Unit 2: Part 1 Literary Terms

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sonnet
    a verse form of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
    A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem with a single theme.
  2. Petrarchan sonnet
    a sonnet consisting of an octave with the rhyme pattern abbaabba, followed by a sestet with the rhyme pattern cdecde or cdcdcd
    The Petrarchan sonnet is divided into an eight-line octave, rhyming abbaabba, followed by a six-line sestet, rhyming cdecde.
  3. Spenserian sonnet
    a sonnet consisting of three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab bcbd cdcd ee
    The Spenserian sonnet rhymes abab bcbc cdcd ee.
  4. pastoral
    idyllically rustic
    Works in the pastoral tradition, in poetry or prose, celebrate the pleasures of country life.
  5. universal
    of worldwide scope or applicability
    While addressing pastoral conventions differently, Marlowe and Raleigh touch on a number of universal themes: the link between love and the delights of youth and nature, and the relationship between love and time—love conquering time or being conquered by it.
  6. Shakespearean sonnet
    a sonnet consisting of three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg
    A Shakespearean sonnet has fourteen lines, with five iambic feet to the line (an iambic foot is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one).
  7. quatrain
    a stanza of four lines
    Unlike Petrarchan and Spenserian sonnets, a Shakespearean sonnet follows the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg, giving it this structure:
    • three quatrains, or four-line stanzas
  8. couplet
    a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse
    Unlike Petrarchan and Spenserian sonnets, a Shakespearean sonnet follows the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg, giving it this structure:
    • a rhyming couplet that dramatically restates or redefines a theme
  9. syntax
    the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences
    Shakespeare uses this freedom of syntax, or sentence structure, to create dazzling dramatic effects.
  10. manual
    a small handbook
    As a technical writer, you have been contracted to compose a manual explaining procedures for putting together a Petrarchan sonnet.
  11. essay
    an analytic or interpretive literary composition
    Write an essay in which you develop a coherent thesis, or consistent central idea, about the poems' similarities and differences.
  12. context
    discourse that surrounds and helps explain a word or passage
    Context clues are words and phrases in a text that help you reason out the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
  13. analogy
    drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity
    An analogy is a comparison of two pairs of words that have the same relationship.
  14. subordinating conjunction
    a conjunction that introduces a dependent clause
    A subordinating conjunction joins two complete ideas by making one idea subordinate to, or dependent on, the other.
  15. conjunction
    a function word that serves to conjoin words or phrases
    A subordinating conjunction joins two complete ideas by making one idea subordinate to, or dependent on, the other.
  16. subordination
    the relation of a modifying word or phrase to its head
    When you use subordination to combine sentences, you show which idea is more important.
Created on Fri Oct 23 10:12:25 EDT 2020 (updated Tue Oct 27 14:42:36 EDT 2020)

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