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116 Cards in this Set
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poetry
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along with fiction and drama, is one of the three major categories of literary forms. Poetry is usually divided into three main types: epic dramatic and lyric.
ex. "Ode to a Nightingale." |
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Epic poetry
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a long narrative poem on a serious and exalted subject, such as man's fall from heavenly grace.
ex. Paradise Lost. |
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Dramatic poetry
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poetry in which the writer creates the voice of an invented character or characters; a monologue.
ex. Langston Hughes "Mother to Son" |
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Lyric poetry
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The most varied and widespread kind, is that in which an individual speaker expresses what he or she feels, perceives, and things.
ex. Sylvia Plath's "Daddy." |
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Dramatic monologue
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a poem that is spoken by a fictional narrator who is clearly different from the author in age, situation, or gender. It is set at some significant point in the speaker's life, and it is often addressed to another character, whose presence is implied by what the speaker says.
ex. Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess." |
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Epigram
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(from the greek word for "inscription") has come to mean a witty saying in either verse or prose, concisely phrased and often satiric.
ex. Words are like leaves; and where they most abound, Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found. - Pope "An Essay on Criticism." |
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Satire
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a genre of comedy that is directed at ridiculing human foibles and vices, shaming their subject into action.
ex. Joseph Heller's Catch-22. Indirect - third person fictional direct - first person addresses audience. |
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Horation Satire
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tolerant and urbane for amusement.
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Juvenalian Satire
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harsh and censorious, bitterly condemning.
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Simile
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a figure of though in which one kind of thing is compared to a markedly different object, concept, or experience; the comparison is made explicit by the word "like" or "as."
ex. O, my luve's like a red, red rose." -Burns. |
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Metaphor
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a word or phrase that in literal use designates one kind of thing is applied to a conspicuously different object, concept, or experience, without asserting an explicit comparison.
ex. Juliet is the sun |
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mixed metaphor
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when tow or more incongruous vhehicles are applied to the same tenor.
ex. she felt a heavy burden of guild but she could not let it engulf resolve. |
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personification
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a figure of though in which an abstract concept, animal or inanimate object is treated as though it were alive or had human attributes.
ex. beauty that must die - "ode to melancholy" Keats. |
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allegory
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when an abstract concept is presented as though it were a character who speaks and acts as an independent being.
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pathetic fallacy
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a special type of personification, in which inanimate aspects of nature, such as the landscape or the weather, are represented as having human qualities or feelings.
ex. The air was pitilessly raw and already my heart misgave me. - Hamlet. |
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synecdoche
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a figure of thought in which the term for part of something is used to represent the whole, or the term for the whole is used to represent the part.
ex. a fleet of ships-fort sails manual laborers-blue collars |
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metonymy
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a trope which substitutes the name of an entity with something else that is closely associated with it.
ex. the thrown for the king |
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Irony
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the broadest class of figures of though that depend on presenting a deliberate contrast between two levels of meaning.
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verbal irony
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implying a meaning different form and often the complete opposite of, the one that is explicitly stated.
ex. A Modest Proposal. |
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sarcasm
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the taunting use of apparent approval or praise for actual disapproval or dispraise.
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Structural Irony
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refers to an implication of alternate or reversed meaning that pervades a work.
ex. everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds" -Voltaire |
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Dramatic Irony
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when the audience is privy to knowledge that one or more of the characters lack.
ex. Twelfth Night |
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Tragic irony
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when dramatic irony occurs in tragedies.
ex. Othello |
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Hyperbole
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a trope in which a point is stated in a way that is greatly exaggerated.
ex. May the winds blow till they have wakened death! - Othello |
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Understatement
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a form of irony in which a point is deliberately expressed as less, in magnitude, value, or importance, than it actually is.
ex. "isn't it pretty to think so" -the sun also rises |
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Paradox
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a trope in which a statement that appears on the surface to be contradictory or impossible turns out to express an often striking truth.
ex. less is more. |
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Oxymoron
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a compressed paradox that closely links two seemingly contrary elements in a way that, on further consideration, turns out to make good sense.
ex. bittersweet. |
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Litotes
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a figure of thought in which a point is affirmed by negating its opposite.
ex. he's no fool, it's not uncommon. |
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periphrasis
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a figure of thought in which a point is stated by deliberate circumlocution, rather than directly.
ex. passed away instead of died – whale-road for sea. |
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Pun
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A figure of thought that plays on words that have the same sound (homonyms), or closely similar sounds, but have sharply contrasted meanings.
ex. I am not I, if there were such an "ay." - R&J |
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apostrophe
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an address to a dead or absent person or to an inanimate object or abstract concept. verb - to apostrophize.
