Flashcards
Dramatic, Poetic and Literary Devices
Cards in this deck (58)
- 1CatharsisA theraputic calmness following a moment of heightened emotional intensity.
- 2CharacterisationThe development of a particular traits and qualities within a particular character.
- 3'Corruptio optimi pessima est''The corruption of the best becomes the worst.'
- 4Courtly LoveA formal system of love and courtship, governed by gender stereotypes.
- 5DecorumThe tradition of using a particular, appropriate verse form.
- 6DenouementThe conclusion of a play.
- 7Dramatic ironyWhere an audience is painfully aware of information unavailable to a character.
- 8ElisionOmission of syllables for the purposes of metrical regularity.
- 9EpisodicA play that is made up of many short events, rather than one developing plot.
- 10EponymousA play that is named after a character.
- 11GenreThe accordance of a play to a particular, expected set of artistic stylings.
- 12HamartiaThe tragic hero's tragic flaw.
- 13Heroic coupletA rhyming couplet within iambic pentameter.
- 14MalapropismA misuse of a word, mistaking it for a similarly sounding word.
- 15Mankind figureA character that encompasses the flaws of man
- 16Meta theatreWhere the playwright draws attention to the artificial nature of the theatre.
- 17Miracle playA dramatic representation of biblical stories
- 18Morality playsA play with a didactic purpose.
- 19ParodyA play that reflects aspects of another, often in a mocking manner.
- 20PathosA heightening of emotional intensity that intends to evoke pity from the audience, for a particular character.
- 21PertipeteiaA sudden change of fortune.
- 22PsychomachiaThe conflict of virtue and vice in a battle for the soul.
- 23ReparteeA playful and witty retort.
- 24RhetoricA character's manner of emphasis within their dialogue.
- 25SoliloquyWhere a character speaks alone, to no other characters.
- 26SolipsismThe philosophical belief that only the individual exists.
- 27Suspension of disbeliefWhere an audience willingly departs from reality in embracing the rules of the dramatic universe before them.
- 28TragedySee Aristotle.
- 29UnitiesThe play must: occur within the same place, the same 24 hours, follow one single plot.
- 30AllegoryA plot line that parallels another in themes.
- 31AmbiguityAn unresolvable aspect of a work.
- 32AmbivilanceThe coexistence of two opposing thoughts within one's mind.
- 33AphorismBrief statement of wisdom, often seemingly simplistic.
- 34ConnotationAn allusion to a concept through employment of representative objects.
- 35ContextualityWhere the goings on during a particular era add to one's interpretation.
- 36DictionThe choice of vocabulary from a particular semantic field.
- 37DidacticAn intention to impart a moral.
- 38ForeshadowingA reference to a later event that is unobvious when first seen.
- 39HyperboleAn exaggeration.
- 40IntertextualityThe existence of content from one particular work within another.
- 41IronyThe expression of one's meaning by expressing what appears the exact opposite.
- 42MetaphorWhere one object is said to be another.
- 43Pathetic fallacyThe attribution of human feelings to other objects and animals - like a reversed personification.
- 44PersonificationThe attribution of human qualities to inanimate objects or animals.
- 45PostmodernismWords have no innate meaning, their connotations are developed through contextual association.
- 46PluralityWhere a range of interpretations for an aspect of a text exist.
- 47SimilieWhere an object or person is said to have qualities "like" another.
- 48StoicismHappiness can only be achieved by accepting one's ultimate lack of power over their fate.
- 49VerisimilitudeWhere objects or individuals are made to appear as they would in the real world.
- 50AlliterationThe repeated utterance of consonant sounds.
- 51Archaic languageAged vocabulary
- 52CaesuraA pause within a line of speech.
- 53End-stoppingA pause at the end of a line.
- 54EpistropheWhere the same phrase is repeated at the end of successive lines.
- 55JuxtapositionWhere to concepts or images are placed beside each other to enhance their contrasts.
- 56PolysyllabicWords that consist of three or more syllables.
- 57RhythmSyllabic construction.
- 58RhymeCorrespondence of sounds between different words.
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- All worth commenting on in the summer exam.
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- Glenn Christmas
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