| fiction | prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events |
| suspense | a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen |
| plot diagram | a map of a story’s structure |
| exposition | Background information presented in a literary work. |
| setting | The context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs. |
| rising action | a character struggles with a problem or problems; the suspense begins to build |
| conflict | A struggle between opposing forces |
| climax | Most exciting moment of the story; turning point |
| falling action | Events after the climax, leading to the resolution |
| resolution | End of the story where all conflicts are completed |
| denouement | The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot where all loose ends are tied up |
| direct characterization | Author directly describes character |
| indirect characterization | Author subtly reveals the character through actions and interactions. |
| 5 Types of indirect characterization | Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, Looks |
| Protagonist | the main character in a literary work |
| Antagonist | A character or force in conflict with the main character |
| Round Character | A character who has many personality traits and is life-like |
| Flat Character | A character who is not very well developed; has few identifiable characteristics |
| Dynamic Character | A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story’s action |
| Static Character | A character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end |
| Foreshadowing | suggesting, hinting, indicating, or showing what will occur later in a narrative |
| Imagery | Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) |
| Symbolism | A device in literature where an object represents an idea. |
| Verbal Irony | A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant |
| Situational Irony | An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected |
| Dramatic Irony | the contrast between what a character expects and what the audience knows is true |
| person vs person | An external conflict between characters |
| person vs self | A conflict someone has with themselves |
| person vs society | The character struggles against a group or society. |
| person vs nature | A conflict someone has with natural causes |
| first person pov | the narrator is a character in the story – uses I, Me, or We |
| second person pov | You, your etc |
| Point of View | The perspective from which a story is told |
| Narrator | Person telling the story |
| Dialogue | Conversation between characters |
| Third Person Omniscient | The narrator knows what more than one character thinks, feels, and observes |
| Third Person Limited | the narrator tells what only one character thinks, feels, and observes |
| Third Person Objective | the narrator focuses on what a character says/sees/does, action only |
| Mood | Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader |
| Tone | How an author feels about a story, created by word choice |
| Plot | Sequence of events in a story |
| Stanza | A group of lines in a poem |
| Rhyme Scheme | A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem |
| Repetition | Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis |
| Impunity | freedom from punishment |
| Absconded | departed suddenly |
| Redress | to set right, remedy; relief from wrong or injury |
| Gait | a person’s manner of walking |
| Rheum | Swollen, boggy, painful finger joints |
| Immolation | Death or destruction |
| Flambeaux | flaming torch |
| Fettered | confined or restrained |
| Cannibal | a person who eats human flesh |
| Palpable | capable of being touched or felt |
| Doggedly | persistently or stubbornly |
| Invalid | a person made weak or disabled by illness or injury |
| Caul | (n.) the amniotic membrane enclosing a fetus |
| Vermillion | a brilliant scarlet red |
| Infallible | Incapable of making mistakes or being wrong |
| Infinitesimal | so small as to be almost immeasurable; minute |
| Correlate | to correspond; to be mutually related |
| Blunder | A stupid or careless mistake. |
| Caste | a rigid and hereditary social class |
| Hierarchy | A group organized by rank |
| Precipitous | very steep |
| Interloper | one who moves in where he or she is not wanted or has no right to be, an intruder |
| Verona, Italy | In what city does the play take place? |
| They are thwarted by fate through influence of the stars | Why are Romeo and Juliet called “star-cross’d lovers”? |
| The Montague and Capulet servingmen | Who is fighting at the beginning of the first scene? |
| Benvolio | Who tries to break up the fighting? |
| He threatens to kill them if they are caught fighting again | What threat does the Prince make to Lord Montague and Lord Capulet |
| Romeo is depressed, isolated, and secretive | Benvolio and Montague describe the way Romeo has been acting. What do they have to say about him? |
| Because he loves a girl but she does not love him back | Why is Romeo so sad? Explain. |
| He advises him to forget her and find someone else | What is Benvolio’s advice to Romeo? |
| Because they have the same punishment and are older/more mature now | Why does Capulet think it will be easy for Montague and him to keep the peace? |
| Paris asks for consent to marry Juliet (at first Capulet says she is too young, but later he tells Paris to ‘woo’ Juliet at the party) | What does Paris ask about Capulet? What is Capulet’s first answer? What does he change his mind to? |
| He cannot read the list | What problem does the servant have? |
| Rosaline | What is the name of the woman Romeo loves? |
| They go to the party to meet girls | What do Romeo and Benvolio decide to do? |
| 13 (almost 14) | How old is Juliet? |
| Juliet does not think about it | When Lady Capulet asks Juliet how she feels about marriage, what is Juliet’s answer? |
