Glossary

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iamb
a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.

iambic pentameter
a metrical form in which the basic foot is an iamb and most lines consist of five iambs; iambic pentameter is the most common poetic meter in English: "One com | mon note | on ei | ther lyre | did strike" (Dryden, "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham")

imagery
broadly defined, any sensory detail or evocation in a work; more narrowly, the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, to call to mind an idea, or to describe an object.

imitative structure
a textual organization that mirrors as exactly as possible the structure of something that already exists as an object and can be seen.

implied author
the guiding personality or value system behind a text; the implied author is not necessarily synonymous with the actual author.

informal diction
language that is not as lofty or impersonal as formal diction; similar to everyday speech. See colloquial diction, which is one variety of informal diction.

initiation story
a kind of short story in which a character—often but not always a child or young person—first learns a significant, usually life-changing truth about the universe, society, people, himself or herself.

in medias res
"in the midst of things"; refers to opening a story in the middle of the action, necessitating filling in past details by exposition or flashback.

irony
a situation or statement characterized by a significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant. See cosmic irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony.

Italian sonnet
see Petrarchan sonnet.