| Term | Definition |
|---|
| allusion | An indirect reference to some piece of knowledge not actually mentioned. "She was another Helen" references the proverbial beauty of Helen of Troy. |
| alliteration | repetition of the same sound beginning several words in a sequence |
| aside | A short speech delivered by an actor in a play, expressing the character's thoughts. It is directed to the audience and is presumed to be inaudible to the other actors. |
| climax | The high point of interest or suspense. |
| comic relief | The inclusion of humorous scenes or characters in a serious drama.Writers use it to ease the building emotional intensity. |
| couplet | A pair of rhyming lines, usually of the same length and meter. It generally expresses a single idea. |
| figurative language | Writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally. It is often used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things. |
| foreshadowing | The use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur. Use of this technique helps to create suspense. |
| imagery | Language that appeals to one or more of the five senses. |
| metaphor | A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else. |
| oxymoron | A phrase consisting of words that seem the opposite in meaning, such as "sweet sorrow". |
| personification | A type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics. |
| pun | A play on words based on different meanings of words that sound alike. |
| simile | A figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison between two basically unlike ideas. "Claire is as flighty as a sparrow" |
| epic simile | An elaborate comparison of unlike objects using like or as |
| epithet | In literature a word of phrase preceding or following a name which serves to describe the character. "Horse-taming Hector" |
| in medias res | beginning in the middle of the action (in the middle of things) |
| soliloquoy | A character speaks his/her internal thoughts, while alone on stage |
| archetype | In literature, characters, images, and themes that symbolically embody universal meanings, an original model on which something is patterned |
| tragedy | a work of literature, especially a play, usually caused by a tragic flaw in the main character that results in a catastrophe for the main character. |
| hubris | Excessive pride or arrogance. The excessive pride and ambition that often leads to the downfall of a hero in a classical tragedy. |
| hyperbole | a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration, or overstatement for effect. |
| tragic flaw | the character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall. |
| verbal irony | sarcasm, discrepancy between what is said and what is meant |
| dramatic irony | when a reader is aware of something that a character isn't |
| hyperbole | a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration, or overstatement for effect. |
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