A-E

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Absurdist Drama

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Play that depicts life as meaningless, senseless, uncertain. Usually ending where it started. Nothing gained or accomplished.

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Act

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Division of a play.

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Adage

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Wise saying; proverb; a short meaningful saying passed down between generations.

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Alarum

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Stage direction in a Shakespeare play indicating the coming of a battle; a call to arms.

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Alexandrine

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Verse form popularized in France in which each line contains twelve syllables (sometimes 13).

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Allegory

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Literary work in which characters, events, objects, and ideas have secondary or symbolic meanings.

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Alliteration

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Repition of consonant sounds.

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Allusion

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Reference to a historical event or to a mythical or literary figure.

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Anachronism

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A thing from a different period of history than that which is under discussion; a thing that is out of place historically.

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Anadiplosis

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Figure of speech in which a word or phrase at the end of a sentence, clause, or line of verse is repeated at or near the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or line of verse.

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Anagnorisis

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In Greek drama, a startling discovery; moment of epiphany; time of revelation when a character discovers his true identity.

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Analogue

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Literary work, film, character, setting, etc. that resembles another literary work, film, character, setting, etc.

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Anaphora

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Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of word groups occurring one after the other.

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Anastrophe

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Inversion of the normal word order, as in a man forgotten (instead of a forgotten man).

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Anecdote

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A little story, often amusing, inserted in an essay or a speech to help reinforce the thesis.

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Annotation

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Explanatory note that accompanies text; footnote; comment.

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Antagonist

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Character in a story or poem who opposes the main character.

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Antonomasia

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Identification of a person by an appropriate substituted phrase, such as her majesty for a queen.

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Antithesis

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Placement of contrasting or opposing words, phrases, clauses, or sentences side by side.

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Aphorism

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Short, often witty statement presenting an observation or a universal truth; an adage.

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Apostrophe

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Addressing an abstraction or a thing, present or absent; addressing an absent entity or person; addressing a deceased person.

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Apprenticeship Novel

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Novel that centers on the period in which a young person grows up.

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Archetype

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Original model or models for persons, places, things, or ideas appearing later in history; a primordial object.

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Arras

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Tapestry hung on the stage to conceal scenery until the right moment.

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Athurian Romance

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Literary work in which a knight in the age of the legendary King Arthur goes on a quest.

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Aside

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Words an actor speaks to the audience which other actors on the stage cannot hear.

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Assonance

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Repetition of vowel sounds preceded and followed by different consonant sounds.

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Asyndeton

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Use of words or phrases in a series without connectives such as and or so.

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Attica

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Peninsula in southeastern Greece that included Athens. According to legend, the King of Athens, Theseus, unified 12 states in Attica into a single state dominated by Athenian leadership and the Athenian dialect of the Greek language.

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Aubade

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Joyful song about dawn and its beauty; morning serenade.

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Ballad, Folk

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Poem that tells a story that centers on a theme popular with the common people of a particular culture or place. Authorn unkown.

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Ballad, Literary

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Ballad that imitates a folk ballad. But unlike the folk ballad, the literary ballad has a known author who composes the poem with careful deliberation according to sophisticated conventions.

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Ballade

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Lyric poem of French origin usually made up of three eight-line stanzas and a concluding four-line stanza called an envoi that offers parting advice or a summation. At the end of each stanza is a refrain.

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Bard

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Originally, a Celtic poet who sang epic poems while playing a harp. In time, bard was used to refer to any poet. Today, it is often used to refer to William Shakespeare (the Bard of Avon).

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Bombast

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Inflated, pretentious speech or writing that sounds important but is generally balderdash.

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Breton Lay

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Fourteenth Century English narrative poem in rhyme about courtly love. The poem contains elements of the supernatural.

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Burlesque

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Literary work, film, or stage production that mocks a person, a place, a thing, or an idea by using wit, irony, hyperbole, sarcasm, and/or understatement.

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Caesura

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Pause in a line of verse shown in scansion by two vertical lines ( || ).

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Canon

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Complete works of an author.

