Crossword Vocabulary

foot
-a basic unit used in the scansion or measurement of verse

blank verse
-unrhymed iambic pentameter

synecdoche
-a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole

epitaph
-an inscription written on a tomb or burial place

ode
-a serious poem written to honor people, commemorate events, or respond to natural scenes

paradox
-a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements but actually represents a truth

sestet
-a six line stanza

metanomy
-a figure of speech that substitutes something closely related for the thing actually meant

epigram
-a pointed, brief statement in prose or in verse

catharsis
-a term used by Aristotle to describe some sort of emotional release experienced by the audience at the end of a successful tragedy

modernism
-an international movement in the arts during the early 20th century

understatement
-a figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants

allegory
-a narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface one

euphony
-a smooth, pleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds

mock epic
-a poem about a trivial matter written in the style of a serious epic

imagery
-the representation through language of sense experience

kenning
-a metaphorical phrase used in Anglo-Saxon poetry

consonance
-the repetition at close intervals of the final consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words

couplet
-two successive lines, usually in the same meter, linked by rhyme

sonnet
-a fixed for of fourteen lines, normally iambic pentameter, with a rhyme scheme

tetrameter
-a metrical line containing four feet

mood
-the atmosphere created in a written work

trochee
-a metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable

theme
-central idea of a literary work

apostrophe
-a figure of speech in which something absent or dead or something non-human is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply

tone
-a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject, the audience, or himself or herself

allusion
-a reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history

overstatement
-a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth

carpe diem
-seize the day

epiphany
-a term used to describe a moment of insight in which a character recognizes some truth

oxymoron
-a figure of speech that fuses two contradictory or opposing idea, thus suggesting a paradox in just a few words

cacaphony
-a harsh, discordant, unpleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds

climax
-the turning point or high point in a plot

deus ex machina
-“god from the machine”