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Literary Terms. The Merchant of Venice English I. Allusion - a reference to a well-known historical or literary figure, happening, or event. In A Raisin in the Sun , George calls Walter “Prometheus . ” Allusion to Prometheus from Greek mythology.
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Literary Terms The Merchant of Venice English I
Allusion- a reference to a well-known historical or literary figure, happening, or event. In A Raisin in the Sun, George calls Walter “Prometheus.” Allusion to Prometheus from Greek mythology. If someone tells a lie, and you say, “I’m surprised your nose isn’t growing!” you are alluding to the story of Pinocchio.
Figurative Language- Language that is not meant literally. “I hit the road.” “You’re hot and you’re cold.”
Metaphor- An implied comparison between two essentially unlike things. “Her eyes are dark pools.” “The road of life.”
Simile- A comparison of two essentially unlike things using the words “like” or “as.” “Life is like a box of chocolates.” “She seemed as gentle as a lamb.”
Personification- Giving human qualities to non-living things. • “The fog crawled slowly across the river.” • “The sun winked at me.” • “The city sleeps.”
Oxymoron- A combination of contradictory words. “wise fool” “jumbo shrimp” “beautiful disaster”
Pun- A play on words using two different meanings of the same word. “Every kiss begins with Kay.” “Trust Sleepy’s for the rest of your life.” “Now I’m feeling so fly like a G6.”
Alliteration- Repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words “Seven swans a-swimming.” “Don’t dreamit, drive it.” - Jaguar
Hyperbole- A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. “You have a million toys at your house.” “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” “Her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they’re not shining.”
Malapropism • An amusing error that occurs when a person mistakenly uses a word that sounds like another word but has a very different meaning. Ex: “Mary had a little lamb its fleas were white as snow…”
Foil • Two opposite characters placed side by side to heighten their differences. • Ex: George is small and smart. Lennie, his foil, is big and mentally slow.
Foreshadowing • Hints or clues to upcoming events. • Ex: In The Odyssey, the Cyclops’ prayer to Poseidon foreshadows Odysseus’ difficulties on his journey home.
Couplet • Two lines of rhyming poetry • “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am.”
Iambic Pentameter • A rhyme scheme in which: • Each line has ten syllables • Each line consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. • Ex: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
Sonnet Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? A Thou art more lovely and more temperate: B Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A And Summer's lease hath all too short a date: B Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, C And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; D And every fair from fair sometime declines, C By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: D But thy eternal Summer shall not fade E Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; F Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, E When in eternal lines to time thou growest: F So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, G So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G • A fourteen-line poem consisting of three 4-line stanzas and a final couplet. Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
Soliloquy • A speech given by one character, usually alone on stage. It usually reveals personal thoughts, feelings.
Monologue • A lengthy speech given by one character speaking to other characters.
Aside • A remark spoken in an undertone by one character (either to the audience or to another character) which remaining characters do not hear.
Dramatic Irony • When the audience knows more about a situation than one or more characters. • Ex: In Mrs. Doubtfire, the mom thinks she hired an old lady as a nanny, but the audience knows Mrs. Doubtfire is really the father in disguise.
Situational Irony • When the opposite of what is expected or intended occurs. • Ex: We expect Dragon to hurt Donkey, but the opposite happens, and she falls in love with him.
Tragic flaw • The defect in the character of a tragedy (a tragic hero) that causes his downfall. • Ex: Hubris, rash behavior