Literary terms and devices

Genre meant to be performed by actors in front of an audience. DRAMA Genre meant to be performed by actors in front of an audience.   Ex: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Crucible

Title and Content Layout with Chart tragedy Sub-genre of drama in which events turn out disastrously for the main characters, often in death, caused by fate or a character’s tragic flaw.  Ex: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet

Two Content Layout with Table Imagery Language that appeals to the five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Ex: The hot pizza burned his mouth but tasted great as it filled his growling stomach.

paradox An apparently self-contradictory statement, that upon closer inspection, contains some element of truth. Ex: In the famous play Hamlet, the protagonist Hamlet says, “I must be cruel to be kind.”

Two Content Layout with Table Aside Words spoken that other characters on stage do not supposedly hear. Ex: Juliet speaking about Romeo, but her mother not hearing.

foreshadowing foreshadowing Clues in the text to suggest what is going to happen later. Example:

metonymy Example from Macbeth: "That, trusted home, / Might yet enkindle you unto the crown, / Besides the Thane of Cawdor” (I.iii.123-4)

Two Content Layout with Table Synecdoche A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole. Example: Macbeth says, “Take thy face hence.” Meaning: The speaker wants the whole person to leave, not just his face.

soliloquy A long speech in which a character, usually alone on stage, reveals thoughts and/or feelings. No other characters are meant to overhear a soliloquy. Ex: Romeo talking about how beautiful Juliet is while hiding beneath her balcony. She is not aware that he is present at the time. . . Creeper.

Dramatic irony Occurs when the audience understands what's going on in a situation while the characters are unaware of the truth. Example: An example of dramatic irony is the last scene in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet commits suicide because she thinks Romeo has committed suicide.

apostrophe A figure of speech in which a character directly addresses an inanimate object or someone who is either dead or simply not there as if it were alive and present and could reply. Apostrophes can be used to heighten our understanding of a character's emotions, whether positive or negative. Ex: Juliet addressing the dagger she uses to kill herself in Romeo and Juliet: “O happy dagger, /This is thy sheath. / There rust and let me die.”

Two Content Layout with Table ALLUSION A reference to a person, place, or thing in literature or culture that the writer expects the reader to understand. Ex: She is as mysterious as the Mona Lisa’s smile.

elision An omission of a passage in a book, speech, or film. EX: Macbeth builds to the murder of Duncan and then shows the immediate aftermath. The play does not actually show the murder. Why do you think this is?

Metaphor A figure of speech which makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two ideas or objects that are different from each other but have some characteristic(s) in common. Example from Macbeth: "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage." (V.v.25-6)

A long, dramatic speech delivered by one character. Monologue A long, dramatic speech delivered by one character. Ex: In Romeo and Juliet, Prince Escalus addresses the crowd after the fight between the Montagues and the Capulets.