Literary Elements (Romeo & Juliet and The Odyssey - ELA MIdterms)

Blank Verse

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.

Comic Relief

scene that relieves the overall emotional intensity

Allusion

a figure of speech that makes a reference to a place, person, or something that happened. This can be real or imaginary and may refer to anything, including paintings, opera, folk-lore, mythical figures, or religious manuscripts.

Foil Character

A character whose personality or attitude contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in the same work

Soliloquy

an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers.

Iambic Pentameter

a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.

unstressed = shown by a half circle

stressed = shown by a forward slash

When you see a character’s lines start midway across the page, it is because they are finishing the iambic pentameter that the previous speaker started. 

example: 

Benvolio: Good morrow, Cousin.
Romeo:                                                       Is the day so young?
Benvolio: But new struck nine.
Romeo:                                      Aye me, sad hours seem long! (I.1.131-

Pun

A play on words, especially those that sound alike, but have different meanings (i.e. “Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man”)

Oxymoron

When two opposite terms are used together (i.e. “O heavy lightness!”)

Tragedy

Monologue

Aside

Tragic Hero

Sonnet

Prose vs. poetry in R&J

Figurative Language

Foreshadowing

Hyperbole

Irony

Simile

Metaphor

Personification

Symbolism

Imagery

Tone

Mood

Theme

Characterization: direct and indirect

Connotation

Epic Hero

Epic Simile

Epithet

Damsel in Distress

The 3 major stages of an epic hero’s journey: Separation, Initiation, and Return. Elements of each

In “Media Res”