| analogy | a comparison of similar features in two things that are not alike Ex: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet./ So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, / Retain that dear perfection which he owes / Without that title. . . .” |
| personification | giving human characteristics to nonhuman objects or ideas. Ex: “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, /Who is already sick and pale with grief / That thou her maid art far more fair than she” |
| dramatic irony | a situation in a drama in which the audience knows something that the characters do not. Ex: Mercutio trying to conjure Romeo by describing Rosaline’s charms when Romeo no longer loves Rosaline. |
| situational irony | an outcome that is very different from what is expected. Ex: the flowers and the food for the wedding feast will now be used for Juliet’s funeral. Romeo’s attempts to stop the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt results in Mercutio’s death and leads to Romeo committing murder |
| verbal irony | saying one thing and meaning another |
| foreshadowing | to present an indication or suggestion of an event beforehand; presage. Ex: At the end of Act 1 scene 4, Romeo fears some future misfortune that will lead to an untimely death. |
| simile | a comparison of two essentially unlike things using like or as |
| metaphor | a comparison of two essentially unlike things in which one thing is described as if it were another (without like or as) Ex: When she first appears on the balcony, Romeo says Juliet is the sun. |
| foil | a person or character who makes another look better through contrast. Ex. Mercutio is a foil for Romeo because Romeo seems reasonable and calm in comparison |
| internal conflict | conflict between a character and him or herself; dilemmaEx. Romeo first loves someone who rejected him and second loves someone who is forbidden to him |
| external conflict | conflict between one character and another, a character and nature or a character and society. Ex. The Capulets and Montagues (or Tybalt and Romeo) |
| aside | words spoken to one character or the audience that the other characters on stage are not supposed to hear |
| couplet | a pair of successive lines of verse that rhyme and are of the same length. Ex: . “Hence will I to my ghostly father’s cell,/ His help to crave, and my dear hap to tell.” |
| pun | use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words. Ex: Mercutio’s play on words when he says “Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man” |
| oxymoron | two seemingly contradictory words used together for effect, like “sweet sorrow” |
| soliloquy | a solo speech by one character, usually reflecting thoughts or feelings. Ex: Romeo’s speech while watching Juliet from the Capulet orchard |
| Mercutio | kinsman of Prince Escalus and friend to Romeo with a “mercurial” temper; dies in the third Act |
| Lady Montague | Romeo’s mother |
| Prince Escalus | Prince and ruler of Verona; related to both Mercutio and Count Paris |
| Lord Capulet | Juliet’s father and sworn enemy of the house of Montague |
| Tybalt | nephew of Lady Capulet, cousin of Juliet, and enemy of Romeo. His name sounds like the name of the king of cats in a popular folk tale |
| Benvolio | nephew of Montague and friend to Romeo; his name implies he is “good” and he tries to make peace |
| Count Paris | kinsman of Prince Escalus and suitor of Juliet |
| Friar Laurence | Franciscan priest and friend to Romeo |
| Nurse | Juliet’s former wet-nurse and all-around servant, confidant, and friend; she tends to talk too much |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter (lines with 10 beats or syllables in the pattern ta DUM ta DUM ta DUM ta DUM . . . |
| Why does Tybalt come looking for Romeo at the beginning of Act 3? | to fight a duel with him |
| Why does Romeo say he refuses to fight Tybalt? | he says he has reason to love the name Capulet |
| How does Juliet defend Romeo’s killing of Tybalt | She says he is her husband and if he had not killed Tybalt, Tybalt would have killed him |
| Why does Friar Laurence suggest Romeo should go to Mantua? | He says Romeo can wait until the two families are reconciled and then he can be reunited with Juliet |
| comic relief | The inclusion of humorous scenes or charactersin a serious drama and often characterized by physical humor, puns, and obscene jokes or gestures. The Nurse provides comic relief in this play |
| humor | a state of mind, disposition, or temper. |
| “star-crossed lovers” | their love is ill-fated |
| Rosaline | The woman Romeo is in love with at the beginning of Act 1 |
| How do Romeo and Benvolio learn about the Capulets’ party? | the servant sent to deliver the invitations asks their help because he cannot read |
| Balthazar | Romeo’s personal servant who brings him news of Juliet’s death |
| What was Shakespeare’s source for the story of Romeo and Juliet? | A narrative poem called “The Tragical Historie of Romeus and Juliet” |
| imagery | concrete words or details that appeal to the senses and to internal feelings. Ex. untimely frost upon the sweetest flower of the field |
| Where does Romeo and Juliet take place? | Verona, Italy |
| What was the name of Shakespeare’s theater? | the Globe |
| In Act 1, who tries to break up the fight between the servants of the Capulets and Montagues? | Benvolio |
| According to Prince Escalus, what will happen if the Capulets and Montagues fight in public again? | Lords Capulet and Montague will pay with their lives |
| How does Benvolio suggest Romeo forget Rosaline? | crash the Capulet’s party and look around at other beautiful women |
| When Count Paris first asks permission to pursue Juliet, what does her father say? | She is too young |
| How does Tybalt recognize Romeo at the Capulet ball? | his voice |
| How does Romeo tell Juliet he got into the Capulet orchard? | he flew over the wall on the wings of love |
| Why does Friar Laurence agree to perform the marriage ceremony for Romeo and Juliet? | he hopes it will end the feud between the two families |
| Where do Romeo and Juliet get married? | Friar Laurence’s cell |
| What is Romeo’s punishment for killing Tybalt? | banishment |
| Why does Lord Capulet move up the wedding date? | he thinks it will help Juliet get over her grief, and he doesn’t want to lose the chance for a beneficial alliance |
| Why was Friar John unable to deliver the message to Romeo about Juliet’s faked death? | He was quarantined and unable to get to Mantua because the brother monk he asked to journey with him had been in a house with a pestilence |
| Why is Paris at Juliet’s tomb when Romeo arrives? | to put flowers on her grave |
| What does Romeo tell Balthazar he is going to do in the Capulet’s tomb? | Behold his lady’s face and retrieve the ring from her finger |
| What is the clue Romeo missed when he saw Juliet’s corpse? | her lips are still red and her cheeks are not pale |
| Name the dead bodies in the Capulet tomb | Romeo, Juliet, Count Paris, and Tybalt |
| After he has killed Tybalt, what does Romeo say that Juliet’s love has done to him? | made him effeminate, cowardly, and “soft” |
| What does Juliet imagine she sees as Romeo descends the rope ladder to leave and go into exile? | Romeo lying dead at the bottom of a tomb |
| What will Lord and Lady Capulet do if Juliet refuses to marry Paris | disown her, cutting her off from home and family |
| How does Lord Capulet change the wedding plans in Act 4? | he moves the wedding date up one day to Wednesday |
| What does Juliet plan to do if the poison does not work? | stab herself with the dagger |
| What are some of Juliet’s fears as she prepares to drink the potion? | it may not work; it may kill her for real; she may wake up too soon and be trapped in the tomb with Tybalt’s decaying body |
| Why does Juliet kiss Romeo after he has died? | in order to drink the poison from his lips and kill herself |
| When Montague first arrives at the tomb, what startling news does he give to those gathered? | his wife is dead from grief over Romeo’s exile |
Romeo and Juliet
December 25, 2019