Glossary

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verbal irony
a statement in which the literal meaning differs from the implicit meaning. See dramatic irony and situational irony.

verse paragraph
see stanza.

villain
the one who opposes the hero and heroine—that is, the "bad guy." See antagonist and hero/heroine.

villanelle
a verse form consisting of nineteen lines divided into six stanzas—five tercets (three-line stanzas) and one quatrain (four­line stanza). The first and third lines of the first tercet rhyme, and this rhyme is repeated through each of the next four tercets and in the last two lines of the concluding quatrain. The villanelle is also known for its repetition of select lines. A good example of a twentieth-century villanelle is Dylan Tho-mas’s "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night."

voice
the acknowledged or unacknowledged source of a story’s words; the speaker; the "person" telling the story.