Literary Terms
A form of word play that occurs when two words pronounced and spelled similarly have two different meanings (oftentimes humorous, but not always)
Pun
True or false: Poorer members of the audience at the Globe Theatre stood in the Pit.
True
Who are Romeo's two friends?
Benvolio and Mercutio
Where do Romeo and Juliet meet?
At Lord Capulet's party
Who says, "A plague o' both your houses!"?
Mercutio
When a character stands alone on stage and speaks aloud to show his or her thoughts.
Soliloquy
In which city did Shakespeare spend the majority of his career?
London, England
Which character betrays Juliet by starting out helping her, then changing their mind?
The Nurse
What does it mean when the Chorus refers to Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers"?
They are destined to have a bad ending/Fate is against them.
Who says “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet.”
Juliet
What is the style of language Shakespeare used most frequently in his works?
Blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter)
What are the three different types of plays that Shakespeare wrote?
Comedies, tragedies, and histories
Which major character uses plants and other herbs to create medicines/potions?
Friar Laurence
Why does Mercutio fight Tybalt?
Tybalt challenged Romeo, but Romeo didn't want to fight, and Mercutio thought Romeo was too scared.
Who says, “O speak again, bright angel, for thou art / As glorious to this night…”
Romeo
What is the difference between an oxymoron and a paradox?
An oxymoron is two words that don't usually go together but make sense in context (jumbo shrimp), and a paradox is a phrase or sentence that seems contradictory, but makes sense in context.
Which form/genre of writing did people in Shakespeare's time admire the most?
Poetry
Who is the first character in the play to die?
Mercutio
Which characters are dead at the end of the play? (There are six.)
Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, Juliet, Lady Montague
What is one of the things the Friar says to warn that Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is moving too quickly?
Act Two, scene 3: "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast."
Act Two, scene 6: His speech about "These violent delights have violent ends..."
This style of language often helps to suggest a magical or special atmosphere or to signal the end of a scene
Rhyming couplets
Describe the structure of the Globe Theatre.
A round/multi-sided building that is mostly open to the sky. It has the Pit and rows of galleries surrounding the stage. The stage is in two parts, the outer and inner stage.
Agreeing to have Juliet marry Paris
Romeo, Act Two, scene 2, Juliet is beautiful and an angel. Uses light and religious metaphors.
Juliet, Act Two, scene 2, She loves Romeo even though he is a Montague and wants him to get rid of his name.
Juliet, Act Three, scene 2, She can't wait for it to be night so that Romeo can come to her.
Juliet, Act Four, scene 3, Juliet talks about the bad things that could happen if she takes Friar's potion, but takes it anyway to stay true to Romeo.
Romeo, Act Five, scene 3, He admires Juliet's beauty one last time before drinking the poison.
The last two lines in the play are: “For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
What does this mean?
There has never been a sadder story than the tale of Romeo and Juliet.