A Glossary of Literary Terms

Blank Verse. Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare's plays are largely blank verse, as are other Renaissance plays. Blank verse was the most popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in England. Here are some examples you likely won't see elsewhere: At last, The clouds consign their treasures to the fields, And softly shaking on the dimpled pool Prelusive drops, let all their moisture flow In large effusion o'er the freshened world. Delightful task! How poor, how rich, how abject, how august, How complicate, how wonderful is man! John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667) John Dryden, All for Love James Thompson, The Seasons Burlesque. Caesura. At length I heard a ragged noise and mirth Of theeves and murderers: there I him espied, Who straight, Your suit is granted, said, and died. Canon. For some sample traditional lists, see the great books lists and programs at The Center for the Study of Great Ideas, The Great Books Index, and Robert Teeter's Great Books Lists. Children's novel.

The Observer | Review | The 100 greatest novels of all time: The list 1. Don Quixote Miguel De CervantesThe story of the gentle knight and his servant Sancho Panza has entranced readers for centuries. • Harold Bloom on Don Quixote – the first modern novel 2. Pilgrim's Progress John BunyanThe one with the Slough of Despond and Vanity Fair. • Robert McCrum's 100 best novels: The Pilgrim's Progress 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68 On the Road Jack Kerouac The Beat Generation bible.• Read more about Kerouac and his coterie in the Beats week special• David Mills' response to Beats Week 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. Who did we miss?