Vocab Shakespeare English

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Chorus (in a play)

A group of performers who comment on the main action of the play, often speaking or singing in unison. In ancient Greek theatre, the chorus provided background information, reacted to events, and guided the audience’s interpretation of the story. In later plays, like Shakespeare’s, the "Chorus" may be a single character delivering a prologue or epilogue.

Stage Directions

Instructions written in the script that tell actors how to move, speak, or behave on stage. They also describe setting, lighting, and sound effects. Stage directions are typically written in italics or parentheses and are not spoken aloud.

Pentameter

A poetic meter with five feet (units of rhythm) per line. The most common type in English drama is iambic pentameter, where each foot consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (e.g., "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?").

Verse

Writing arranged with a specific rhythm and often rhyme. In plays, verse is structured poetry that characters speak, often used in classical or poetic drama. Shakespeare, for example, wrote much of his dialogue in verse.

Prose

Ordinary, non-metrical speech or writing. In plays, prose is used for casual, everyday dialogue, often spoken by lower-class characters or in moments of comic relief. Unlike verse, prose does not follow a specific rhythm or rhyme scheme.

Soliloquy

A speech delivered by a character who is alone on stage, revealing their inner thoughts and emotions to the audience. Soliloquies help audiences understand a character’s motivations, dilemmas, and conflicts. One of the most famous examples is Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech.

Short pause

A brief moment of silence in dialogue or action, often indicated by a dash (—) or a small beat in stage directions. It adds tension, emphasis, or realism to a character’s speech.

Long pause

A more extended silence, sometimes written as (pause) or (long pause) in stage directions. It can indicate deep thought, hesitation, discomfort, or an emotional shift in a scene.

Ellipses (…)

A series of three dots used in dialogue to show a trailing off, hesitation, or an unfinished thought. It can suggest a character is struggling to find words, thinking deeply, or deliberately leaving something unsaid.

Act(s)

The major divisions of a play. Traditional plays are divided into acts, which separate different sections of the story, often indicating a shift in time, setting, or plot development. Classic plays often have three or five acts.

Scene(s)

Smaller divisions within an act, usually marking a change in location, time, or the entrance/exit of characters. Scenes help structure the pacing of the play and keep the action clear.

Prologue

An introductory section of a play, often spoken by a narrator or character (such as the Chorus in Shakespeare’s plays). It sets up the story, gives background information, or establishes the play’s tone.

Thou

You

Thy

Your

Thine

Yours

Ye

All of you

Cometh

come

Wilt

will

Doth

Does

Hath

Has

Saith

says

Morrow

Morning

Even

Evening

Carry Coals

Insult

List

Pleased

Tis

It is