Romeo and Juliet Act 1

Monday december 15

shakespearean sonnet

14 lines, organized into three quatrains and a final couplet.

quatrain

A stanza of four lines with a rhyme scheme. In a Shakespearean sonnet, the first 12 lines are three quatrains.

couplet

Two consecutive lines that rhyme and complete a thought. Shakespeare often ends scenes or sonnets with a couplet for emphasis or closure.

alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words (ex: “From forth the fatal loins…” from the Prologue).

imagery

Language that appeals to the five senses—visual, sound, touch, taste, smell. Act I features lots of light/dark and emotional imagery describing love and conflict.

oxymoron

A figure of speech where two opposite, contradictory words appear together (ex: Romeo says “O brawling love, O loving hate”). Used to show his confusion about love.

paradox

A statement that appears impossible or contradictory but reveals a truth (ex: Romeo describing love as “a choking gall, and a preserving sweet”).

metaphor

A direct comparison between two unlike things without using “like” or “as.” (ex: Romeo comparing love to “a smoke raised with the fume of sighs”).

simile

A comparison using “like” or “as.” (ex: Romeo saying Rosaline’s beauty “hangs upon the cheek of night / Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear”—Act I, scene 5).

extended metaphor

A metaphor developed over several lines. In Act I, the Capulet servant’s comparison of reading to “being taught” functions as a brief extended metaphor; more extended ones appear later (e.g., the pilgrim metaphor in Act I, Scene 5).

personification

Giving human qualities to nonhuman things (ex: Romeo personifies the sun, describing it as “making himself an artificial night” because Romeo blocks out the daylight).

apostrophe

Addressing someone absent, dead, or nonhuman as if present and capable of responding. In Act I, Romeo often speaks to abstract ideas like “love” as if they were real beings.

prince escalus

The ruler of Verona. Appears in Act I to end the opening street brawl. He threatens death to any Montague or Capulet who disturbs the peace again.

romeo

A Montague. son. At first he is heartbroken over Rosaline and speaks in many oxymorons and metaphors. He later goes to the Capulet party, where he sees Juliet for the first time.

benvolio

Romeo’s cousin and friend. A peacemaker—he tries to stop the fight in Scene 1. He encourages Romeo to forget Rosaline and look at other women.

montaque

Romeo’s father. Concerned about Romeo’s sadness at the beginning of Act I and asks Benvolio to help figure out what’s wrong.

capulet

The head of the Capulet family and Juliet’s father. In Act I, he is preparing for a party and tells Paris Juliet is too young to marry yet.

paris

A nobleman who wants to marry Juliet. He asks Capulet for her hand in Act I, and Capulet tells him to wait two years and try to win Juliet’s love.

juliet

A 13-year-old Capulet girl. Obedient and polite. In Act I, she tells her mother she will “look to like” Paris if it pleases her parents, but she isn’t thinking about marriage yet.

nurse

Juliet’s caretaker and mother figure. Comic, talkative, affectionate. She knows Juliet intimately and wants her to be happy.

lady capulet

Juliet’s mother. She introduces the idea of Juliet marrying Paris. More formal and distant than the Nurse.

mercutio

neither Capulet or montague. Romeo’s witty, imaginative friend (related to the Prince). Appears as the life of the party and tries to cheer up Romeo. Delivers the long, imaginative “Queen Mab” speech in Act I.

mutiny

open rebellion against the proper authorities, especially soldiers or sailors against their officers

piteous

deserving or arousing pity

strife

angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues

valiant

possessing or showing courage or determination

pernicious

having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way

augment

to make something greater by adding to it

portentous

giving a sign or warning that something, especially something bad or serious, is going to happen

tyrannous

unjustly cruel

gall

a bitter poisonous fluid produced by the liver

doctorine

a set of beliefs, principles, or teachings, especially in a religion system.

devout

deeply religious or showing strong dedication to a faith or showing sincere dedication or earnestness towards a person cause

heretic

someone who challenges widely accepted beliefs in any field

valiant

possessing or showing courage or determination

obscure

to keep unseen

revel

lively or noisy enjoyment, especially with drinking and dancing

vile

extremely unpleasant, morally bad, wicked

untimely

at a time that is unsuitable or premature

disparagement

the representation of someone’s something as being of little worth

profane

to treat someone with irreverence or disrespect

prodigious

remarkably or impressively great in size or degree