A posteriori

RESULT CLAUSE: TBA under "Clause" link.

RETARDED PRONUNCIATION: An old-fashioned way of pronunciation that lingers in one dialect even after a newer pronunciation has been accepted by other dialects in the same language. Contrast with advanced pronunciation.

RETRACTION (From Latin re- + tractare, "to pull back"): A writing in prose or verse in which the author "takes back" an earlier statement or piece of writing, often with an accompanying apology or explanation concerning her earlier errors. When this retraction appears in a conventionalized form of verse, it is often called a palinode. One of the most famous retractions is Chaucer's conclusion of the Canterbury Tales, in which the author (or perhaps only Chaucer's persona) renounces most of his earlier writings. See also palinode.

RETROFLEX: In linguistics, any sound produced with the tongue-tip bent or curled backward--such as the sound of the liquid . Retroflex s over time often change into the liquid and vice-versa. For instance, Algeo points to the the in Sarah, Katherine, and steorra (Old English "star") is respectively a cognate with the in Sally, Kathleeen, and stella (Latin "star"). See page twenty-six of The Origins and Development of the English Language for further information.

REVENGE PLAY (also called a revenge tragedy): A Renaissance genre of drama in which the plot revolves around the hero's attempt to avenge a previous wrong by killing the perpetrator of the deed, commonly with a great deal of bloodshed and incidental violence. A famous example is Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy. Conventional features involve a reluctant protagonist who is called upon to avenge the murder of a loved one. Shakespeare's Hamlet has also been called a revenge play by some scholars.

REVENGE TRAGEDY: Another term for a revenge play.

REVERSAL: See peripeteia.

RHAPSODOI: Wandering poet-singers in the Homeric age of Greece--the equivalent of a bard in the Celtic tradition. These rhapsodoi usually sang or chanted while accompanying themselves on the lyre. Homer is traditionally said to be such a figure. The rhapsodoi probably engaged in oral-formulaic poetry rather than writing their works down.

RHETORIC: The art of persuasive argument through writing or speech--the art of eloquence and charismatic language. A lengthier discussion can be found under the rhetoric link.

RHETORICAL FIGURES: Figures of speech such as schemes and tropes.