| She tells her that she should at least meet Paris | Following Juliet’s answer, what does Lady Capulet then tell Juliet? |
| She is a dream-giving midwife of fairies | According to Mercutio, who or what is Queen Mab, and what does she or it do? |
| He says dreams are not indicative of real life | What does Mercutio say about dreams? |
| Romeo is apprehensive because he believes he will die as a result of tonight’s events, yet he is accepting and believes he is in fate’s hands | What is Romeo’s mood at the end of this scene? Explain. |
| He thinks she is the most beautiful girl in the world | What does Romeo think of Juliet the first time he sees her? |
| He recognizes Romeo’s voice | How does Tybalt recognize Romeo? |
| Capulet says Romeo should be allowed to stay because he is a good man (he is avoiding a fight) | When Tybalt is ready to seize Romeo and throw him out of the party, what does Capulet say to Tybalt? |
| They discuss (in a metaphor/sonnet) praying & kissing | Explain what the conversation is between Romeo and Juliet. |
| He asked the Nurse Juliet’s mother’s name | How does Romeo find out Juliet’s last name? |
| She tells her Nurse to find out. | How does Juliet find out Romeo’s last name? |
| adversary | An enemy, opponent |
| ambiguity | An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way. |
| banishment | Exile |
| boisterous | stormy; violent; rowdy |
| dexterity | skill; cleverness |
| idolatry | extreme devotion to a person or thing |
| lament | to grieve for |
| nuptial | wedding |
| peruse | look over |
| reconcile | to become friendly again |
| shroud | a burial cloth |
| solemnity | being serious or dignified |
| “Two households, both alike in dignity” | Two families that are are equally proud |
| “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life” | Two lovers that are ill-fated, or doomed, to commit suicide |
| “I strike quickly, being moved” | If I find myself in a fight I am a quick fighter |
| “Do you quarrel, sir?” | Do you fight? |
| “What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate that word as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.” | What, you have your sword out and want them to stop fighting? I hate peace just as much as I hate sinning, Montagues and you! |
| “If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.” | If there is another riot caused by your families again you shall be put to death. |
| “Many a morning hath he there been seen, with tears augmenting the fresh morning’s dew.” | Many mornings Romeo has been seen in there, crying his eyes out |
| “Alas that love, so gentle in his view, should be so tyrannous and rough in proof” | Love looks like it will be nice, but in reality it is tough and breaks my heart. |
| “A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit.” | A hot girl, cousin, is easier to fall in love with. |
| “The all-seeing sun ne’er saw her match since first the world began” | The sun never saw anyone as beautiful as Rosaline since the beginning of time |
| “I’ll look to like, if looking liking move; but no more deep will I endart mine eye than your consent gives strength to make it fly.” | I’ll see if Paris is hot and because you want me to marry him that makes me NOT want to marry him more. |
| “True, I talk of dreams; which are the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing by vain fantasy” | Dreams mean nothing more than bored fantasy |
| “Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shown in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands to touch, and palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss.” | Good religious person, your devotion should not be to kissing, but rather to prayer by putting your hands together. |
| “Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.” | My lips are sinful? I couldn’t resist that sin. Let me kiss you again. |
| “My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!” | My love is the child of my enemy? I saw him and fell in love with him before I knew better! |
| Instead of returning home, where does Romeo go after the ball? | After the ball, Romeo goes over the wall and into the Capulet orchard. |
| What is a soliloquy and how is it used in Scene 2? | A soliloquy is a dramatic monologue spoken aloud by a character to reveal his thoughts to the audience. Romeo uses a soliloquy to describe Juliet’s beauty as she stands on her balcony. |
| By whose name does Mercutio call for Romeo? | Mercutio keeps calling for Romeo in Rosaline’s name. |
| How does Romeo learn of Juliet’s love for him? | He overhears Juliet speaking of her love for him when she thinks she is alone. |
| What does Romeo say helped him climb over the high walls of the Capulet orchard and find Juliet’s window? | Love, which gave him wings, helped him over the wall and made it possible for him to find her balcony. |
| What do Romeo and Juliet exchange? | Romeo and Juliet exchange vows of love. |
| What do Romeo and Juliet plan to do the next day? | Romeo and Juliet plan to be married the next day. |
| To what does Romeo compare Juliet’s beauty? | Romeo compares Juliet’s beauty to brightness, warmth, and light. (The brightness of her cheeks would outshine the stars the way the sun outshines a lamp, etc.) |
| Who keeps interrupting the balcony scene? | The Nurse keeps interrupting the balcony scene. |
| Why does Juliet ask Romeo not to swear by the moon? | Juliet asks Romeo not to swear his love on the moon because the moon appears to change in size as it orbits the earth, suggesting that it is fickle. |
| What is Friar Laurence’s special skill or area of knowledge? | Friar Laurence’s special skill is in making medicines and potions from herbs. |
| With what does Friar Laurence compare the beneficial and poisonous parts of the plant? | Friar Laurence compares the beneficial and poisonous parts of a plant to the good and evil within a man. |
| About what does the Friar caution Romeo? | Not to marry so fast; not to take things so hastily. |
