Tragedy
A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, etc.
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something the characters do not know.
Allusion
A reference to something of cultural, historical, or literal significance.
Oxymoron
When two opposite or contradictory ideas are joined to create an effect.
Paradox
a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.
Foils
Someone or something that serves as a contrast to another.
Theme: Love and Hate
Romeo and Juliet fall in love at first sight, but their families would never approve.
Theme: Fate
Star-crossed" lovers; Those who believe in astrology believe that the stars control human fate or destiny. Star-crossed means doomed by fate or imminent failure
Monologue
A long speech by one actor in a play or movie. This type of speech is usually delivered to another character or the audience.
Soliloquy
A long speech where a character speaks his innermost thoughts aloud on stage. A character would deliver the soliloquy alone on stage. This allows that audience to get into the characters mind.
Aside
A remark by a character in a play intended to be heard by the audience or one character, but not by the other characters in the play.
Comic Relief
Comic episodes in a dramatic or literary work that offset more serious sections.
Pun
A play on words, often achieved through the use of words with similar sounds but different meanings.
Themes: Love/Haste
We continue to see Romeo and Juliet's relationship develop into marriage. It all happens quickly (in two days, exactly), which also brings out the theme of haste.
Augment (v)
To make greater or supplement; "With tears ________ the fresh morning's dew
Boisterous (adj)
Rowdy or rough;
"Is love a tender thing? It is too rough. Too rude, too _________, and it pricks like thorn
Valiant (adj)
Courageous; "To move is to stir; and to be _________ is to stand
Pernicious (adj)
Very destructive or harmful; "What, ho! you men, you beasts,/ That quench the fire of your __________ rage/ With purple fountains issuing from your veins
Portentous (adj)
Dealing with a sign, forewarning, or omen; "Black and ___________ must this humour prove...
Posterity (n)
Future generations;
"For beauty starved with her severity/ Cuts beauty off from all _____________.
Profane (adj)
Showing contempt toward sacred things;
"If I __________ with my unworthiest hand/ This holy shrine...
Choler (n)
Anger or irritability;
"I mean, an we be in ________, we'll draw...
Virtuous (adj)
Having excellent morals, righteous;
"Verona brags of him to be a ____________ and well-govern'd youth:
Prodigious (adj)
Extraordinary, marvelous;
"____________ birth of love it is to me,/ That I must love a loathed enemy.
Invocation (n)
The act of summoning the supernatural; "My _________ is fair and honest
Enmity (n)
Absolute hatred; "And I am proof against their ____________
Prorogued (v)
To deter or postpone; My life were better ended by their hate,/Than death ____________, wanting of thy love.
Impute (v)
To credit a person or cause, to attribute; "And not __________ this yielding to light love...
Sallow (adj)
A sickly, yellowish hue; "Hath wash'd thy __________ cheeks for Rosaline!
Baleful (adj)
Destructive or deadly; "With ___________ weeds and precious-juiced flowers.
Wanton (adj)
Immoral, lewd; "Now comes the ___________ blood up in your cheeks
Poultice (n)
Remedy;
"Is this the ____________ for my aching bones?
Unwieldy (adj)
Clumsy, difficult to carry because of bulk or weight;
"__________, slow, heavy and pale as lead.
Feign (v)
To pretend; "But old folks, many __________ as they were dead;