Romeo and Juliet

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces that drives the plot of a story.

External conflict

person vs person

person vs society

person vs nature

Internal conflict

person vs self

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme and often express a complete thought.

Epithet

A descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.

Figurative language

Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation.

ex:Metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, hyperbole

Foil

A character who contrasts with another character to highlight particular qualities of the other character.

ex: Belvolio is the foil of Tybalt since he wants to keep peace

Foreshadowing

A literary device used to give hints or clues about what will happen later in the story.

ex: Romeo shares his apprehension/fear going to the ball

Iambic meter

A metrical pattern in poetry consisting of two syllables, with the stress on the second syllable.

Iambic pentameter

A type of meter in poetry, consisting of five iambs per line.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, without using "like" or "as."

ex: Prince describes the Capulet Montague men as beasts

Simile

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using "like" or "as."

ex: “she hangs on the cheek of night like a jewel”

Pun

A play on words that exploits multiple meanings of a term or similar-sounding words.

ex: “you have dancing shoes with nimble soles

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms.

ex: Jumbo shrimp, bitter sweet, loving hate, brawling love, cold fire, heavy lightness

Personification

Giving human characteristics to non-human entities.

ex: dreams which are the children of an idle brain

Aside

a short comment or speech that a character delivers directly to the audience, or to himself, while other actors on the stage appear not to hear

Ex: Sampson whispers to Gregory

Round character

is a character that the audience has a lot of information about

ex: Juliet

Onomatopoeia

a world that sounds like a sound

Ex: Aww! Click, Zip

hyperbole

exaggeration

ex: these books weigh a ton

Alliteration

repetition of the beginning consonant sounds

ex: Sally sells sea shells

Allusion

is a reference to a well known or important person place or thing

ex: those shoes are your lucky glass slipper