| Why does the Friar agree to marry Romeo and Juliet? | The Friar believes that by marrying the two lovers, he will end the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues and thus, will better his reputation and go higher in the church. |
| Who has sent Romeo a challenge for a duel? | Tybalt has sent Romeo a challenge for a duel. He is angry that Romeo came to the ball uninvited and was allowed to remain. |
| What excuse is Juliet to give for going to Friar Laurence’s cell? | Juliet is going to get permission to go to Friar Laurence’s cell by saying that she needs to go to shrift, or confession. |
| Where are Romeo and Juliet to be married? | Romeo and Juliet are to be married in Friar Laurence’s cell. |
| Who teases Romeo about Rosaline and his love-sickness? | Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, teases him about Rosaline and his love-sickness. |
| Who teases the Nurse and causes her to become crass? | Mercutio teases the Nurse and causes her to become angry. |
| How does Romeo plan to get into Juliet’s window? | Romeo has given the Nurse a rope ladder in order that he might climb into Juliet’s window later that night. |
| At what time did Juliet send the Nurse to see Romeo and find out the wedding plans? | Juliet sent the Nurse at nine o’clock in the morning to find out the wedding news from Romeo. |
| How long has Juliet been waiting for the Nurse to return with the news from Romeo? | Juliet has been waiting three hours for the Nurse to return with the news. |
| How does the Nurse react when she finally returns? | The Nurse claims to be tired from her journey and prolongs telling her the news. |
| How does the Nurse feel about the marriage? | The Nurse is in favor of the marriage and feels that Romeo is handsome as well as polite. |
| What is the Friar afraid of? | The Friar is afraid that both lovers are acting too hastily. |
| The friar warns Romeo again about something. What is it? | The Friar warns Romeo again about acting too hastily. |
| How much do the lovers say their love has grown? | The lovers say that their love has grown to such an extent that it cannot be counted. |
| How many people know of the marriage? | Four main characters know of the marriage. Romeo and Juliet, of course, are aware; but also the Nurse and Friar Laurence have become accomplices in the affair. |
| Where does the marriage take place? | The marriage takes place in Friar Laurence’s cell or chapel. |
| What is another name for the Friar? | Friar Laurence is also referred to as the ghostly confessor. |
| “If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.” | Mercutio: If a person can’t see the other person they can’t fall in love with them. Love requires that the other person is hot. |
| “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!” | Romeo: But look, what light is that on in that window? The light is a sunrise rising in the East and Juliet is the sun. |
| “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name! Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” | Juliet: O Romeo, Romeo, where are you? Leave your father and the Montague family. If you won’t, but you promise to love me, I’ll leave my family and no longer be a Capulet. |
| “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” | Juliet: What does a name even mean? If we called a rose by another name would it still not smell nice? |
| “Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized” | Romeo: Tell me that you love me and I’ll change my name |
| “My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words of that tongue’s utterance, yet I know the sound.” | Juliet: I haven’t heard this voice speak more than 100 words, yet I can recognize it. |
| “O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable.” | Juliet: Don’t promise on the moon because it is always changing (waxing and waning) unless your love is easily changed as well. Or – Don’t be a player, please. |
| “The earth that’s nature’s mother is her tomb, what is her burying grave, that is her womb.” | Friar Laurence: The earth provides life, with birth, but also life is buried in the earth. |
| I have been feasting with mine enemy, where on a sudden one hath wounded me that’s by me wounded. | Romeo: I was at a party hosted by my enemy. There I feel in quick love, and they fell in love with me. |
| “Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift.” | Friar Laurene: Speak plainly and without so much flowery words. |
| “O, she knew well thy love did read by rote, that could not spell.” | Friar Laurence: Rosaline knew you were playing in love, but that you didn’t really know what love meant. |
| “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” | Friar Laurence: Go smartly and slow. Those that go too fast fall down. |
| “Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting; it is a most sharp sauce.” | Mercutio: Your wit is like a bitter apple. Your humor is spicy sauce.” |
| “Love heralds should be thoughts, which ten times faster glide than the sun’s beams driving back shadows over lowering hills” | Juliet: A messenger sending notes of love should go quickly, faster than the sun shedding light on the dark hills. |
| “How art thou out of breath when thou hast breath to say to me that thou art out of breath?” | Juliet: Why are you claiming to be out of breath and yet have enough breath to tell me you are out of breath? |
| “Well, you have made a simple choice you know not how to chose a man.” | Nurse: You have made a stupid choice. You don’t know how to pick a man to love. |
| “So, smile the heavens upon this holy act that after-hours with sorry chide us not.” | Friar Laurence: Bless this marriage before something terrible happens afterwords. |
| “These violent delights have violent ends.” | Friar Laurence: This is a play on words. These sudden acts have sudden consequences…or going against your families and marrying too quickly is going to end badly. |
