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P aradox
   A statement that appears contradictory at first but holds truth.

Parallelism

   Using similar phrases, clauses, or sentences to compliment each other in structure or meaning. Used extensively in Bible psalms, a psalm is often a repeated line with only some changed words .

   (ex. "I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live:
   I will sing praise to my God while I have my being."                                       Psalm 104)

Parody

   A comical imitation of piece of literature, are, or music. Through mockery and exaggeration, a parody is often greatly humorous.

   (ex. Algernon Charles Swinburne's "Nephelidia" is a mockery of alliteration:

   Pallid and pink as the palm of the flag flower that
     flickers with fear of the flies as they float,
   Are the looks of our lovers that lustrously lean
     from a marvel of mystic, miraculous moonshine." )

Pastoral

   A poem that idealizes country life, usually a shepherd and their life.

   (ex. Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" )

Pathos

   The quality in a work of art of literature that evokes feelings of sadness, pity, and compassion in the reader. This usually happens when an innocent character suffers through no fault of his own.

  (ex. In Shakespeare's "Macbeth", a feeling of sorrow enters most readers when Lady Macduff and her son are murdered for no real reason by Macbeth's assassins.)

Personification

   A figure of speech which gives inanimate object life-like qualities.

   (ex."the tree danced in the wind" and "the waves slapped the shore" )

Petrarchan Sonnet

   See Sonnet

Plot

   The sequence of events or incidents in a narrative that relate to the story and each other. The main parts of a plot include:

• Conflict

• Exposition

• Crisis/Climax - The point in a story or play when the conflict is so intense it must be resolved.

• Rising Action - The events leading up to the climax.

• Falling Action - The events following the climax.

• Dénouement/Resolution

Point of View

   To point (or vantage) that a story is narrated or seen from. The two basic points of view are the first-person and the third-person perspectives. The first-person point of view is told by one of the characters in their perspective. This point of view is somewhat limited because it only has the capability of expressing the thoughts of one character, and what he or she observes and knows. The third-person perspective is told by someone not in the story. In this way, the narrator may be "all knowing" (omniscient) and can express every character. The third-person may also be from the perspective of one character.

   (ex. First-person: "I went to the store and I paid in cash." Third-person: "He went to the store and he paid in cash".)

Protagonist

   The main character in a narrative. Most of the story's action centers on the protagonist and most readers sympathize with the protagonist the most. The antagonist is the opposing force against the protagonist.

Psalm

   A lyric poem or song in praise of God. The word "psalm" commonly refers to the 150 lyrics in the Book of Psalms in the Bible.

Pun

   A play on words. A pun suggest two meanings of a word or phrase and is often humorous.

   (ex. "I'm bored as wood" and "Baroque: when you're all out of Monet!" )

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