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Rhetorical Question
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a figure of speech in which a question is posed not to solicit a reply but to emphasize a foregone or clearly implied conclusion.
ex. Are you crazy? |
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Anaphora
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the intentional repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines, stanzas, sentences, or paragraphs.
ex. Holy, Holy, Holy." - Howl. |
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Antithesis
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a figure of speech in which words or phrases that are parallel in order and syntax express opposite or contrasting meanings.
ex. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" -tale of two cities. |
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Chiasmus
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a figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax but reverse the order of the analogous words.
ex. "Pleasure's a sin, and sometimes sin's a pleasure." -Don Juan |
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equivoque
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a special pun in which a word or phrase that had disparate meaning is used in a way that makes each meaning equally relevant.
ex."a cleft in your chin instead of your foot,/But no less a devil for that." - "Daddy" |
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Diction
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denotes the words choice and phrasing in a literary work.
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Allusion
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is a passing reference in a work of literature to another literary or historical work, figure, or event, or to a literary passage.
ex. The Sound and the Fury alluding to the soliloquy in Macbeth |
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Analogy
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the comparison of a subject to something that is similar to it in order to clarify the subject's nature, purpose, or function.
ex. Referring to the liver as a filter. |
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Imagery
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a widely used term that has several distinctive meanings. All, however, refer to the concrete, rather than the abstract aspect of literary work.
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Symbolism
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an object , action, or event that represents something, or creates a range of associations, beyond itself.
ex. the Hyena in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro. |
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Atmosphere
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the predominant mood or tone in all or part of a literary work, which may, for example, be joyous, tranquil, melancholy, eerie, tense, or ominous.
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Epiphany
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a sudden, overwhelming insight or revelation evoked by a commonplace object or a scene in a poem or a work of fiction.
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Drama
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The major literary form that presents characters directly to the audience, usually without the intermediary of a narrator.
ex. Glengary Glen Ross |
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Comedy
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A literary genre in which the tone is for the most part light, the main effects are to engage and amuse the audience, the situations and characters then to be drawn from ordinary daily life, the resolution is happy.
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Tragedy
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A literary genre in which th tone is serious and often somber; the effect is to involve and strongly move the audience; and the outcome is disastrous.
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hubris
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excessive pride
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Tragicomedy
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falls in the middle of tragedy and comedy, in that they focus on both high and low characters and situations and that they bring a potentially tragic plot to a happy resolution, through a sudden reversal of fortune.
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Theatre of the Absurd
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a movement in drama in which plays question the meaning of life in a universe seen as godless and which has overthrown such accepted conventions as a well-established setting, logical dialogue, and a fully resolved conflict.
ex. Waiting for Goddot |
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Periods of Drama
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Ancient Greek Drama (5th to 3rd century B.C.E.)
Roman Drama (3rd to 1st century B.C.E.) English medieval drama (morality and mystery plays) Elizabethan and Jacobean (Shakespeare, Johnson, Marlowe) Restoration and 18th century (Dryden, Congreve) Modern Drama (everything good) |
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Novel
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Has a greater length, scope, and complexity than short stories.
ex. Don Quixote |
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Short Story
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a literary form concentrated with a smaller cast of characters, often focusing on the protagonist, a simpler plot, limited depiction of setting, etc.
ex. "Hills like White Elephants" |
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Novella
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falls between the novel and teh short story in both length and complexity. Substantial enough to be published in a separate volume.
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Voice
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The narrator of a literary work, or fiction or poetry, is the one who tells the story. His or Her identity differs from that of the author, because the narrator is always in some sense the author's invention.
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Characterization
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the techniques by which an author of a work of fiction, drama, or narrative poetry represents the moral, intellectual, and emotional natures of the characters.
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Protagonist
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the main character in a work of drama, fiction, or narrative poetry.
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Antagonist
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a character that opposes the protagonist's goals and interests and so creates the major conflicts in the work.
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Foil
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a character who contrasts with the protagonist in ways that bring out certain of his or her moral, emotional, or intellectual qualities.
ex. Hamlet and Laertes |
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Dialogue
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the presentation of what characters in a literary work say.
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speech headings
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descriptions of a characters' vocal tones or gestures as they speak a line.
ex. "Slapping him jovially on the shoulder" |
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indirect discourse
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dialogue in which a third-person narrator summarizes the words of a character but replicates his or her characteristic idioms and patterns of thought.
ex. "Eveline" -Joyce |
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repartee
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a rapid-fire exchange of witty remarks in which each speaker tries to score against an opponent in a verbal fencing match.
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Soliloquy
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a monologue delivered by a character who is alone on stage.
ex. Hamlet |
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Aside
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a speech, usually brief, that according to theatrical conventions, is heard only by the audience, or, sometimes is addressed privately to another character on stage.
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Setting
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the time and place in which the events in a work of fiction, drama, or Narrative poetry occur.