| S1-At the beginning of the scene, why does Benvolio think that there will be a fight? | Benvolio says it is hot out and the Capulets are out. He also says in hot weather, like the kind they are experiencing, anger is easily triggered, resulting in a brawl that the two will be unable to avoid. |
| S1-What does Mercutio accuse Benvolio of in lines 15-30? | Mercutio accuses Benvolio of being a short tempered man that will often start fights for no apparent reason. |
| S1-When Tybalt and Mercutio first begin arguing, what does Benvolio try to them to do? | Benvolio tells both Mercutio and Tybalt that they are arguing in public. He tells both of them to go someplace private and argue peacefully or to just go away and leave each other alone. |
| S1-What does Tybalt call Romeo? | Tybalt calls Romeo a villain and a dog. |
| S1-Why won’t Romeo fight Tybalt? | Romeo will not fight Tybalt because he just became married to Tybalt’s cousin, Juliet. Romeo considers Tybalt to be part of his family (through marriage); therefore, he will not fight a family member. |
| S1-What does Mercutio think is the reason Romeo refuses to fight? | Mercutio thinks that Romeo is refusing to fight because he has been weakened by love. Mercutio thinks that Romeo’s surrender is dishonorable. |
| S1-Why does Mercutio keep repeating, “A plague o’ both your houses”? | Mercution keeps repeating this phrase because the family feud has cost him his life. As he lays dying he is showing his anger and wishes for evil to happen to both families. This is a good example of foreshadowing in the play. |
| S1-What does Romeo say that Juliet’s love has done to him? | Romeo states, “Thy love has made me effeminate.” Romeo is saying that his love for Juliet has turned him into a weak and helpless girl. |
| S1-Why does Romeo call himself “fortune’s fool”? | Romeo is commenting on his bad luck and how fate has turned against him. |
| S1-When Benvolio relates to the Prince what happened, what does he say Romeo tried to before Mercutio was killed? | Benvolio tells the Prince that Romeo tried to the stop the fight. He also tells the Prince that he tried to use the penalty imposed by the Prince as a means to stop the fight. |
| S1-What does Lady Capulet accuse Benvolio of? Why? | Lady Capulet accuses Benvolio of lying to the Prince. She accuses him of this because he is part of the Montague family. |
| S1-What is Romeo’s punishment for killing Tybalt? | The Prince decides that Romeo should banished to Mantua. The Prince also states that should Romeo return to Verona that he will receive the penalty of death. |
| S2-Why is Juliet so impatient for the nurse to return? | It is the wedding night and she is waiting for nightfall when Romeo will climb the rope ladder to her room. She is becoming more impatient as time passes slowly. The nurse is bringing Juliet more news that she hopes will help her prepare for the night. |
| S2-Describe Juliet’s rapidly changing attitudes toward Romeo in this scene. | At first Juliet thinks that Romeo has been killed because the nurse is talking about the death of someone but does not tell her the person’s name. She is worried about him. When she finds out that Tybalt has been killed by Romeo, she states, “O serpent heart hid within a flowering face.” She thinks that Romeo was truly “fake” and was only a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Then she forgets about what he did and immediately goes back to being in love with him because it is her husband. |
| S2-What piece of news has upset Juliet the most? | Juliet is most upset by the news that Romeo has been banished from Verona. |
| S2-What does the nurse promise to do? | The nurse promises to go find Romeo and have him come to Juliet’s room and have their “wedding night.” |
| S3-Explain Romeo’s reaction to the news of his banishment. | Romeo is devastated at the news of his banishment. In this scene he threw himself on the floor and his crying loudly and equating his banishment to a life in hell. Romeo would rather be dead than banished from Verona. |
| S3-Romeo tells Friar Laurence that the priest cannot know or understand how Romeo feels. Why? | Romeo tells the priest he cannot understand his sorrow because the priest has not been in love nor has he ever been married. Romeo tells the Friar if you were young, and in love with Juliet, had just been married, and then killed a man, that he too would be in the same position as him. |
| S3-What argument does Friar Laurence use to prevent Romeo from killing himself? | Friar Lawrence tells Romeo that he has a great deal to live for and that he should be thankful first for being alive. He then tells Romeo that he has Juliet to be thankful for and should do his best to live for her. |
| S3-What does The Nurse give to Romeo? | The nurse gives Romeo a ring from Juliet to show him that she still loves him. |
| S4-What does Capulet tell his wife to say to Juliet? | Capulet tells his wife to go to Juliet’s chambers and tell her of the joyful news of the marriage on Thursday. Lady Capulet tells him that she will find out “what she thinks of marriage.” |
| S5-As Romeo is preparing to leave Juliet, what argument does she use to convince him to stay? | Juliet tells Romeo that it was Nightingale that he heard singing in the tree. She tells him it only sings at night and therefore, he has plenty of time to stay with her until the morning. |
| S5-Later, why does Juliet think Romeo should leave? | Juliet realizes that she is mistaken that it was in fact the Lark that was singing its “harsh” song in the trees. She tells Romeo he must go to avoid being seen and captured. |
| S5-Just as Romeo is about to descend the rope ladder and leave Juliet, what does Juliet say about the way Romeo looks? | Juliet tells Romeo that he looks “dead at the bottom of a tomb,” and she mentions that he looks “pale.” This is a good example foreshadowing. |
