2. ACT
• A major division of a play
• Shakespeare did not separate his
plays into acts; each play was later
divided into five acts
• Acts can contain one or more scene

3. SCENE
• A subdivision of an act in a play
• Each scene usually takes place in a
specific setting and time

4. VERBAL IRONY
• A person says one thing but means
another

5. DRAMATIC IRONY
• The audience knows something that
the characters in the play do not

6. PUN
• A humorous play on two or more
meanings of the same word or on
two different words with the same
sound
• Example: A baker stopped making
doughnuts when he got tired of the
hole thing.
• He drove his expensive car into a
tree and found out how the
Mercedes bends.

7. SOLILOQUY
A speech made by one character, who speaks as
if s/he is alone on stage.
It often seems as if the character is talking to
himself/herself.
Soliloquys reveal the character’s thoughts and
feelings to the audience.

8. ASIDE
Words spoken by an actor to the
people watching a play, that the
other characters in the play do
not hear.

9. OXYMORON
• A figure of speech that is a combination of
seemingly contradictory words
• Brawling love
• Loving hate
• Awfully nice
• Books on tape
• Cold sweat
• Only choice
• Sad smile

10. PARADOX
A statement or proposition that seems self-
contradictory or absurd but in reality
expresses a possible truth
Examples:
Cowards die many times before their
death.
I must be cruel to be kind.

11. COMIC RELIEF
• A humorous scene or speech
intended to lighten the mood

12. EXTENDED METAPHOR
A metaphor introduced and then further
developed throughout all or part of a
literary work