Soliloquy an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character's innermost thoughts): Hamlet's soliloquy begins with “To be or not to be.”

Iambic Pentameter a common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable Syllables alternate between stressed and unstressed beats, creating this pattern: “de/DUM de/DUM de/DUM de/DUM de/DUM” Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! Julius Caesar Act 3, scene 2

Double Entendre a word or expression used in a given context so that it can be understood in two ways, especially when one meaning is risqué. Panda mating fails: veterinarian takes over Criminals get nine months in violin case

Monologue a form of dramatic entertainment, comedic solo, or the like by a single speaker: a comedian's monologue. Synonym for soliloquy Internal monologue: thought process of a character/person

Pun A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings Synonym: double entendre The owner of the hair salon had to make cuts on his staff

Dramatic Irony irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play.

Oxymoron a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.”

Alliteration the commencement of two or more words of a word group with the same letter, as in apt alliteration's artful aid.

Aside . A piece of dialogue intended for the audience and supposedly not heard by the other actors on stage. Here is another example in the Shakespeare play Hamlet: “ A little more than kin, and less than kind

Pathetic Fallacy the endowment of nature, inanimate objects, etc., with human traits and feelings, as in the smiling skies; the angry sea. Synonym: personification

Comic Relief an amusing scene, incident, or speech introduced into serious or tragic elements, as in a play, in order to provide temporary relief from tension, or to intensify the dramatic action. Maybe that's why everyone finds all the cat pictures on FB so amusing.

Tragic Hero/character/hamartia Hamartia: The word "hamartia" may sound strange, but it actually has a simple meaning – hamartia is simply the tragic flaw or fatal flaw of a character in literature or film. Frodo in the Lord of the Rings is a tragic hero or has a fatal flaw (Hamartia) the ring Achilles heel Oedipus

Assonance resemblance of sounds. "If I bleat when I speak it's because I just got . . . fleeced." (Al Swearengen in Deadwood, 2004)

Invective vehement or violent denunciation, censure, or reproach. Most smiling, smooth, detested parasites, Courteous destroyers, affable wolves, meek bears, You fools of fortune, trencher‐friends, time's flies, Cap‐and‐knee slaves, vapours, and minute‐jacks!