Literary terms Romeo and Juliet:
by William Shakespeare
Name Michelle Dupray
Setting: a story¶s time, place, and background Example: Although no specific date is given, most scholars say the action of the play probably takes place around 1200 or 1300 A.D., when Italian families were feuding.
Where does the play take place? Verona, Italy
Foreshadowing: events which hint of things to come Example: In the Prologue to Act 1, the Chorus foreshadows what will happen in the play. One thing that will happen is that a feud will be renewed violently, as ³civil blood makes civil hands unclean´ (4).
What is another event that is foreshadowed in this speech by the Chorus? ³A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life´ ± Both of the lovers, Romeo and Juliet, will take their lives.
Oxymoron: bringing together two contradictory terms as in ³wise fool´ or ³feather of lead´ Example: In Act 1, Scene 1, line 181, Romeo uses several oxymora (the plural of ³oxymoron´) to describe the relationship relations hip of love and hate. He says, ³O brawling love, O loving hate.´ hate.´
What is another oxymoron that Romeo uses in this speech? ³O heavy lightness! Serious vanity!´
Allusion: reference to historical or literary figure, event, or object Example: In Act 1, Scene 1, line 217, Romeo says that Rosaline ³hath Dian¶s wit.´ He is alluding to Diana, goddess of chastity, who opposed love and marriage. In other words, Rosaline thinks like Diana and will not fall in love with Romeo.
What other allusion is made to a myth or legend in lines 216 and 217? Cupid ± ³With Cupid¶s arrow«.´
Pun: a play on words based on the similarity of sound between two words with different meanings Example: In Act 1, Scene 4, lines 14-16, Romeo is feeling sad, so he does not want to dance. He says to the others, ³You have dancing shoes / With nimble soles. I have a soul of lead / so stakes me to the ground I cannot move.´
Which two words are used to make a pun in these lines? The words used to make a pun in these lines are ³soles´ and ³soul´.
Imagery: representation in words of a vivid sensory ex perience
Example:
In Act 1, Scene 5, lines 55 and 56, Romeo uses imagery to describe Juliet¶s beauty when he says, ³So shows a dove trooping with crows / As yonder lady o¶er her fellows shows.´
What comparison is Romeo making here? Romeo is comparing Juliet to a dove among the crows, meaning she stand out greatly. Doves are white while crows are black.
Point-of-view: perspective of the person who is telling the story In Act 1, Scene 5, Tybalt is is upset that Romeo, a Montague, has come to his Uncle¶s party. He Example: says, ³I¶ll not endure him´ (85). His point-of-view is that an enemy should not be allowed to attend the party.
Write a line from Capulet that shows he has a different point-of-view from that of his nephew, Tybalt. ³He shall be endured«´
Paradox: a statement that might seem to contradict itself but is nevertheless true; for e xample, ³less is more.´ Example: In Act 1, Scene 5, line 152, Juliet ex presses a paradox when she speaks of Romeo, saying, ³My only love sprung from my only hate.´ This seems to be a contradictory statement, because love and hate are opposites.
How is Romeo both Juliet¶s love and her hated enemy? Romeo is Juliet¶s love and her hated enemy because she loves him, but he is a Montague and she is a Capulet.
Rhyme: similar sounds between the ends of two words Example: In the Prologue to Act 2, the Chorus speaks in a sonnet, a form of a poem. The first four lines contain c ontain alternating alternating rhymes: Now old desire doth in his deathbed lie, And young affection gapes to be his heir. That fair for which love groaned for and would die, With tender Juliet matched, is now not fair.
Find four more rhyming lines in the second prologue. Being held a foe, he may not have access, To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear; And she as much in love, her means much less To meet her new-beloved any where:´
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Metaphor: an implied comparison between two unlike things Example: In Act 2, Scene 2, line 3, Romeo uses a metaphor, saying, ³Juliet is the sun,´ meaning that Juliet is bright and beautiful.
What is another metaphor that Romeo uses for Juliet in this scene (see line 29)? ³O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head´
Soliloquy: a speech an actor gives as though talking to himself or herself Example: Romeo starts his famous soliloquy about Juliet with the words, ³But soft, what light through yonder window breaks´ (II.ii.2). He is speaking to himself about Juliet.
What words does Juliet use to start her famous soliloquy about Romeo? O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?´
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Aside: words spoken by an actor supposedly heard only by the audience Example: Romeo uses asides as he is listening to Juliet¶s soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 2. In line 27, he says, ³She speaks.´ He is not talking to Juliet, the only other person on stage. Only the audience is intended to hear this line.
What is the other aside in this scene? Look for the word aside in brackets, as a stage direction. ³Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?´
Hyperbole: a figure of speech in which the truth is e xaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect Example: In Act 2, Scene 2, line 140, Juliet says that her ³bounty is as boundless as the sea.´ In other words, she says what she has to offer Romeo is wider than the ocean.
How does Juliet extend this hyperbole in the ne xt line (141)? My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.´
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Simile: a direct comparison of unlike things using ³like´ or ³as´ Example: In Act 2, Scene 6, lines 8-10, Friar Lawrence uses a simile to warn Romeo about being too passionate too soon. He says: ³These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which, as they kiss, consume.´
What similarity does Friar Lawrence find between hasty, passionate love and fire and gunpowder? Friar Laurence finds that hasty, passionate love is similar to fire and gunpowder, because fire and gunpowder together ex plodes, as would hasty, passionate love.
Protagonist: the main character in a piece of literature Example: In this play, Romeo is one protagonist.
Who is the other protagonist in the play? Juliet is the second protagonist of the play.
Antagonist: the person or force opposing the main character Example: Tybalt is one antagonist in the play, because he opposes Romeo, who is a protagonist.
Who or what is another antagonist? Ex plain why you think this person or force is an antagonist. Other antagonists of the play are the Capulet and the Montague families. Both of the families are the antagonistic forces because they are not allowing Romeo and Juliet to be together. t ogether.
Theme: the main idea of a piece of literature Example: One theme of Romeo and Juliet might be that ³haste makes waste.´ In other words, hurrying too much often leads to problems.
What is another theme of Romeo and Juliet ? Another theme of Romeo and Juliet is ³tragic love´.
Tragedy: a story with an unhappy ending Example: Rom eo and Juliet is a tragedy, because the main characters, along with four other people, die.
What is another example of a tragedy you have seen or read? It could be a book, a play, or a movie. Another example of tragedy I have seen or read is when Old Yeller dies at the end of ³Old Yeller´.
Conflict: the struggle between opposing forces or characters Example: An obvious e xample of conflict is Tybalt¶s hatred of Montagues, and especially Romeo, which ends with a fight.
What is another conflict in the play? Another example of conflict in the play is the Capulet and the Montague families not allowing Romeo and Juliet to be together.
Characters: the people ± sometimes animals or other beings ± who take part in the action of a piece of literature Example: Romeo, Juliet, Friar Lawrence, Tybalt, Mercutio, and all of the other people in this play would be the characters.
Who was your favorite character in the play, and why? My favorite character in the play is Benvolio. I like Benvolio the most because I feel that I can relate to him more than the other characters. I feel this way because I¶m like the supporting, encouraging character in my friend¶s lives.