| S5-Why does Lady Capulet think Juliet is crying? | Lady Capulet thinks that she is still crying over the death of her cousin Tybalt. |
| S5-When Lady Capulet threatens to send someone to Mantua to poison Romeo, what does Juliet say? | Juliet tells Lady Capulet that she would mix the poison herself. |
| S5-After Lady Capulet breaks the news about Paris, what is Juliet’s response? | Juliet tells her mother that she will not marry Paris, that she would rather marry Romeo instead before ever considering the wedding her father has planned. |
| S5-If Juliet’s mother does not arrange to delay the marriage, what will Juliet do? | Juliet tells her mother that if she does not delay the marriage that she will kill herelf. |
| S5-What is Capulet’s reaction to Juliet’s threats? | Both Capulet and Lady Capulet tell Juliet what they expect from her, if she chooses not to obey, they will both disown her and throw her out of the house. |
| S5-What is the nurse’s advice to Juliet? | The nurse tells Juliet that Romeo is not allowed to return to Verona. Since he is unable to return, the nurse tells her to forget about him and agree to marry Paris because he is just as good as Romeo. |
| S5-How does Juliet’s attitude toward the nurse change? | Juliet has decided that she will no longer listen to the nurse and will no longer trust her with any of her secrets. Juliet is turning her back on everything that she has known for her short life. |
| S5-What “scheme” does Juliet devise to get rid of the nurse and to get out of the house? | Juliet told the nurse to go to her parents and tell them that she was off to see Friar Lawrence to confess her sins and be forgiven. |
| “The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, and if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl, for now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.” | Speaker: BenvolioIt’s a hot day, and Capulets are everywhere. Hot days make people angry and we’re sure to end up in a fight. |
| “Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford no better term than this: thou art a villain.” | Speaker: TybaltRomeo, the amount of love I feel for you can be summed up in one phrase – you are an evil person. |
| “Good King of Cats, nothing but one of your nine lives. that I mean to make bold withal, and, as you shall use me hereafter, dry-beat the rest of the eight.” | Speaker: MercutioYo, King of the Cats, I’ll take one of your nine lives. And, depending on how well you die, I might take the other 8 as well. |
| “Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain? Away to heaven respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!” | Speaker: RomeoHe lives and gloats while Mercutio is dead? I will kill him myself and maybe heaven will have mercy on him. Revenge is leading me now. |
| “O, I am fortune’s fool!” | Speaker: RomeoO, I have the wost luck. |
| “But I’ll amerce you with so strong a fine that you shall all repent the loss of mine.” | Speaker: PrinceI’ll give you such a tough punishment that you will feel guilty for killing my relative, Tybalt. |
| “O serpent heart, hid with a flow’ring face!” | Speaker: JulietHis cute face hid his evil heart. |
| “That ‘banished’, that one word ‘banished,’ hath slain ten thousand Tybalts.” | Speaker: JulietBanishment is worse than 10,000 death sentences. |
| “Affliction is enamored of thy parts, and thou art wedded to calamity” | Speaker: Friar LaurencePain is in love with you, and you are married to bad fortune. – meaning you are emo. |
| “Thou cuttst my head off with a golden ax and smilest upon the stroke that murders me.” | Speaker: RomeoWhat is supposed to be a nicer punishment, with banishment, is actually just a harsh punishment delivered in a pretty package. |
| “There are the ground, with his own tears made.” | Speaker: Friar LaurenceRomeo is on the ground wallowing in his own tears. |
| “They noble shape is but a form of wax, digressing from the valor of a man.” | Speaker: Friar LaurenceYou look like a noble, good man, but it is all fake and your attitude is that of a weak person. |
| “It is not yet near day. It was the nightingale and not the lark, that pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear.” | Speaker: JulietIt is not morning yet. It was the night bird, and not the morning bird, that you heard. |
| “I doubt it not; and all these woes shall serve for sweet discourse in our time to come.” | Speaker: RomeoWe will see eachother again and these problems will be funny stories we will tell each other when we are old together. |
| “Some grief shows much of love; but much of grief shows still some want of wit” | Speaker: Lady CapuletSome grief is ok, but too much makes you look stupid. |
| “Soft! take me with you, take me with you, wife.” | Speaker: CapuletBe quiet and talk me through this, wife. |
| “Wife, we scarce thought us blest that God had lent us but this only child; but now I see this one is too much, and that we have a curse in having her.” | Speaker: CapuletWife, we thought it was a blessing to have this one child, but now it is a curse. I wish we never had her. |
| “Is there no pity sitting in the clouds that sees into the bottom of my grief?” | Speaker: JulietIs there no one in heaven that sees how much I am suffering and can help me? |
| “I think it best you married with the County. O, he’s a lovely gentleman! Romeo’s a dishclout net to him.” | Speaker: NurseYou should marry Count Paris. He’s a nice man. Romeo looks like a dishtowel next to him. |
| “If all else fail, myself have the power to die.” | Speaker: JulietIf the Friar can’t help me I’ll kill myself. |
| adversary | opponent; enemy |
| ambiguity | statement or event in which meaning is unclear |
| banishment | exile |
| boisterous | stormy; violent; rowdy |
| idolatry | extreme devotion to a person or thing |
| lament | to grieve for |
| reconcile | to become friendly again |
| shroud | a burial cloth |
| solemnity | being serious or dignified |
