a brief quotation which appears at the beginning of a literary work

in literature, a word or phrase preceding or following a name which serves to describe the character

a mild word or phrase which substitutes for another which would be undesirable because it is too direct, unpleasant, or offensive

in drama, the presentation of essential information regarding what has occurred prior to the beginning of a play

a brief tale designed to illustrate a moral lesson

series of events which take place after the climax

a type of comedy based on a humorous situation such as a bank robber who mistakenly wanders into a police station to hide

in literature, a way of saying one thing and meaning something else

an example of figurative language that states that something is not literally true in order to create an effect

a reference to an event which took place prior to the beginning of a story or play

a character in a play who sets off the main character or other characters by comparison

the basic unit of measurement in a line of poetry

in drama, a method used to build suspense by providing hints of what is to come

unrhymed poetry with lines of varying lengths, and containing no specific metrical pattern

a literary type or form

a figure of speech in which an overstatement or exaggeration occurs

a word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses

a judgment based on reasoning rather than on direct or explicit

situational: the result of an action is the reverse of what the actor expected; dramatic: the audience knows something that the characters in the drama do not; verbal: the contrast between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant

a detailed setting forth of the characteristics of a particular locality, enabling the reader to “see” the setting

a short poem wherein the poet expresses an emotion or illuminates some life principle

a figure of speech wherein a comparison is made between two unlike quantities without the use of the words “like” or “as”

a figure of speech in which a word represents something else which it suggests

the atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work, partly by the description of the objects or by the style of the descriptions

an unverifiable story based on a religious belief

a poem which tells a story

a fictional prose work of substantial length

a poem in praise of something divine or expressing some noble idea

a literary device wherein the sound of a word echoes the sound it represents

a combination of contradictory terms

a brief story, told or written in order to teach a moral lesson

a situation or a statement that seems to contradict itself, but on closer inspection, does not

a repetition of sentences using the same structure