Romeo and Juliet: Quiz #1

Vocab

augmenting

Increasing; enlarging

bliss

a state of extreme happiness

despair

the complete loss or absence of hope

endure

To carry on through despite hardships; to put up with

foes

enemies; opponents

foolish

silly; somewhat ridiculous; unwise

quarrel

an angry dispute or disagreement

quench

to put out, extinguish, end; to satisfy

tormented

inflicted with pain or torture; cause anguish

valiant

possessing or showing courage or determination

vile

extremely unpleasant

woe

great sorrow, grief, or misfortune

Aurora

The goddess of dawn in Roman mythology

Cupid

Roman god of "septual" love. Son of Venus/Aphrodite; Greek form: Eros

Dian

Diana, goddess of the hunt in Roman mythology

Ethiop

A person from Ethiopia

holy palmer's kiss

A Christian pilgrim who brought back a palm leaf as a symbol of his journey to the holy land

Lammas-eve

July 31, the evening before Lammas Day, (August 1) which is the festival of wheat harvest

Lammas-tide

English festival of the wheat harvest; August 1st; Juliet's birthday

Pentecoast

a feast day of the Christian calendar; seven weeks after Easter Sunday

poor John

A small, shriveled up fish

Queen Mab

The Fairy Queen

Spanish blades

Spanish swords

Tartar's painted bow of lath

A colorful cross-bow

prologue

introductory remarks in a speech, play or literary work, introductory action

chorus (poetry)

short phrase that is repeated following each verse

sonnet

a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line.

Sonnetto

"Little song" in Italian

tragedy

a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.

comic relief

comic episodes in a dramatic or literary work that offset more serious sections.

allusion

A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

Soliloquy

an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.

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

foil

A character who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story.

blank verse

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.

quatrain

A four line stanza

iambic pentameter

a poetic meter that is made up of 5 stressed syllables each followed by an unstressed syllable

Shakespearean (English/Elizabethan) Sonnet

Three quatrains followed by a couplet. The quatrains express related ideas or examples while the couplet sums up the poet's conclusion or message. The turn occurs during the transition from the third quatrain to the couplet. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg.

couplet

two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.