| aside | A device in which a character in a drama makes a short speech which is heard by the audience but not by other characters in the play |
| foreshadowing | A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader. |
| soliloquy | A long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage |
| How does Paris think Juliet feels about him? | Paris thinks that Juliet loves him; In truth, Juliet never really admits to it. |
| What does Juliet ask of Friar Laurence? | Juliet seeks out the Friar in hopes that he will solve her problem and postpone the marriage. |
| What does Juliet say she will do if she cannot find a way to avoid marrying Paris? | Juliet entertains the thought of killing herself. |
| How does Juliet respond to Paris’ complements in this act? | Evasively. She is trying to be polite but does not want to admit that she will marry Paris, since she has no intention of doing so. |
| What does Friar Laurence say will happen when Juliet drinks the potion? | Juliet will essentially be dead, but after 24 hours she will wake up out of a “pleasant sleep.” |
| How will Romeo learn of Friar Laurence’s plan? | He is supposed to hear it from Balthazar, but Friar Lawrence doesn’t tell Balthazar, but sends the message with Friar John instead. As a result, Romeo never learns of Friar Lawrence’s plan. |
| What does Friar Laurence say Romeo and Juliet will do after Juliet awakens? | Go to Mantua together to live forever. |
| In scene 2 what does Juliet tell her father? | Juliet promises her father that she will marry Paris, even though she knows that Romeo and herself have other plans. |
| What activities occur in the Capulet household at the start of scene 2? | Everyone is getting prepared for the wedding |
| Describe Capulet’s character at the end of scene 2. | Capulet returns to more of his good-natured side of himself, and is happy that his daughter has consented to his idea of happiness. |
| Describe the various fears Juliet has as she gets ready to drink Friar Laurence’s potion. | For a few moments of suspense Juliet questions if this potion will work, and, more importantly, if she will see her Romeo again. She also doubts if the Friar was just lying to her and she would really die if she drank the potion. |
| What effect might Capulet’s change of plans have on the Friar’s arrangements? | Lord Capulet, Juliet’s father, sets the wedding up from Thursday to Wednesday after Juliet consents to marry Paris. He gets excited that she is “finally” coming around to what he wants. |
| At what time does scene 4 occur? | the day after Tybalt is killed and Romeo is banished. |
| How do Capulet, his wife, the nurse, and Paris react when they find Juliet? | They all talk in a frenzy lamenting Juliet’s death while Paris asks why his bride be taken away from him in such an untimely manner. |
| What does Friar Laurence tell the family? | The Friar counsels them to retain some order and proceed with the funeral. |
| “You say you do not know the lady’s mind. Uneven is the course; I like it not.” | Friar LaurenceYou don’t know how Juliet feels about you. This course is uncertain and I don’t like it. |
| “For Venus smiles not in a house of tears.” | ParisLove doesn’t come when someone is sad. |
| “That’s a certain text.” | Friar LaurenceThat’s the truth. |
| “The tears have got small victory by that, For it was bad enough before their spite.” | Juliet:The tears didn’t ruin my face, it was ugly before I started crying. |
| “Be not so long to speak. I long to die if what thou speakst speak not of remedy.” | JulietHurry up and tell me a solution to my issue or I’ll just kill myself. |
| “Hold, daughter, I do spy a kind of hope, which craves as desperate an execution as that is desperate which we would prevent.” | Friar LaurenceIf you are desperate enough to kill yourself then you will be daring enough to do this plan. |
| “For I have need of many orisons to move the heavens to smile upon my state, which, well thou knowest, is cross and full of sin.” | JulietI need to pray because I am a sinner and need forgiveness from God. |
| “My dismal scene I needs must act alone.” | JulietMy suicide must be done alone. |
| “Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, to whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in, and there die strangeld ere my Romeo comes?” | JulietWhat if I am stuck in the tomb with all the stuffy dead air and die strangled before Romeo comes to save me? |
| “Ay, you have been a mouse-hunt in your time; but I will watch you from such watching now.” | Lady CapuletYou used to be a player when you were young but now I have my eye on you so you don’t mess around. |
| “Death lies on her like an untimely frost upon the sweetest flower of all the field.” | CapuletJuliet died too young. |
| “See, there she lies, flower as she was, deflowered by him. Death is my son-in-law, Death is my heir; my daughter he hath wedded.” | CapuletJuliet married death and lost her virginity to death. Death is now my son-in-law. Juliet died before she could get married and lose her virginity.” |
| “Heaven and yourself had part in this fair maid! Now heaven hath all and all the better is it for the maid.” | Friar LaurenceJuliet lived with her family and with heaven. Juliet has gone to heaven and it is nice for her. |
| “For though fond nature bids us all lament, yet nature’s tears are reason’s merriment.” | Friar LaurenceEven though it feels natural to cry when someone dies, we also should be happy for the dead that they are in heaven. |
| Pun | “Be not so long to speak. I long to die if what thou speakst speak not of remedy.”Long here means both Time (I’m waiting a long time to hear you speak) and Want (I long to hear you speak! I want you to speak!). Because long has 2 meanings, it is therefore a pun. |
| Oxymoron | “I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins that almost freezes up the heat of life.”Juliet feels a cold in her veins bc she is scared, which contrasts the heat of her life. These are contradictions, and therefore an oxymoron. |
