Romeo and Juliet Vocabulary, Exams of Literature

Download Romeo and Juliet Vocabulary and more Exams Literature in PDF only on Docsity! SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA Komeo and Juliet Vocabulary Drama Literature in performance form—includes stage plays, movies, TV, and radio/audio programs. Most plays are divided into acts, with each act having an emotional peak, or climax. Most plays contain stage directions, which describe settings, lighting, sound effects, the movements and emotions of actors, and the ways in which dialogue should be spoken. Stage directions Instructions printed in italics; they serve as a guide to directors, set and lighting designers, performers, and readers. When stage directions appear within passages of dialogue, parentheses are usually used to set them off from the words spoken by characters. Soliloquy A speech in which a character speaks his or her thoughts aloud so that the audience knows what he/she is thinking. Romeo: O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear— Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows. The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night. Aside A remark (comment or short speech) directed to the audience or another character; it supposedly isn’t heard by other characters on stage. Asides let the audience know what the character is thinking. In Act 4, Scene 1, of Romeo and Juliet, Paris tells Friar Laurence that his marriage to Juliet will be in two days; the friar expresses his uneasiness in an aside. Friar Laurence [aside]: I would I knew not why it should be slowed.— Look, sir, here comes the lady toward my cell. Rhyme scheme Pattern of end rhymes in a poem. Scheme is labeled by assigning a letter of the alphabet, beginning with A, to each line. Lines that rhyme are given the same letter. In the Romeo and Juliet Act 1, Scene 5, excerpt here, you’ll see this rhyme scheme: ABAB—stanza 1 CDCD—stanza 2 Stanza A group of two or more lines that form a unit in a poem. A stanza is comparable to a paragraph in prose. Rhyme isn’t necessary to make a stanza. However, in the Romeo and Juliet Act I Prologue, you’ll find four stanzas with the following rhyme scheme: ABAB—stanza 1 CDCD—stanza 2 EFEF—stanza 3 GG—stanza 4 Couplet A rhymed pair of lines. It can be written in any rhythmic pattern. Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 3, is written entirely in couplets. In the excerpt above, Friar Laurence uses two couplets to express his shock at Romeo’s request to marry Juliet…today! Foil A character whose personality or attitudes sharply contrast those of another character in the same work. Foils emphasize each other’s character traits. In Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt (aggressive) and Benvolio (peaceful) are foils. Paris is also a foil for Romeo, contrasting Juliet’s two suitors. Who else can you think of? Nurse…Friar Laurence…Mercutio—for whom are they foils? Foreshadowing Hints or clues suggesting events that will occur later in a story. Hints can be spoken words, actions, objects, weather, etc. Romeo: I fear, too early; for my mind misgives Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars, Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night’s revels and expire the term Of a despised life, closed in my breast, By some vile forfeit of untimely death. Dramatic irony The reader or audience knows something that a character does not know. Examples: Romeo doesn’t know Juliet is alive when he comes to say goodbye to her in the tomb. Neither Paris nor the Capulets realize Juliet is already married when they decide to have Juliet marry Paris in two days.