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Literary Terms
Definitions
17
Literature
Not Applicable
05/03/2005

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Term
SONNET
Definition
A verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme.
Term
BLANK VERSE
Definition
Unrhymed verse (usually in iambic pentameter).
Term
PUN
Definition
A humorous play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.
Term
PROLOGUE
Definition
An introduction to a play.
Term
MONOLOGUE
Definition
A (usually long) dramatic speech by a single actor.
Term
DYNAMIC CHARACTER
Definition
In literature or drama, a character who undergoes a permanent change in outlook or character during the story; also called "developing character".
Term
DRAMATIC IRONY
Definition
In theater, irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.

Irony = the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.
Term
ROUND CHARACTER
Definition
A complex literary character with fully developed and dynamic traits.
Term
TRAGEDY
Definition
A drama or literary work in which the main character [called the protagonist] is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.

Drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance; excites terror or pity.
Term
SILILOQUY
Definition
A (usually long) dramatic speech INTENDED TO GIVE THE ILLUSION OF UNSPOKEN REFLECTIONS.
Term
COUPLET
Definition
A stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse; usually rhyming and having the same meter and often forming a complete thought or syntactic unit.
Term
ASIDE
Definition
A line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage.
Term
STATIC CHARACTER
Definition
A literary character who remains basically unchanged throughout a work.
Term
COMEDY
Definition
A dramatic work that is light and often humorous or satirical in tone and that usually contains a happy resolution of the thematic conflict.

thematic = relating to a theme of the play
Term
VERBAL IRONY
Definition
A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant.
Term
FLAT CHARACTER
Definition
A literary character whose personality can be defined by one or two traits and does not change in the course of the story.
Term
DRAMA
Definition
A dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage.


A prose or verse composition, especially one telling a serious story, that is intended for representation by actors impersonating the characters and performing the dialogue and action.
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