| ambiguity | statement or event in which meaning is unclear |
| idolatry | extreme devotion to a person or thing |
| peruse | look over |
| solemnity | being serious or dignified |
| shroud | a burial cloth |
| Shrift | confession |
| aside | a remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play. |
| soliloquy | an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play. |
| What was Juliet scared of before taking the poison? | 1. That the Friar would kill her to hide the dishonor from marrying Romeo and Juliet without permission.2. Death from strangulation from bad air in the tomb.3. Going crazy surrounded by the dead and bashing her head in with a bone.4. That the poison will not work and she will be forced to marry Paris. 5. Being surrounded by all the dead family members, and Tybalt, come to haunt her. |
| The 2 reasons why Juliet has to drink the poison instead of just running away with Romeo. | 1.Lady Capulet has threatened to send a man to poison Romeo in Mantua. 2.Capulet has also scheduled Juliet to get married the next day. There is no time for her to run away. |
| List of things Juliet would rather do than marry Paris. | 1. Leap off a tower2. Bitten by snakes3. Chained with bears4. Shut in with a horse5. Covered in bones that smell and have flesh falling off. 6. Buried alive in a grave |
| Mood | Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader |
| Tone | Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character |
| How is mood found? | Through Setting, Imagery and Foreshadowing |
| How is tone found? | Through word choice |
| round character | A character who has many personality traits and is life-like |
| flat character | A character who is not very well developed; has few identifiable characteristics |
| dynamic character | A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story’s action |
| static character | A character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end |
| anti-hero | a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes. |
| personification | the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea |
| hyperbole | exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. |
| symbolism | A device in literature where an object represents an idea. |
| direct characterization | Author directly describes character |
| indirect characterization | Author subtly reveals the character through actions and interactions. |
| Types of indirect characterization | Speech, Thoughts, Effect on Others, Actions, Looks |
| Pun | A play on words |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. |
| Allusion | A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art |
| Rhyme Scheme | A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem |
| Verbal Irony | A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant |
| Situational Irony | An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected |
| Dramatic Irony | the contrast between what a character expects and what the audience knows is true |
| Paradox | a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true |
| Flashback | present action is temporarily interrupted so that past events can be described |
| Couplet | Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme |
| Epithet | A descriptive name or phrase used to characterize someone or something |
| Imagery | Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) |
| Alliteration | Repetition of consonant sounds |
| Satire | using humor to expose something or someone to ridicule |
| Homeric Question | Whether Homer existed or wrote the Odyssey |
| Epic Hero | a larger-than-life figure who goes on a journey faces antagonists and returns home considerably transformed |
| Epic Poem | A long narrative poem telling of a hero’s deeds |
| Narrator | Person telling the story |
| Dialogue | Conversation between characters |
| First Person POV | the narrator is a character in the story, using I, Me, We, or Us |
| Second Person POV | You, your etc – you should never use this |
| Third Person Omniscient | The narrator knows everything about the characters and their problems |
| Third Person Limited | the narrator tells what only one character thinks, feels, and observes |
| Third Person Objective | the narrator focuses on what a character says/sees/does |
| Theme | Central idea of a work of literature |
| Allegory | a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. |
| Inference | A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning |
| Archeype | A setting, character, theme, or symbol common in a shared culture. |
| Analogy | A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way |
| Anagnorisis | recognition or discovery on the part of the hero; change from ignorance to knowledge |
| anecdote | a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person |
| Protagonist | Main character in a story |
| Antagonist | A character or force in conflict with the main character |
| Aphorism | A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. |
| Assonance | Repetition of vowel sounds |
| Bildungsroman | A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character. |
| cliche | a worn-out idea or overused expression |
| Conceit | A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects. |
| Connotation | an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. |
| Denotation | The dictionary definition of a word |
| Colloquialism | informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing |
| caricature | an exaggerated portrayal of one’s features |
| Hyperbole | exaggeration |
| Catharsis | the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. |
| deus ex machina | In literature, the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem. |
| Dystopia | an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. |