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Theme
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the central idea that it conveys, either directly or implicitly.
ex. Jane Eyre's theme – the importance of being true to one's values. |
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Tone
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designates the attitude that a literary speaker expresses toward his or her subject matter and audience.
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pathos
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the evocation in the audience of pity tenderness, compassion, or sorrow.
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In Medias Res
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beginning a narration not in chronological order, but at some point later on.
ex. the Odyssey |
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Structure
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the basic framework, the principles and the patterns on which a work is organized.
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Parenthetical Observation
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a brief interruption during which the character or the narrator reflects on a minor point that seizes his attention.
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subplot
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secondary story that parallels or contrasts with the main action.
ex. the mechanicals in Midsummer |
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Syntax
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Sentence structure: the sequence and connection of the words, phrases, and clauses that constitute the sentences in a work.
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Meter
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the recurring pattern of sounds that give poems written in verse their distinctive rhythms.
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Iambic (iamb)
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Unstressed followed by a stressed syllable
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Anapestic
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two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed
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Trochaic
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stressed, then unstressed syllable
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Dactylic
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a stressed followed by two unstressed
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Monometer
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one foot.
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Dimeter
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two feet
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Trimeter
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three feet
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Tetrameter
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four feet
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Pentameter
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five feet
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Hexameter
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six feet
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heptameter
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seven feet
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Spondee
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two stressed syllables
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masculine ending
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lines that end with a strong stress.
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catalectic (catalexis)
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a missing unstressed syllable at the end of a trochaic or dactylic line.
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feminine ending
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Lines that end in an unstressed syllable, as do regular trochaic and dactylic lines.
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end-stopped
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lines that contain a complete sentence or independent clause and so have a distinct pause at the end, usually indicated by punctuation.
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enjambed (enjambment, or run-on line)
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lines in which the sentence or clause continues for two or more lines of verse.
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scansion
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The process of analyzing and marking the type and the number of feet in each line of verse.
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rhyme
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the repetition in two or more nearby words of the last stressed vowel and all the syllables that follow it.
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end rhyme
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rhyme occurring at the end of a poetic line.
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double rhyme
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When two of the syllables at the end of a poetic line rhyme.
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triple rhyme
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When three of the syllables at the end of a poetic line rhyme.
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internal rhyme
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When rhyme occurs within a line of poetry rather than at the end.
ex. "The Garden of Love" William Blake "And binding with briars my joys and desires." |
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rhyme scheme
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The pattern of recurrences in rhyme.
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Perfect rhyme
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When the rhyming sounds match exactly.
ex. "bough" and "tough" |
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imperfect rhyme, half-rhyme, off-rhyme, slant rhyme
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When a rhyme is partial.
ex. "abroad" and "head" |
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Alliteration
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the repetition of sounds in nearby words or stressed syllables, frequent in poetry and prose.
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Consonance
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the repetition of consonant sounds in two or more successive words or stressed syllables that contain different vowel sounds.
ex. "had" and "hid" "wonder" and "wander" |
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Assonance
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the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in nearby words or stressed syllables:
ex. "right" and "time" "sad" and "fact" |
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Onomatopoeia
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a word or phrase that seems to imitate the sound it denotes.
ex. bang using words in such a way that they seem to exemplify what they denote, not just in terms of sound, but also of such qualities as pacing, force, touch, movement, or duration as well. ex. "I felt a funeral in my Brain" |
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Couplet
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a pair of rhymed lines of the same length and meter.
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stanza
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a group of lines in a poem that share a common pattern of meter, line length, and rhyme.
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tercet (triplet)
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a group of three lines, usually sharing the same rhyme.
ex. "Upon Juila's Clothes" - Robert Herrick |
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terza rima
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when tercets are linked by a pattern of shared rhymes: the first and the last lines of each stanza rhyme, and the middle line rhymes with the first and third lines of the following tercet: aba bcb cdc, etc.
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quatrain
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consisting of for lines, is the most common stanza form in English poetry.
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Refrain
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a word, a phrase, a line, or a group of lines repeated at intervals in a poem.
ex. "Song for a Dark Girl" Langston Hughes. |
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Sonnet
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a lyric poem written in a single stanza that usually consists of 14 lines of iambic pentameter. Two types: Italian or, Petrarchan
and English or, Shakespearian |
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Petrarchan sonnet
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opening octave
closing sestet rhyme scheme: abba abba |
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Shakespearian sonnet
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opening three quatrains and a final couplet
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The turn (volta)
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The change at the resolution of a sonnet.
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Blank verse
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unrhymed iamic pentameter
ex. Twelfth Night |
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Free verse (open form)
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is distinguished from traditional versification in that its rhythms are not organized into the regularity or meter; most free verse also lack rhyme.
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