| Term | Definition |
| aside | a short speech delivered by an actor in a play which expresses the character's thoughts;directed to audience and is presumed to be inaudible to other actors |
| blank verse | poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter lines;used in Julius Caesar |
| characterization | act of creating and developing a character |
| dialogue | a conversation between characters;used to reveal character, to present events, and add variety to a narrative |
| direct characterization | the author directly states a character's traits |
| dynamic character | characters that develop and grow during the course of the story |
| exposition | writing or speech that explains a process or presents information |
| external conflict | the main character struggles against an outside force |
| flat character | character that demonstrates a single trait |
| iambic pentameter | a foot with one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, as in the word"again" |
| indirect characterization | showing a character's personality through his or her actions, thoughts, feelings, words, and appearance or through another character's observations and reactions |
| internal conflict | conflict that involves a character in conflict with himself or herself |
| monologue | a speech by one character in a play, story, or poem |
| parable | a parable is a simple, brief narrative that teaches a lesson by using characters and events to stand for abstract idease |
| round character | characters that show many traits-faults as well as virtues |
| soliloquy | a long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage |
| static character | characters that do not change |
| suspense | the feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work |
| tragedy | a work of literature, especially a play, that results in a catastrophe for the main character |
| tragic flaw | a weakness in the main character of a tragedy that causes the tragedy to occur |