Romeo and Juliet Drama and Literary Terms
Essential Drama Terms for Romeo and Juliet
Soliloquy: A long speech delivered by an actor who is alone on stage. The primary purpose of a soliloquy is to reveal the character's internal thoughts or feelings to the audience.
Monologue: A long speech delivered by an actor on stage in the presence of other actors. Unlike a soliloquy, a monologue is intended to provide information or convey specific plot details to the other characters or the audience.
Foil: This term refers to characters who possess opposite character traits. The use of foils is intended to highlight specific ideas or themes in the play through the contrast in the characters' behaviors.
Dramatic Irony: A situation occurring when the audience is privy to information regarding the events of the play that specific characters remain unaware of.
Foreshadowing: A literary device where the author provides hints or clues about events that will occur later in the story.
Tragedy: A specific genre of play in which a high-ranking or noble character, known as the Tragic Hero, suffers a reversal of fortune. This leads to a downfall or demise resulting from the hero's own Tragic Flaw.
Tragic Flaw: A specific personality trait or characteristic of the Tragic Hero that causes them to behave or make choices leading directly to their downfall or demise.
Blank Verse: Lines of poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. This constitutes the majority of the writing in Romeo and Juliet.
Iambic Pentameter: A type of verse written in -foot lines. Each "foot" consists of syllables: the syllable is unstressed and the syllable is stressed. An example of this rhythm is the word "again."
Free Verse: Lines of poetry written without a specific or formal structure.
Aside: A quick comment made by a character that is intended for the audience or a select few people on stage, but not everyone. It is often delivered as a whisper.
Literary Terms and Definitions
Conflict: The central struggle occurring between opposing forces.
Internal Conflict: A struggle where a character deals with their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, needs, or actions.
External Conflict: Tension existing between two or more characters, or between a character and an external force such as society or nature.
Characterization: The process used to develop characters and their personalities within a narrative. Characterization is revealed through three main channels:
What the character says.
What the character does.
What others (including the narrator) say about the character.
Character Types: Students must know the definitions for static, dynamic, round, and flat characters.
Setting: The specific time and place in which the story occurs.
Theme: The central message the author is communicating about humankind or the world.
Symbolism: A device used when a physical object is used to represent an abstract idea.
Connotation: The subjective feelings and associations that a word carries beyond its literal definition, which can be positive or negative.
Example: Comparing the word "house" to "home."
Example: Comparing "an athlete" to "a jock."
Irony: The divergence or difference between what is expected to happen and what actually occurs.
Allusion: A brief or passing reference to a person, place, thing, or event that is well known.
Literary Patterns and Symbols
Coming-of-Age Character Patterns:
A young protagonist who undergoes growth and change as a direct result of a conflict.
An adult character who serves as a guide for the protagonist.
The "voice of reason" character who appears occasionally to provide insight or wisdom.
Weather Patterns: Stormy weather on the outside often reflects internal turmoil or indicates a possible conflict.
Seasonal Patterns:
Spring: Represents rebirth and new beginnings.
Summer: Represents life in full bloom.
Fall: Represents a time of decay.
Winter: Represents emptiness or death.
The season used in a story often reflects a literal or figurative turn in the narrative.
Bird Symbolism:
Birds are meant to fly; therefore, flight symbolizes freedom.
Caged birds represent individuals who are oppressed or are not free.
Poetry: Sound Devices
Alliteration: The repetition of the same initial letter or sound in two or more words within a line of verse.
Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate the natural sounds or meanings of the thing they describe.
Assonance: The repetition of similar vowel sounds within a line of verse.
Consonance: The repetition of similar consonant sounds within a line of verse.
Refrain: The repetition of a specific word, phrase, or line for emphasis, usually located at the end of a stanza.
Poetry: Figures of Speech (Figurative Language)
Simile: A direct comparison between two unrelated things using the words "like" or "as."
Metaphor: An implied comparison between two unrelated things, often utilizing a linking verb.
Extended Metaphor: A device that develops a single, highly detailed comparison between two unlike entities over many lines, multiple stanzas, or through an entire work.
Personification: Assigning human qualities to animals, ideas, or inanimate objects.
Hyperbole: The use of extreme exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.
Apostrophe: The act of addressing a person who is dead or not present, or an abstract idea, as if they were present.
Symbol: A word or image that represents something beyond its literal meaning.
Miscellaneous Poetry Terms
Pun: A play on words that are identical or sound similar but carry different meanings.
Allusion: A reference to a well-known person, place, event, or literary work.
Couplet: Two rhyming lines, typically of the same meter and length.
Connotation: Ideas and associations linked to a specific word choice.
Denotation: The literal dictionary definition of a word.
Diction: The specific word choice used by the author in a poem.
Enjambment: A poem or section of poetry written with no punctuation at the end of lines.
Imagery: Descriptive language that appeals to the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
Speaker: The narrator or voice of the poem.
Rhymes (Likeness of sounds):
End Rhyme: Similar sounds at the end of two or more lines of verse.
Internal Rhyme: Similar sounds between two or more words within the same line of verse, usually occurring at the middle and the end of the line.