Romeo and Juliet: Acts I, IV, and V Vocab

civil

adhering to the norms of polite social interaction

disposition

mental outlook; tendency of one’s spirits

endure

to hold against; sustain

Grievance

resentment or complaint

intrusion

wrongful entry

revel

to take delight; to make merry

spite

desire to harm or anoy

vliant

boldly courageous or brave

virtuous

conforming to moral principles

act

major unit of action in a play

scene

each act is divided further into scenes, which represent a different time and/or place

lines

spoken words of the play, “sentences”

Prologue

an introduction to a play or an act of a play

oxymoron

figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms

pun

multiple meanings of words that create a joke

sibilance

repition of the s sound

Archetype

a concept or person that has served as a prototype of an original idea

foil character

two characters that oppose each other

monologue

a long uninterrupted speech given by one character onstage to everyone

soliloquy

a long uninterrupted speech given by one character alone on stage, inaudible to other characters

aside

a short speech given by one character, traditionally the other characters cannot hear

Irony

contrast between appearance and reality, reality usually opposite from what is seen

imagery

descriptive words/phrases that allow the reader to almost see, hear, smell, taste, and touch what is being descibed

detestable

hateful; vile

heir

a person who inherits property of another

lamentable

regrettable; unfortunate

pensive

serious, full of thoughts

prosperous

fortunate; successful

receptacle

container; device that holds something

redeem

to makeup for

stifle

to smother; to crush or end by force

wayward

turn away from what is right; disobedient

Sonnet

a poem made up of 14 lines with a specific rhyming pattern

aloof

at a distance; disinterested

ambiguity

doubt or disbelief

apothecary

licensed to prescribe medicine

enmity

feeling or condition of hostility

felon

wicked person, someone convicted of a felony

infectious

tending to spread from one to another

kindred

family; relationship by birth

menace

threatens to cause evil

scourge

to punish or criticize

tedious

long and tiresome