| Utopia | an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect |
| elegy | a sad or mournful poem |
| Stanza | a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse. |
| epistolary | A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters |
| free verse | Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme |
| blank verse | Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| iambic pentameter | a poetic meter that is made up of 5 stressed syllables each followed by an unstressed syllable |
| Foil | A character who is in most ways opposite to the main character (protagonist) or one who is nearly the same as the protagonist. The purpose of the foil character is to emphasize the traits of the main character by contrast only |
| foot | A metrical unit composed of stressed and unstressed syllables. |
| Hubris | excessive pride or self-confidence |
| Jargon | special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand. |
| Kenning | A device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities, as in “ring-giver” for king and “whale-road” for ocean. |
| Idiom | A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally. |
| Intertextuality | the relationship between texts, especially literary ones. |
| Logos | Appeal to logic |
| Ethos | Appeal to Authority |
| Pathos | Appeal to emotion |
| Monologue | a literary device that is the speech or verbal presentation given by a single character in order to express his or her collection of thoughts and ideas aloud. |
| Soliloquy | A long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage |
| fiction | A story that is not true or is made up |
| biography | story of a person’s life written by another person |
| essay | a short piece of writing on a particular subject. |
| memoir | A historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources |
| auto biography | the story of a persons life told by that person |
| Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it |
| Motivation | A character’s incentive or reason for behaving in a certain manner; that which impels a character to act |
| Setting | The time and place of a story |
| Onomatopoeia | A word that imitates the sound it represents. |
| Prologue | A speech, passage, or event coming before the main speech or event |
| palindrome | A word or an expression that is spelled the same backward and forward |
| Parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. |
| Quatrain | A four line stanza |
| Realism | A 19th century artistic movement in which writers and painters sought to show life as it is rather than life as it should be |
| Romanticism | 19th century artistic movement that appealed to emotion rather than reason |
| Syntax | The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. |
| Sonnet | a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line. |
| Tragedy | A serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character |
| comedy | A literary work which ends happily because the hero or heroine is able to overcome obstacles and get what he or she wants. |
| tragic flaw | A weakness or limitation of character, resulting in the fall of the tragic hero. |
| verse | A single line of poetry |
| Mood | Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader |
| Tone | Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character created by word choice. |
| Imagery | Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) |
| indirect characterization | the process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed through the character’s speech, actions, appearance, etc. |
| speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions, looks | What does STEAL stand for? |
| direct characterization | Author directly describes character |
| round character | A character who demonstrates some complexity and who develops or changes in the course of a work |
| flat character | A character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story |
| dynamic character | A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story’s action |
| static character | A character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end |
| verbal irony | A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant |
| dramatic irony | when a reader is aware of something that a character isn’t |
| situtational irony | something happens that isn’t what was expected |
| Pun | a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings. |
| Inference | A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning |
| Paradox | A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. |
| Foreshadowing | A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader. |
| Flashback | a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story. |
| Epithet | an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned. |
| Allusion | A reference to another work of literature, person, or event |
| Allegory | a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. |
| Personification | A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. |
| Motif | A recurring theme, subject or idea |
| Theme | Central idea of a work of literature |
| Archetype | A detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response |
| Anti-hero | a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes. |
| Alliteration | Repetition of initial consonant sounds |
| Satire | A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies. |
| Homeric Question | the doubt and consequent debate over the identity of Homer, the authorship of the Iliad and Odyssey, and their historicity |
| Albatros | symbol of guilt and violence |
| Water, water everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink | Paradox |
| The bright-eyed Mariner. | Epithet |
Figurative Language, Romeo & Juliet Act 1, Romeo & Juliet Act 2, Romeo & Juliet: Act III Study Questions, Romeo and Juliet Act 4, Figurative Language – English Honors, English 9 Honors Quarter 1 Review
December 31, 2019