Lit Terms and Devices Flashcards
Prose
-direct, unadorned form of language, written or spoken, in ordinary use
drama
a story written to be acted for an audience
Tragedy
a play, novel, or other narrative that depicts serious and important events in which the main character comes to an unhappy end
Prologue
a short introduction at the beginning of a play that gives a brief overview of the plot
Sonnet
-fourteen-line lyric poem that is usually written in iambic pentameter and that has one of several rhyme schemes (Shakespearean-3 four-line units or quatrains, followed by a concluding two-line unit, or couplet; abab cdcd efef gg)
Chorus
a group who says things at the same time
Anachronism
wrong time period
Verbal Irony
a writer or speaker says one thing, but really means something completely different
Dramatic Irony
the audience or reader knows something important that a character in a play or story does not know
Monologue
a speech by one character in a play (other characters on stage can hear the speech)
Soliloquy
-an unusually long speech in which a character who is on stage alone expresses his or her thoughts aloud (only the audience can hear the speech, which can create dramatic irony)
Foil
comparing
Oxymoron
jumbo shrimp
Aside
spoken to 1 to 2 other characters but the not to others
Bawdy Humor
humor that is vulgar or off-color. Things that are bawdy are a little inappropriate, intended to be funny, and definitely not the kind of things you want to say to your mother.
