Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Identifying Literary Devices

example of a pun 1 Sampson: My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee. (I.1.32)
example of an allusion Romeo alludes to the mythological goddess Diana when he describes Rosaline’s intelligence. “She hath Dian’s wit….” (1.1.202)
example of an oxymoron “O brawling love! O brawling hate, O loving hate…” (1.1.172-171)
example of a metaphor “I will make thee think thy swan a crow” (1.2.89) Benvolio tells Romeo if he looks at other beautiful girls, Rosaline will seem ugly.
example of dramatic irony 1 Clown: “My master is the great rich Capulet, and if you be not of the house of Montages I pray come and crush a cup of wine” (I.1.81-83).(the audience knows but the servant doesn’t)
example of an extended metaphor “Read o’er the volume of young Paris’ face, And find delight writ there with beauty’s pen” (1.3.82-83). Lady Capulet tells her daughter Juliet to seriously consider marrying Paris, whom she compares to a book.
example of a pun 2 Romeo: “you have dancing shoes/with nimble soles; I have a soul of lead….” (1.4.15-16) Romeo explains to Mercutio that he is too sad to dance.
example of foreshadowing “I fear…some consequence, yet hanging in the stars/shall bitterlybegin his fearful date with this night’s revels….(ending in) ultimately death” (1.4.106-111) This is Romeo who thinks someone will die.
example of soliloquy 1 “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun” (2.2.1-5). This soliloquy speaks to the beauty of Juliet and his yet unrequited love for her.
example of soliloquy 2 Romeo: “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright” (I.5.42-52). She was so beautiful that she made the torches around the hall appear to grow dim
example of aside Romeo: “Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?” (2.2.36). Juliet is unaware someone is out on balcony when romeo reveals his anxiety on love.
example of simile 1 Romeo says that love “pricks like thorn”(2.4.26).
example of simile 2 Romeo says that lover’s tongues are “like softest music to attending ears” (2.2.165)
example of tragic hero Romeo is willing to sacrifice his life in order to be with Juliet.
example of tragic flaw Romeo falls in love easily and believes in fate.
example of dramatic irony 2 Nurse: “Lady, lady, lady!—Alas, alas! Help, help! My lady’s dead!” (4.5.14-17). Juliet is found dead in her bed – they all think that she is dead/ she is not dead.
Dramatic irony 3 Nurse: “Alack the day! He’s gone, he’s killed, he’s dead!” (3.2.37-39). Nurse weeps (for Tybalt), but at first she never openly states who she is weeping for. Juliet misinterprets her and thinks that Romeo has been killed. (its actually Tybalt).
Pathos Chorus: “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life” Prologue line 6.
Metaphor “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun” (2.1.3)
Simile “As glorious to this night, being o’er my head / As is a winged messenger of heaven” (2.2.27-28)
July 21, 2019