English I H: Romeo and Juliet Test - Sandt

Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre in London

Performance time at Globe Theatre

During daylight

Female roles in Shakespeare's plays

Men (all actors were male)

Reason for no elaborate sets

Language and acting carried the story

'Groundlings'

People who stood in the pit and paid the least to watch plays

Best seats in the Globe Theatre

Wealthy patrons in covered balconies

Traits of a Shakespearean tragic hero

High status, tragic flaw, poor decisions, anagnorisis, ends in death

Romeo's tragic flaw

Impulsiveness

Anagnorisis

A tragic hero's moment of realization (too late to fix things)

Catharsis

Emotional cleansing or release felt by the audience

Peripeteia

A sudden reversal of fortune in a tragedy

Major themes of Romeo and Juliet

Love, fate, individual vs. society, language/wordplay, servant status

Star-crossed lovers

Fate controls Romeo and Juliet's lives

Individual vs. society in the play

Romeo and Juliet defy their families and society for love

Purpose of servant characters

Provide comic relief and contrast with noble characters

Romeo Montague

Impulsive, romantic tragic hero in love with Juliet

Juliet Capulet

Naïve but strong-willed heroine, falls in love with Romeo

Lord Capulet

Juliet's controlling father

Lady Capulet

Pushes Juliet to marry Paris

Tybalt

Juliet's hot-headed cousin, killed by Romeo

Mercutio

Romeo's witty, sarcastic best friend, killed by Tybalt

Paris

A nobleman who wants to marry Juliet

The Nurse

Juliet's confidante and comic relief

Friar Lawrence

Priest who marries Romeo and Juliet and makes potion plan

Friar John

Priest who fails to deliver Friar Lawrence's letter to Romeo

Balthasar

Romeo's loyal servant who brings news of Juliet's "death"

Peter

Capulet servant who provides comic relief

Benvolio

Romeo's peaceful cousin, tries to avoid conflict

Prince Escalus

Ruler of Verona, tries to stop the violence

The Apothecary

Sells Romeo poison illegally because he is desperate for money

Dramatic irony

When the audience knows something the characters don't (e.g., Juliet isn't really dead)

Verbal irony

When someone says the opposite of what they mean

Situational irony

When the opposite of what's expected happens

Pun

A play on words often for humor (Mercutio uses many)

Foreshadowing

Hinting at future events (e.g., Juliet says her grave may be her wedding bed)

Metaphor

Direct comparison (e.g., "Juliet is the sun.")

Simile

Comparison using "like" or "as" (e.g., "like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear")

Personification

Giving human qualities to non-human things (e.g., "Arise, fair sun")

Soliloquy

A speech by a character alone on stage, revealing inner thoughts

Monologue

A long speech by one character to others

Aside

A brief comment to the audience not heard by other characters

Sonnet

A 14-line poem in iambic pentameter (e.g., the Prologue)

Tragic hero

A noble character with a flaw that leads to downfall

Tragic flaw

A character weakness (Romeo's impulsiveness)

Tragic fall

The consequence of a tragic flaw

Motif

A recurring image or symbol (e.g., light and dark to show love and danger)

Structure of Shakespearean tragedy

Exposition (Act I), Rising Action (Act II), Climax (Act III), Falling Action (Act IV), Catastrophe (Act V)

Globe Theatre's stage and performances

It was open-air, actors used exaggerated gestures, and there were no special effects

Scenes to reread for the test

Balcony Scene (II.2), Mercutio's death (III.1), Tomb Scene (V.3)

Central conflict of Romeo and Juliet

Their love clashes with their families' hatred

Juliet's loss of trust in the Nurse

The Nurse tells her to marry Paris, betraying her loyalty

Effect of Mercutio's death

It shifts the play from comedy to tragedy and causes Romeo to kill Tybalt

Lesson from Romeo and Juliet's deaths

Blind hatred and family feuds can lead to tragic consequences