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Canto

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Major division division of an epic poem

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Caricature

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Literary work or cartoon that exaggerates the physical features, dress, or mannerisms of an individual or derides the ideas and actions of an organization, institution, movement, etc.

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Carpe Diem

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Sieze the day.

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Catastatics

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Climax of a stage play.

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Catastrophe

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Denouement, or conclusion, of a stage tragedy; (2) denouement of any literary work.

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Catchword

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In published Shakespeare plays in earlier times, a single word on the bottom of the right side of every page. This word was the first word appearing on the next page.

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Catharsis

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In literature and art, a purification of emotions.

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Chalmys

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In the drama of ancient Greece, sleeveless outer garment, or cloak, worn by some actors.

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Chantey

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In earlier times, a song sung by sailors that kept time with the work they were doing, such as tugging on a rope to hoist a sail.

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Static Character

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Character in a literary work who does not change his or her outlook in response to events taking place.

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Chilvaric Romance

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Tale of courtly love

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Chiasmus

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Words in a second clause or phrase that invert or transpose the order of the first clause or phrase.

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Chorus

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Bystanders in a Greek play who present odes on the action.

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Chronicler

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Recorder of medieval events; historian.

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Chronique Scandaleuse

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Literary work centering on gossip and intrigue at the court of a king.

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Classicism

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In literature, a tradition espousing the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome: objectivity, emotional restraint, systematic thinking, simplicity, clarity, universality, dignity, acceptance of established social standards, promotion of the general welfare, and strict adherence to formal rules of composition. A classical writer typically restrained his emotions and his ego while writing in clear, dignified language; he also presented stories in carefully structured plots.

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Cliche

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Overused expression.

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Climax

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High point in a story.

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Closet Drama

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A drama written to be read rather than acted on a stage. A drama written to be read rather than acted on a stage.

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Comedy

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Play with a happy ending.

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Comedy of Manners

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Comedy that ridicules the manners (way of life, social customs, etc.) of the privileged and fashionable segment of society.

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Concrete Poetry

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Poetry with lines arranged to resemble a familiar object, such as a Christmas tree.

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Conflict

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The struggle in a work of literature.

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Conte Philosophique

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Philosophical novel or philosophical story, a genre Voltaire is credited with inventing.

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Coronach

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Funeral song (dirge) in Scotland and Ireland.

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Cothurni

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Boots worn by actors in ancient Greece to increase their height and, thus, visibility to theater audiences.

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Couplet

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Two successive lines of poetry with end rhyme.

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Coup de Theatre

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Startling development in a drama that is unforeseen and unmotivated; (2) a cheap plot development intended solely to create a sensation.

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Couplet Heroic

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Two successive end-rhyming lines in iambic pentameter.

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Denoument

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The outcome or resolution of the plot, occurring after the climax.

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Deuteragonist

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In Greek drama, the character second in importance to the main character, or protagonist.

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Dialogue

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Conversation in a play, short story, or novel.

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Diction

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Word choice; the quality of the sound of a speaker or singer.

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Didactic

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Adjective describing a literary work intended to teach a lesson or a moral principle.

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Dionysus

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Patron god of Greek drama; god of wine and vegetation. Dionysus, called Bacchus by the Romans, was the son of Zeus and one of the most important of the Greek gods.

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Dithyramb

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In the drama of ancient Greece, a choral hymn that praised Dionysus, god of wine and revelry, and sometimes told a story.

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Doggerel

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Trivial or bad poetry.

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Domesday Book

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official census of the English people and their possessions, notably land, which was completed in 1086 at the behest of King William I (William the Conqueror).

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Doppleganger

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In folklore, the spirit double of a living person.

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Drama

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Literary work with dialogue written in verse and/or prose and spoken by actors playing characters experiencing conflict and tension.

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Dramatic Irony

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Failure of a character to see or understand what is obvious to the audience.

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Dramatic Monolgue

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Poem that presents a moment in which a narrator/speaker discusses a topic and, in so doing, reveals his feelings and state of mind to a listener or the reader.

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Dramatis Personae

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List of the characters in a play.

