Romeo and Juliet: Prologue through Act Two Study Guide

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the study questions, characters, dramatic terms, and key plot points of Romeo and Juliet from the Prologue through Act Two, Scene One.

Chorus

The character in Romeo and Juliet who delivers the Prologue before the play begins.

Shakespearean Sonnet

A poetic form that is fourteen lines in length, follows the rhyme scheme ababcdcdefefgg, and is written in iambic pentameter.

Octave

The first eight lines of a sonnet.

Sestet

The last six lines of a sonnet.

Iambic Pentameter

A poetic rhythm consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by an accented (stressed) syllable across lines of verse.

Verona, Italy

The Italian city where the events of Romeo and Juliet are set according to the Prologue.

Star-cross'd

The specific phrase from the Prologue passage ('A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life') that refers directly to Fate.

The death of their children

The tragic outcome announced by the Prologue that finally ends the ongoing strife between the Capulet and Montague parents.

Two hours

The stated length of time the performance of the play will take on stage according to the Prologue.

Rhyming Couplet

A pair of two consecutive lines of verse that rhyme with each other, frequently used by Shakespeare to conclude a scene or sonnet.

Pun

A figure of speech exploiting words that sound alike but have different meanings (such as colliers, choler, and collar) used by Shakespeare to grab the audience's attention.

Sampson

A servant of the Capulet household who brags the most about fighting and insults the Montague servants by biting his thumb.

Biting one's thumb

The gesture used by the Capulet servant Sampson to insult and provoke the Montague servants into a fight in Act One, Scene One.

Benvolio

Romeo's kinsman who attempts to stop the fighting servants and keep the peace, but is forced to fight when challenged by Tybalt.

Tybalt

A fiery Capulet who challenges Benvolio to fight in the street, and later seeks a sword to attack Romeo upon discovering him at the Capulet feast.

Crutch

The object Lady Capulet sarcastically says her husband needs instead of a sword when he calls to join the street fight.

Prince Escalus's decree

A death sentence issued to the Montague and Capulet factions if they disturb the streets of Verona with fighting ever again.

Sycamore grove

The location on the west side of Verona where Benvolio saw Romeo walking early in the morning.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech combining a pair of contradictory terms into a single expression (e.g., 'brawling love,' 'loving hate,' 'cold fire'), used by Romeo to express his inner confusion over love.

Rosaline

The woman Romeo is hopelessly in love with at the beginning of the play, who does not love him back and does not wish to marry.

Dramatic Irony

A literary device occurring when the audience knows a crucial fact that the characters do not, such as the Capulet servant inviting Romeo to drink wine if he is not a Montague.

Lammas Eve (July 31)

The date of Juliet's birthday according to her Nurse, upon which she will turn fourteen years old.

Mantua, Italy

The city where the Capulets were living when an earthquake took place eleven years prior.

Queen Mab

The fairies' midwife described by Mercutio who gallops through lovers' and soldiers' brains to deliver their dreams.

Romeo's foreboding sailing metaphor

Romeo's premonition in Act One, Scene Four that attending the party will initiate an untimely death, while entrusting his course to whoever directs his sail.

Thirty years

The length of time that has passed since Lord Capulet last danced at a masquerade ball.

"The chinks"

A slang phrase used by the Nurse meaning plenty of money or gold, signifying that whoever marries Juliet will acquire great wealth.

"My only love sprung from my only hate!"

Juliet's rhyming lament upon learning that the man she has fallen in love with is Romeo, the son of her family's enemy.