Romeo and JulietLiterary Vocabulary

makes a comparison between 2 unlike things using “like,” “as”, “resembles,” or “than”

Example: “Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too rude, too boist’rus, and it pricks like thorn.”(Act I, Scene 4, Lines 25-26)

Simile:

refers to one thing as if it were another unlike thing without the use of “like,” “as,” “resembles,” or “than”

Example: “Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven…do entreat her eyes to twinkle in their spheres.” (Act II, Scene 2, Lines 15-18)

Metaphor:

clues or hints which cause the audience to expect a certain outcome in the future plot

Example: “My life were better ended by their hate than death prorogued, wanting of thy love” (Act II, Scene 2, Lines 77-78)

Foreshadowing:

a nonhuman thing or quality is referred to as though it is human

Example: “I have night’s cloak to hide me from their eyes.” (Act II, Scene 2, Line 75)

Personification:

a deliberate substitution of similarly-sounding words for a humorous effect

Pun:

Pun:

Pun:

Pun:

Pun:

Pun:

A twist in the expected response or action; saying one thing and meaning another

Irony:

audience knows something the characters on stage do not know

Dramatic irony:

a reference within a text to another text with which audience is expected to be familiar

Allusion:

The protagonistUsually fails or dies because of a character flaw or twist of fate

Shows strength while accepting destiny

Tragic Hero:

The force working against the protagonist

Not necessarily human (nature, society, etc.)

Antagonist:

A character whose personality and attitude sharply contrast with those of another character

Highlights both characters’ traits

Foil:

character speaks his/her private thoughts aloud in a lengthy speech

Soliloquy:

A character’s remark to the audience or another character that others on stage do not hear

Reveals character’s private thoughts

Aside:

A humorous scene/speech/moment intended to lighten the mood

Emphasizes seriousness of main act by contrast

Comic Relief:

A type of meter (rhythm) that has five unstressed syllables, each followed by a stressed syllable (1o total syllables per line)

Iambic Pentameter

A type of poetry made up of unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter

Resembles natural speech

Blank Verse: