Romeo and Juliet Final Notes

Term	Definition	Example from Romeo and Juliet
Foreshadowing	Hinting at future events	Romeo’s feeling that going to the Capulet party will lead to his "untimely death."
Allusion	Reference to another work or idea	Romeo says “She’ll not be hit with Cupid’s arrow” (reference to mythology).
Hyperbole	Exaggeration	Romeo: “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars.”
Pun	A play on words	Mercutio: “Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.”
Metaphor	A direct comparison	Juliet: “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.”
Simile	A comparison using "like" or "as"	Romeo: “Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books.”
Oxymoron	Two contradictory terms	“O brawling love! O loving hate!”
Personification	Giving human qualities to non-humans	“The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night.”
Theme	Central idea/message	Fate vs. free will; Love as a destructive force.
Extended Metaphor	A metaphor that continues over several lines	Romeo’s comparison of Juliet to a saint in Act 1, Scene 5.

Family	Characters
Capulet	Juliet, Lord & Lady Capulet, Tybalt, Nurse, Paris (by alliance)
Montague	Romeo, Lord & Lady Montague, Benvolio
Neutral/Prince	Mercutio (Prince’s kin), Prince Escalus, Paris (also related to Prince)

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose..." – Juliet (Love vs. identity)
"Thus with a kiss I die." – Romeo (Tragic resolution)
"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" – Juliet (Questioning name/family)
"A plague o’ both your houses!" – Mercutio (Foreshadowing tragedy)
"These violent delights have violent ends." – Friar Laurence (Theme of destructive passion)