seeks its truth in the irrationality of the unconscious mind
symbol: an object or action that represents more than itself
symbolist drama: seek its truth in symbols, myths, and dreams
syntax: the ordering of words in a sentence
theme: is the overall meaning we derive from the poem, story, play, essay
thesis: the point of the essay
thrust stage: a stage that extends into the audience
tone: the attitude expressed by the writer toward the subject
tragedy: classic tragedy follows the plight of a noble person who is flawed by a defect and whose actions cause him to break some moral law and suffer downfall and destruction
tragic flaw: the tragic hero’s flaw (often excessive pride or “hubris") which leads directly to a reversal of his good fortune (catastrophe)
tragic hero: as defined by Aristotle, a man of noble stature who is admired by society but flawed
tragicomedy: a play that combines the elements of tragedy and comedy
unities: The unities of time, place, and action as principles of dramatic composition have been hotly debated since Aristotle’s Poetics. In brief, unity of time suggests the action of the play occur in a 24 hour period; unity of place suggests the action occur in one place or location; and unity of action that all parts of the play should be related in a clear causal pattern.
unreliable narrator: a narrator who tells the story from a biased, erroneous perspective
verse: a line or the form of poetry
voice: the personality or style of the writer or narrator that seems to come to life in the words