| Deus ex Machina | -Deus ex Machina literally means ‘god out of the machine (unrealistic ending) -In ancient Greek and Roman theater this god is introduced to resolve a complicated plot or conflict. |
| Groundlings | -The poorer spectators in public theaters that had to stand and watch a play from the pit or courtyard. -Back when plays were acted out in the Globe, a ticket for groundlings usually only cost 1 penny. |
| Blank verse | -Blank verse is an unrhymed verse written in iambic pentameter. (10 syllables and every 2nd syllable is stressed) -Much of Romeo and Juliet is written in blank verse because this meter is well suited to serious subjects. |
| Imagery | -Imagery is a form of description that appeals to the senses in order to depean the reader’s or audience’s understanding of the work of literature.-The different types of imagery are: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. |
| Dramatic foil | -Dramatic foil is when two characters have opposite personalities, causing a specific trait to stand out-In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio serves as a dramatic foil to the moody and emotional Romeo. |
| Soliloquy | -A soliloquy is a speech in a play given by a character on stage in which he or she reveals their inner thoughts and feelings to the audience-A soliloquy is usually a lengthy speech and is given when no other characters are on stage |
| Aside | -An aside is a brief remark to the audience, uttered while other characters are nearby but unable to hear-Asides are usually called “breaking the fourth wall” because they break the invisible barrier between the actors and the audience |
| Metaphor (extended metaphor) | -An extended metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things without using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ and that is longer than an actual metaphor-In the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, there is an extended metaphor comparing swans and crows to women. |
| Literary convention | -Literary conventions are the defining features of a particular literary genre-For example a literary convention could be “the breaking of the fourth wall” or the fact that characters are not the actual characters they are actors. |
| First folio | -The first folio is the first collection of shakespeare’s literary works-The first folio was put together 7 years after Shakespeare died |
| Quarto | – A quarto is a sheet of paper folded in half and then half again like a sort of pamphlet-Since most of Shakespeare’s work was not much appreciated when he was alive, most his plays were written in quartos instead of folios. |
| Tone | -Tone is the feelings and emotions that accompany the words in a monologue.-In a play, the tone of the speech is conveyed by the voice of the speaker. |
| In media res | -In medias res is the literary and artistic narrative technique of starting a story from the middle of a situation, rather than the beginning.-Act 1, Scene 1 is an example of In media res because the scene begins in the middle of a conversation between Sampson and Gregory. |
| Act | -An act is a unit or division of drama.-The play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare is composed of 5 acts. |
| Scene | -A scene is a part of a play taking place in a single location and in real time without a break.-In the Play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, the first act for example has 5 scenes. |
| Stage Directions | -Directions in the text that instruct actors’ physical movements.-Skakespear’s quartos, for example, only contained limited stage directions because they were very basic |
| Sonnet | -A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines-The shakespearean sonnet is a distinct kind of sonnet created by Shakespeare (abab,cdcd,efef,gg) |
| Dramatis Personae | -Dramatis Personae is latin for the characters or persons in a play.-Dramatis Personae is a term highly linked to Shakespeare as it is included in the original publication of the first folio. |
| Foreshadowing | -Foreshadowing is usually described as the hints and preparations for later events in a peace of literature.-An example in Romeo and Juliet is when their love is said to be “death-marked” |
| Theme | -A theme is a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work which may be stated directly or indirectly.-One of the most important themes in “To Kill a Mockingbird” is prejudice. |
| Tragedy | -A tragedy is a drama in which the central character meets with disaster or great misfortune.-In a tragedy, the central character’s downfall is usually a result of fate or a serious character flaw. |
| Poetics | -Poetics is a book that Aristotle wrote about the study of poems and drama.-Poetics was focuses on classical tragedies and was inspired by the play of Oedipus Rex. |
| Dramatic irony | -Dramatic irony occurs when the audience or reader knows more about the true state of affairs than the characters do.-It is dramatic irony in Romeo and Juliet when they are dancing together not knowing that they are both from enemy families however, the audience knows. |
| Allusion | -An allusion is an indirect or brief reference to a person, place, idea, or thing of some kind of significance. -The sentence, “He is a Romeo with the girls” is an allusion to Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet in Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”. |
| William Skakespear | -Shakespeare was an english writer from the sixteenth century who is most famous for his play “Romeo and Juliet”.-Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets during the span of his life. |
Literary Terms for Romeo and Juliet
October 21, 2019