Techniques - Structure

Question 1

anaphora

Answer 1

repeating a sequence of words at the beginning of adjacent clauses

Question 2

antithesis

Answer 2

parallel structure that uses opposites to create emphasis
e.g. it was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Question 3

aside

Answer 3

a part of an actor’s lines that are not meant to be heard by other characters on stage and intended only for the audience; a short disgression

Question 4

blank verse

Answer 4

unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter

Question 5

couplet

Answer 5

a rhymed pair of lines

Question 6

cyclical

Answer 6

when the same sequence of events repeats throughout a story

Question 7

dramatic irony

Answer 7

when a character shows that they are oblivious of the reality of which the audience is aware

Question 8

dramatic monologue

Answer 8

a passage of speech in which one person is speaking to an audience or ‘thinking out loud’

Question 9

epistrophe

Answer 9

when the same word (or a group of words) is employed at the end of successive sentences with the time of emphasising it

Question 10

exposition

Answer 10

information provided through stage directions, narration, dialogue, or description, used to introduce the audience to crucial background information

Question 11

heroic couplet

Answer 11

the last two lines of a Shakespearean sonnet - a couplet of rhyming iambic pentameter

Question 12

iambic pentameter

Answer 12

a sentence (10 syllables in total) which is composed of two syllables: the first unstressed; the second stressed

Question 13

in media res

Answer 13

starting in the middle of the action

Question 14

microcosm

Answer 14

using a place, group of people, or event in the small-scale to represent something much larger

Question 15

paradox

Answer 15

a statement that seems to contradict itself but is still true

Question 16

parallelism

Answer 16

using components that are similar in grammar, structure, or meaning within a sentence or multiple sentences, or throughout the text as a whole
e.g. ‘he came, he saw. he conquered’

Question 17

refrain

Answer 17

a word, phrase, or sentence that is repeated throughout a text

Question 18

soliloquy

Answer 18

a dramatic device whereby a character stands alone on stage and addresses the audience, giving voice to their deepest thoughts and feelings

Question 19

sonnet form

Answer 19

a highly stylised form of poetry, with 14 lines written in iambic pentameter
e.g. R & J first real encounter in the balcony scene

Question 20

stichomythia

Answer 20

a dialogue between two characters who speak one after the other
e.g.
Romeo: ——
Juliet: ——
Romeo: ——
Juliet: ——–

Question 21

book-ending

Answer 21

starting and ending a piece of literature with the same word, sentence, event, or idea

Question 22

Chinese box narrative/frame narrative

Answer 22

when a story is told within a story, often through different perspectives and forms (e.g. letters, diary entries, word of mouth)

Question 23

chronological

Answer 23

• when events are told in the order they occurred

Question 24

tricolon

Answer 24

• three parallel clauses, words or phrases in quick succession
  e.g. ‘eye it, try it, buy it’