| Aside | Def: part of an actor’s lines supposedly not heard by others onstage and intended only for the audience.Example: [Aside to Gregory] Is the law of our side if I say ay? Act 1 Scene 1 pg 7 verse: 40 |
| Conflict | Def: the struggle found in fictionExternal: Man vs. Manexample: The capulets and the montages fighting |
| Conflict | External: Man vs. Fateexample: Romeo thinks about going to the Capulet’s party even though he knows that something bad will happen in the future. |
| Conflict | Internal: Man vs. selfexample: Romeo in the beginning is being hurt about how Rosaline doesn’t love him |
| Couplet | Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhymeexample: “Could we but learn from whence his sorrows grow, We would as willingly give cure as know.” act 1 scene 1 pg 13 verse 145-146 |
| Epithet | A word or phrase preceding or following a name, which serves to describe the characterexample: “A pair of star crossed lovers take their life;” Shakespeare calling them “star crossed lovers” The prologue pg 3 verse 6 |
| Soliloquy | is when a character is alone on stage thinking his/her thoughts aloud. It can also be an actor talking to himself/herself oblivious to any hearers present example: Friar Lawerence is talking to himself about the world in the beginning of act 2 scene 3 |
| Foil | a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast — emphasizes differences between two characters.example: Mercutio is the complete opposite of Romeo because they have different opinions between things that they think about. |
| Metaphor | comparison of two unlike things.Example: Romeo’s example about how Juliet is like a hawk”My niësse” Act 2 scene 2 pg. 61 verse 168 |
| Similie | comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as.”example: “Is love a tender thing? It is too rough too rude, and it pricks like a thorn” Act 1 Scene 4 verse 25-26 pg 31 |
| Pun | a word or phrase that is used in such a way to suggest more than one possible meaning.example: “My naked weapon is out” act 1 scene 1 verse 30 pg. 5 |
| Analogy | comparison of two pairs which have the same relationshp — Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilarexample: Juliet comparing Romeo to a rose |
| Paradox | a true statement which contradicts itself. A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true: The paradox that standing is more tiring than walking OR stonewalls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.example: “Parting is such sweet sorrow” act 2 scene 2 pg 63 verse 184 |
| Imagery | words appealing to one of one’s senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell.example: “This bud of love, by summers ripening breath.” act 2 scene 2 verse 121 pg 59 |
| Dramatic Irony | When an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know.example: Benvolio and Mercutio thinks that Romeo still loves Rosaline but in real life Romeo loves Juliet. |
| Situational Irony | discrepancy between the expected result and actual result.example: “contest thee, gentle coz, let him alone” Capulet lets Romeo stay at the party Act 1 scene 5 verse 64 pg 41 |
| Verbal irony | author says one thing and means something else.example: Romeo describing Juliet as his “foe” |
| Monologue | an extended, uninterrupted speech or poem by a single person. The person may be speaking his or her thoughts aloud or directly addressing other persons, e.g. an audience, a character, reader, or an inanimate object.example: Juliet’s long monologue on her balcony |
| Oxymoron | two contradictory words together “found missing”example: Romeo describing his feelings for Rosaline as “stick health” |
| Personification | giving human qualities to animals or objects example: Romeo describing Juliet as the sun that shines |
| Allusion | a literary reference to a familiar person, place, thing or event.example: “Young Abraham Cupid, he that shot so trim” Act 2 scene 1 pg 51 verse 13 |
| Alliteration | the repetition of a initial consonant sounds in words: “it is the happy heart that breaks.”example: “Come, he hath hid himself among these trees” act 2 scene 1 pg 51 verse 30 |
| Hyperbole | an exaggeration or overstatement: “I have seen a river so wide it had only one bank.”Example: “But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!” |
| Symbol | person, place, thing, or event used to represent something else, e.g. a dove symbolizes peaceexample: Romeo and Juliets love is like a rose with thorns on it |
| Protagonist (hero) | main character(s) of the storyexample: romeo and juliet |
| Antagonist (villain) | character(s) or thing working against the protagonist-heroexample: fate |
| Motivation | a reason that explains or partially explains why a character thinks, feels, acts, or behaves a certain wayexample: Tybalt wanted to kick Romeo out of the party because he is a montegue |
| Theme | a message or lesson conveyed by a written text. This message is usually about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas. Most themes are implied rather than explicitly stated.example: The theme of the play can be love |
| Cause and effect | noting a relationship between actions or events such that one or more are the result of the other or others.example: The cause is when Romeo and Juliet met each other and the affect is when they died. |
Romeo and Juliet Lit terms- Danay Dunn
December 4, 2019