ROMEO & JULIET LITERARY TERMS

Literary Terms

Definition

Tragedy Drama that ends in catastrophe—most often death—for the main character and often for several other important characters

Tragic hero Main character, usually someone nobly born and who may have great influence in his/her society

Comic relief Humorous scene, incident, or speech that relieves the overall emotional intesity

Allusion A brief reference, within a work, to something outside the work that the reader or audience is expected to know.

Foil character Character who is used to showcase other characters

Dramatic conventions

Devices that theater audiences accept as realistic even though they aren’t real-life.

Soliloquy Speech that a character gives when he/she is alone on stage; let’s the audience know what he/she is thinking

Literary Terms

Definition

Aside Remark that other’s on stage are not supposed to hear; purpose is to reveal character’s private thoughts; spoke to the audience

Blank verse Poetry with unrhymed lines

Imabic pentameter Unstressed syllable-stressed syllable 5 times in a lineTwo households both alike in dignitiy

Simile Comparison using “like” or “as”

Metaphor Comparison (Juliet is the moon)

Oxymoron

Pun Joke that comes from a play on words“Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.”

Literary Terms

Definition

Dramatic irony Audience knows more than characters do... (We know that Juliet is alive when Romeo kills himself.)

Foreshadowing Hints of things to come…

Rhyme Scheme Pattern of rhyme (look at the end of each line of the poem) Ababcdcdefefgg (sonnet)