Romeo and Juliet background quiz

The Globe Theatre

Referred to by Shakespeare as a “Wooden O” , this could hold up to 3,000 spectators, and had as many as 20 sides. It burned down during a production of Henry VIII in 1613'; reconstruction began that same year. In 1664, this was officially torn down.

Flag

signified which type of play was being performed-black for tragedy, white for comedy, and red for history. This was flown high enough so most of London could see it waving from the top of the Globe. This was important because the theatre was located on the outskirts of the city across the Thames River

The “Heavens”

ceiling over the stage that protected the actors from too much sun or rain. It also represented the sky and heavens and was painted blue with golden stars. Actors who played angels or spirits descended from the hut on top of this “roof” to the main stage. The hut was also used for storage and additional sound effects such as alarm bells, cannon fire, and thunder.

Tiring House

Dressing and storage rooms. Actors rested here between scenes and changed into lavish costumes. All large props were stored here. The doors to the tiring house also served as actors’ main entrances and exits.

Upper Stage

This “chamber” was used for most bedroom and balcony scenes

Galleries

Three covered seating sections. Audiences paid more to sit on these tiered wooden benches under a thatched roof to keep out the sun and rain. For an additional penny, a patron could burrow a cushion to sit on.

Main Stage

Where the main action of the play took place, especially outdoor scenes of battlefields, forests, or cityscapes. It was often called an “apron” stage because audiences could sit around all three sides. The stage was intentionally built four to five feet high so the audience could not jump up and into the action. For a larger fee, patrons could sometimes sit up on the stage next to the actors.

Inner Stage

This was used mostly for indoor scenes. It had a curtain that could be opened or closed for scene changes.

Open Yard

Audiences paid one penny to stand here and watch the performance, rain or shine. Often these patrons, or groundlings, would participate in the play by cheering, shouting or throwing snacks at actors.

Support Pillar

These were wooden and they supported the roof and were painted to look like marble. Actors used these to hide on the main stage and observe other characters while speaking in “asides” to the audience.

Trap Door

Actors playing ghosts or witches could rise or descend through this built into the main stage. The cellarage underneath was referred to as “hell”.

Entrance

“gatherers” stood at this to collect one penny from each patron per performance. Patrons put their pennies into a box, hence the term “box office”. It took audiences at least half an hour to file into the theatre,

Brick Foundation

The Globe’s foundation needed to be constructed of brick, as it was built on wet, marshy land close to the Thames River.

Act

Divisions within a play, much like chapters of a novel

Scene

Division of an act into smaller parts- each scene establishes a different time or place

Chorus

A person or group of people who acts as narrator, commentator, or general audience to the action of the play

Drama

A work of literature designed to be performed in front of an audience

Comedy

A humorous work of drama

Tragedy

Drama that ends in catastrophe (often death).

Tragic Hero

A person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. This person is fated by the Gods or by some supernatural force to doom/destruction or at least to great suffering.

Stage Direction

Italicized comments that identify parts of the setting or the use of props or costumes, gives further information about a character or provide background information. In Shakespeare’s plays, these can also appear in brackets, parentheses, and/or half brackets

Aside

a remark or passage by a character that is intended to be heard by the audience but is not unheard by the other characters in the play. The purpose is to reveal the character’s inner thoughts to the audience.

Soliloquy

An act of speaking one‘s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers

Monologue

a long and typically tedious speech by one person during a conversation

Foil Character

A character whose personality or attitude contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in the same work

Allusion

A figure of speech that refers to a place, person, or something that happened. This can be real or imaginary and may refer to anything, including paintings, opera, folklore mythical figures, or religious manuscripts.

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words or stressed syllables. (i.e., Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers)

Comic Relief

A scene that relieves the overall emotional intensity

Double Entendre

A word or phrase with more than one meaning, usually when the second meaning is risque.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience/reader knows something that the characters in the story do not know.

Euphemism

Substitution of a more pleasant expression for one whose meaning may come across as rude or offensive (“He passes away,” rather than “He died.”)

Oxymoron

When two opposite terms are used together (i.e., “O heavy lightness!”)

Pun

A play on words, especially those that sound alike, but have different meanings (i.e., “Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man”)

Blank Verse

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter

Iamb

A unit in poetry consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

Iambic Pentameter

a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.