Entertainment / Literature Glossary

Rhythm: The varying speed, loudness, pitch, elevation, intensity, and expressiveness of speech, especially poetry. In verse the rhythm is normally regular, in prose it may or may not be regular. See . . . View Full Definition

Riddle: A universal form of literature in which a puzzling question or a conundrum is presented to the reader. The reader is often challenged to solve this enigma, which requires ingenuity in discov . . . View Full Definition

Ridicule: Words designed to arouse laughter and contempt for a person, idea, or institution. The rhetorical goal is to condemn or criticize the object by ridicule by making it seem suitable only for m . . . View Full Definition

Rime Couée: The French term for tail-rhyme. See discussion under tail-rhyme.

Rime Riche: The French term for identical rhyme. See identical rhyme.

Rime Royal: An alternative spelling for rhyme royal.

Rising Action: The action in a play before the climax in Freytag's pyramid.

Rising Rhyme: Another term for masculine rhyme in which the final foot ends in a stressed syllable. See meter.

Robertsonian: Following or adhering to the exegeticial readings of medieval literature espoused by American scholar D. W. Robertson. See discussion under fourfold interpretation.

Role: Another term for an actor's part in a play.

Roman À Clef: A narrative that represents actual historical characters and events in the form of fiction. Usually in this fictional setting, the author presents descriptions of real contemporary figures b . . . View Full Definition

Roman Imperial Period: After long centuries of representative democracy, within only a few generations, power in Roman government first collapsed into unofficial triumvirates and ultimately into dictatorships. Alt . . . View Full Definition

Roman Republican Period: The period of Roman history between 514 BCE up until 27 CE, when Rome was primarily and (at least officially) a Republic with elected senators. After Rome's traditional founding in 753 BCE, . . . View Full Definition

Roman Stoicism: The philosophy espoused by Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, 'Roman Stoicism' actually originates with earlier Greek thinkers, a specific school of philosophers that met at the stoa in Athens. . . . View Full Definition

Romantic Comedy: Sympathetic comedy that presents the adventures of young lovers trying to overcome social, psychological, or interpersonal constraints to achieve a successful union. Commedia dell'arte is a . . . View Full Definition

Romanticism: The term refers to the artistic philosophy prevalent during the first third of the nineteenth century (about 1800-1830). Romanticism rejected the earlier philosophy of the Enlightenment, whi . . . View Full Definition

Rondeau: A short poem consisting of ten, thirteen, or fifteen lines using only two rhymes which concludes each section with an abbreviated line that serves as a refrain. We can see an example of the . . . View Full Definition

Rondel: A short poem resembling the rondeau. It usually totals fourteen lines containing only two rhyming sounds. The first two lines are repeated at the middle of the poem and again at the end. The . . . View Full Definition

Root: (1) a base morpheme without affixes attached to it. (2) A word in an older language that became the source for future words in later languages. For instance, the Latin word unus (one') is th . . . View Full Definition

Root Creation: Creating a new word by inventing its form from scratch--without reference to any pre-existing word or sound.

Round Character: A round character is depicted with such psychological depth and detail that he or she seems like a 'real' person. The round character contrasts with the flat character, a character who serve . . . View Full Definition

Rounded Vowel: A vowel made with the lips sticking out--i.e., all of the back vowels except [a].

Roundel: A poem in the pattern of the rondeau, but only having eleven lines. Like the rondeau and the rondel, the roundel uses only two rhymes and a twice-repeated refrain. Cf. Rondeau, rondel, round . . . View Full Definition

Roundelay: A term used as a generic label for fixed forms of poetry using limited rhymes--such as the rondeau, rondel, and roundel. The word roundelay can be used in reference to the musical background . . . View Full Definition

Roundhead: Not to be confused with round character, (see above), a Roundhead is a member or supporter of the parliamentarian or Puritan party during the English Civil War, one of those who opposed King . . . View Full Definition

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