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Dumb Show

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Part of play performed in gestures, without speech; pantomime.

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Edition and Issue

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Terms describing published versions of newspapers and magazines. A newspaper printed on a specific date, such as August 22, is an issue.

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Egoism, Rational

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Acting in oneself’s best interests (that is, acting selfishly) by selecting what appears to be the most beneficial of all the choices available.

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Elegy

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A somber poem or song that praises or laments the dead.

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Elizabeathan

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Pertaining to the time when Elizabeth I reigned as queen of England.

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Encomium

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In ancient Greece, a poem in the form of a choral song praising a victor in the Olympic games. (2) In modern usage, any speech, essay, poem, etc., that praises a person.

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Enjambment

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Carrying the sense of one line of verse over to the next line without a pause.

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Enter

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Stage direction in a play manuscript indicating the entrance onto the stage of a character or characters.

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Epic

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Long poem in a lofty style about the exploits of heroic figures.

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Epic Conventions

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Literary practices, rules, or devices that became commonplace in epic poetry.

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Epicedium

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Funeral hymn or ode; dirge

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Epigram

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Wise or witty saying expressing a universal truth in a few words.

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Epigraph

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Quotation inserted at the beginning of a poem, a novel, or any other literary work; (2) a dedication of a literary work or a work of art such as a painting; (3) words inscribed or painted on a monument, building, trophy, etc.

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Epilogue

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In Shakespeare, a short address spoken by an actor at the end of a play that comments on the meaning of the events in the play or looks ahead to expected events; an afterword in any literary work.

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Epinicion

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In ancient Greece, a choral ode celebrating an athletic victory.

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Episode

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Scene or incident in a literary work.

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Epistle

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Letter written by an apostle in the New Testament of the Bible; any letter, especially an informal or instructive one.

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Epistolary Novel

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Novel in which a character (or characters) tells the story through letters (epistles) sent to a friend, relative, etc.

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Epitaph

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Inscription on a tomb or a written work praising a dead person; any commemoration, eulogy, or remembrance.

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Epitasis

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The part of a stage play that develops the characters, plot, and theme.

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Epithalamion

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Poem or song honoring the bride and groom on the day of their wedding.

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Epithet

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One of the hallmarks of the style of the Greek epic poet Homer is the epithet, a combination of a descriptive phrase and a noun. An epithet presents a miniature portrait that identifies a person or thing by highlighting a prominent characteristic of that person or thing.

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Epitome

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Statement summarizing the content of a book, essay, report, etc. (2) Person or object that embodies all the qualities of something

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Esprit d'escalier

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Slow wit. Used to characterize a person who thinks of the ideal reply or retort after leaving a conversation and going upstairs (escalier). On the stairs, the ideal reply occurs to him.

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Essay

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Short, nonfiction composition on a single topic. The typical essay contains 500 to 5,000 words, although some essays may contain only 300 words and others 10,000 or more words.

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Eulogy

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Speech or written work paying tribute to a person who has recently died; speech or written work praising a person (living, as well as dead), place, thing, or idea.

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Euphemism

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Word or phrase that softens the hard reality of the truth, such as senior citizen for old person.

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Exeunt

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Stage direction in a play manuscript indicating the departure of two or more characters from the stage.

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Exuent Omnes

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Stage direction in a play manuscript indicating the departure of all the characters from the stage.

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Exit

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Stage direction in a play manuscript indicating the departure of a character from the stage.

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Exodos

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In a drama of ancient Greece, the exit scene; the final part of the play.

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Expressionism

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In literature, expressionism is a writing approach, process, or technique in which a writer depicts a character’s feelings about a subject (or the writer’s own feelings about it) rather than the objective surface reality of the subject. A writer, in effect, presents his interpretation of what he sees. Often, the depiction is a grotesque distortion or phantasmagoric representation of reality, for the character or writer must reshape the objective image into his mind's image.

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Exposition

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In a story, the part of the plot that introduces the setting and characters and presents the events and situations that the story will focus on. Exposition also refers to an essay whose primary purpose is to inform readers rather than to argue a point.