English I Drama Terms – Romeo and Juliet
In order to fully understand Romeo and Juliet, you will need to be able to recall
all of the literary terms we have studied this year. In addition, you will need to
know the definitions of the drama terms listed below and be able to apply them
as we read Romeo and Juliet.
In the column on the right, list examples of each term as you discover them in your reading. Be sure to include
the name of the speaker(s), the act, scene, and line numbers.
1. aside—short speech directed to the
audience or another character, that is
not heard by the other characters on
stage.
2. apostrophe*—figure of speech—a
speaker directly addresses an absent
person or a personified quality: “Oh,
God, wherefore art thou!” “Twinkle,
twinkle, little star…”
3. blank verse—unrhymed poetry written in
iambic pentameter. EX. But soft! What
light through yonder window breaks?/ It
is the East, and Juliet is the sun!
4. chorus—in Elizabethan plays, this role is
taken by a single actor who serves as
narrator and speaks the lines in the
prologue/epilogue.
No example needed
5. comedy—dramatic work that is light and
often humorous in tone, usually ending
happily.
No example needed
6. comic relief—humorous scenes,
incidents, or speeches that are included
in a serious drama to provide a
reduction in emotional intensity.
7. couplet—a rhymed pair of lines.
8. drama—literature in which plots and
characters are developed through
dialogue and action. SO—literature in
play form to be acted out.
No example needed
9. end stopped line*—a line of poetry that
ends with a punctuation mark.
10. epilogue—short addition at the end of a
literary work, often dealing with the future
of the characters.
10.
foil—character who provides a
striking contrast to another character.
11.
foot—see meter—consists of one
stressed syllable and one or two
unstressed syllables. Basically, TWO
syllables are in a foot.
No example needed
12.
No example needed
free verse—poetry that does not
contain regular patterns of rhythm or
rhyme.
13.
iamb—an unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable. EX.—
“My lips, two blushing…”
14.
iambic pentameter—metrical pattern
of five feet, or units, each of which is
made up of two syllables, the first
unstressed and the second stressed.
EX.—“My lips, two blushing pilgrims,
ready stand”
15.
inversion*—reversal of normal word
order. Yoda talk. EX.—To work, off we
go.
16.
line breaks--line of poetry ends, may
coincide with grammatical units, but
may also occur in the middle of a
grammatical or syntactical unit,
creating a meaningful pause or
emphasis.
17.
meter—regular pattern of stressed
and unstressed syllables in a poem.
18.
oxymoron—two contradictory terms.
They MUST be right next to each other.
EX.—giant shrimp
19.
paradox—seemingly contradictory or
absurd statement that may nonetheless
suggest an important truth.
20.
prologue—introductory scene in a
drama.
21.
prose—all forms of written or spoken
expression.
No example needed
22.
pun—joke that comes from a play on
words.
23.
quatrain—four-line stanza or group of
lines in poetry.
24.
rhyme—the occurrence of similar or
identical sounds at the end of two or
more words.
25.
internal rhyme—rhyme that occurs
within a single line of poetry.
26.
end rhyme—rhyme that occurs at the
ends of lines of poetry.
27.
slant rhyme or off rhyme—end rhyme
that is not exact but approximate. See
example in book.
28.
rhyme scheme—a pattern of end
rhymes in a poem. This is done by
assigning a letter beginning with “a” to
each line. Lines that rhyme are given
the same letter.
29.
scansion—the NOTATION of stressed
and unstressed syllables in poetry by
using symbols.
30.
scene—presents an episode of the
play’s plot (usually a single place and
time.
31.
soliloquy—speech in which a
character speaks his or her thoughts
aloud, generally alone on stage.
32.
stanza—group of two or more lines
that form a unit in a poem. Lines within
the stanza may be the same or vary.
33.
tragedy—dramatic work that presents
the downfall of a dignified character(s)
who are involved in significant events.
34.
tragic flaw—error in judgment on the
part of the hero.
THE LANGUAGE OF SHAKESPEARE – PG. 1028
1.
Shakespeare wrote his plays primarily in _________________________
a.
Resembles ___________________
b.
Made up of unrhymed lines of _________________________________
i. Has five ___________________ syllables followed by five __________________ syllables
ii. Breaks in this pattern emphasize ______________________________
2.
An _________________________ is a ___________________________ to something that the audience is supposed
to know
3.
a.
Greek and Roman ____________________
b.
The Bible
Shakespeare was a master of ____________________
SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET
-
_____________ lines
-
3 ______________________ and 1 ________________________
-
o
Quatrain = ______________ lines
o
Couplet = _______________ lines
Definite _______________________ scheme:
SONNET 29
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.