English 9 Honors FINALS

Includes Greek Theater, Oedipus Rex, and Romeo and Juliet

Anagnorisis

recognition or discovery on the part of a hero; change from ignorance to knowledge

Catharsis

purgation of emotions of pity and fear; leaves the viewer both relieved and elated

Costumes

chiton (long robe) and thurni (platform shoes)

Dionysus

the god of wine who is honored during festivals like Dionysia

Hamartia

a tragic flaw; weakness of character or error in judgement; causes the downfall of a hero

Hubris

arrogance or overweening pride; causes the hero’s transgression against the gods; usually the tragic flaw

Masks

a persona (a mask showing expression)

Messenger

tells news of what was happening away from the scene; acts of violence were not allowed to be shown

Nemesis

fate that cannot be escaped

Orchestra

circular dancing place where actors and chorus performed

Parados

the entrance into the theater used by the chorus

Peripeteia

reversal of fortune

Proskenion

a facade of the skene building which served as a backdrop

Skene

a building used as a dressing room

Sophocles

created Oedipus Rex, added the 3rd actor, and changed the Chorus count to 15

Theatron

the seeing place where the audience sat

Tragedy

an imitation of a serious action which will arouse pity and fear in the viewer

Tragic Hero

a protagonist in a tragedy whose flaws lead to their downfall, often inciting both pity and fear in the audience

Oedipus

a cursed, tragic hero that plays out his fate by unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother

Jocasta

the queen of Thebes who unknowingly marries her son and hangs herself after she realizes the truth

Creon

Jocasta’s brother who becomes the king of Thebes after Jocasta hangs herself

Priest

speaks for the people of Thebes and begged Oedipus to save the city from the plague

Chorus

comments on the action, offers background, and reflects the viewers reactions

Leader

the main speaker of the Chorus

Tiresias

the blind prophet who knows the truth of Oedipus’s fate and warns him

Shepard

responsible for revealing Oedipus's past, working as a shepherd who saved him as a baby

Oracle

a sacred messenger who delivers prophecies from the gods

Juliet

Capulet’s daughter; intelligent, strong-willed, and deeply in love with Romeo, she stabs herself with his dagger after he commits suicide

Capulet

Juliet’s father; proud, progressive, and controlling, wants her to decide her fate, gets angry when he hears she married a Montague

Tybalt

Juliet’s hot-headed cousin; aggressive and loyal to the Capulet name, killed by Romeo

Nurse

Juliet’s caregiver/second mother; uneducated and inappropriate, Juliet’s advisor

Paris

a nobleman and kinsman to the Prince; wants to marry Juliet

Romeo

Montague’s son; emotional and romantic, falls for Juliet and kills himself after believing she is dead

Lady Montague

Romeo’s mother; dies from grief after his exile

Benvolio

Romeo’s cousin; peacekeeper and loyal friend

Mercutio

Romeo’s close friend and relative of the Prince; witty, fiery, and unpredictable

Friar Lawrence

a kind priest; secretly marries Romeo and Juliet, tries to help them

Balthasar

Romeo’s servant; brings news of Juliet’s “death”

Exposition

introduces the background information, setting, and main characters

Rising Action

the main conflict builds and creates suspense, leads up to the climax

Climax

the turning point of a story

Falling Action

the story starts to calm down and the consequences of the climax unfold

Denouement

all conflicts are resolved and the story ends

Anti-Hero

a character who has characteristics opposite to a regular hero

Simile

a comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as”

Metaphor

a comparison of two unlike things NOT using “like” or “as”

Aside

a remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by other characters in the play

Imagery

visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in literary work

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

Irony

occurs in literature AND in life whenever a person says something or does something that departs from what they (or we) expect them to say or do

Foreshadowing

a narrative device in which suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped or planted

Oxymoron

two opposite words for comparison

Paradox

contrast of two things for affect

Suspense

an uneasy feeling that a reader gets when they don’t know what is going to happen next

Sampson and Gregory fought with Montague’s men because…

they wanted to defend their family's honor and were provoked

What was the contrast between Benvolio and Tybalt when they came across their servants fighting?

Benvolio wanted peace; Tybalt wanted to fight

Montague and Capulet walk into the fight and they want to join. What do their wives say?

you’re old and need a crutch more than a sword

The prince telling the Montagues and Capulets that if they fought again, they would be ____

killed or exiled

Romeo is so sad because…

he loves Rosaline but she’s not willing to have s*x with him

When Paris asks Capulet for Juliet’s hand in marriage, Capulet says…

she is too young and suggests Paris waits two years

Capulet hosts a feast/party to celebrate _

the arrival of spring

Romeo found out about the feast from ___

a Capulet servant

Romeo decides to go to the Capulet’s feast because…

he wants to see Rosaline

Before they go to the party, what does Romeo tell Benvolio that foreshadows future events in the play?

he has a dream that something will lead to his untimely death

When Romeo says “Oh, dear account! My life is my foe’s debt” he means…

he knows something bad will happen such as falling in love with a Capulet

After the balcony scene, Juliet to to contact Romeo (through a servant) the next day to…

get married

Friar Lawrence agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet because…

he wants to end the feud between their families

The message the nurse takes to Juliet is….

Romeo wants to marry her at 9 AM

Friar Lawrence warns Romeo ___, which foreshadows the rest of the play.

to slow down because it will turn on him

When Romeo saw Tybalt and Mercutio fighting, what does he do? and why?

he shakes Tybalt’s had and tells him he loves him because he is just married and now legally related to him

Mercutio is killed when…

Romeo tries to stop the fight and Tybalt stabs him by accident

Tybalt is killed when…

Romeo gets revenge for Mercutio’s death

The consequence the Prince gave Romeo for fighting was _

exile

Romeo killing Tybalt put Juliet in a bad position because __ so she finally decides to _

they are already married; she chooses to stay loyal to her husband

After Lady Capulet tells Juliet about the plans to marry her to Paris, Juliet…

throws a temper tantrum because she doesn’t want to marry Paris

Capulet says __, after Juliet rejects the marriage proposal

he will disown her if she doesn’t change her mind

The nurse gives Juliet the following advice after her father’s crash out _.

she tells Juliet that Romeo is gone and he isn’t able to challenge the wedding, so she should marry Paris

Juliet goes to Friar Lawrence’s cell to…

not get married to Paris and to see if he has a solution

The plan Friar Lawrence and Juliet make is…

Juliet will take sleeping meds and fake her death, then she will wake up in the crypt and run away to Mantua and live happily ever after with Romeo

Balthasar tells Romeo….

Juliet is dead

When Romeo hears that Juliet is dead he…

he rashly goes to an apothecary to buy poison

The thing that went wrong in Friar Lawrence’s plan was…

Friar John didn’t get to the letter to Romeo bc he had to be quarantined

Paris dies after…

fighting Romeo in the graveyard

After she wakes up from being drugged, Juliet finds Romeo dead beside her and decides to…

stab herself with his dagger because she doesn’t want to live without Romeo