Entertainment / Literature Glossary

Yogh: A letter shape used in writing Middle English and some Anglo-Saxon texts. It resembled a letter 'three' often partially set below the line. In some handwriting, the screen would flatten the . . . View Full Definition

Yonic: A yonic symbol is a sexualized representation of femininity and reproductive power--particularly through some object vaguely reminiscent of the vagina. Common yonic symbols include cups, cau . . . View Full Definition

Young Man Sonnets: The first seventeen sonnets in the Shakespearean collection published in 1609. These sonnets break the normal sonnet conventions in that the implied situation is not a poetic speaker wooing . . . View Full Definition

Yuëh-Fu: A form of Chinese poetry in mixed meter and short lines, with a five-word line being most common. The number of stanzas was likewise variable. The conventions of the genre include a monologu . . . View Full Definition

Zani: A stock character in the commedia dell'arte, the zani was a buffoonish servant, a jester, a butt of jokes, i.e., what twentieth-century entertainment would call a 'stooge.' The modern Englis . . . View Full Definition

Zeitgeist: The preferences, fashions, and trends that characterize the intangible essence of a specific historical period. (German 'Time-ghost' or 'Spirit of the Age')

Zenos Paradox: The name comes from Zeno of Elea (born c. 495-480 BCE). Zeno proposed four paradoxes in order to challenge accepted notions of space and time as defined in various philosophical circles. The . . . View Full Definition

Zeugma: Artfully using a single verb to refer to two different objects grammatically, or artfully using an adjective to refer to two separate nouns, even though the adjective would logically only be . . . View Full Definition

Zohar: A medieval commentary on the Pentateuch appearing in several books written in Aramaic and Hebrew, widely considered the most important work of Kabala. It first appeared in 13th century Spain . . . View Full Definition

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