Literary Terms 1
What is 10-syllable line with alternating unstressed and stressed syllables.
Iambic Pentameter
What type of figurative language is below:
ROMEO: I dreamt a dream tonight.
MERCUTIO: And so did I.
ROMEO: Well, what was yours?
MERCUTIO: That dreamers often lie.
ROMEO: In bed asleep while they do dream things true.
Pun-dreamers lie in bed and lie (tell a falsehood)
What is a tragic flaw of Romeo (our tragic hero)?
He rushes into love; he takes revenge on Tybalt for Mercutio's murder; he is impulsive
List one parallel plot
Answers vary:
-The two families feuding
-Tybalt killing Mercutio, then dying
-Juliet's arranged marriage to Paris
What is the main plot of Romeo & Juliet?
Romeo & Juliet falling in love
What is when a character speaks thoughts aloud, often alone.
Soliloquy
What type of figurative language is used below and what does it mean?
"A man, young lady—lady, such a man
As all the world—why, he’s a man of wax."
Metaphor-he is very attractive
What type of literary device is the following:
"What, dost thou make us minstrels? An thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords."
Pun-play on words "discords". Discord means disagreement as well as "chords" in music.
Who does Tybalt want to fight in Act 3?
He wants to fight Romeo, because Romeo came to the party. He calls him a "villain".
What is Juliet afraid of when she is about to drink the fake poison?
Options:
-She won't wake up
-She will wake up too early
-It won't work and she'll have to marry Paris
What is when the audience knows something characters do not.
Dramatic Irony
Explain one type of dramatic irony in the play.
Answers vary:
-Romeo and Juliet's secret marriage
-Romeo thinking that Juliet really died
-Juliet's family thinking she is sad about Tybalt
Answers vary:
Mercutio teases Romeo a lot for being "love struck". He also wishes to fight Tybalt, while Romeo prefers to be peaceful and not fight.
How does Mercutio die?
How would you describe Nurse's feelings towards Juliet?
She is very affectionate towards Juliet, because she helped raise her.
What is when contradictory terms are combined for effect.
Oxymoron
Explain what the oxymoron below reveals about Romeo's feelings about love:
"O brawling love, O loving hate." (Act 1, Scene 1)
These contradictory terms illustrate Romeo's conflicted feelings about love.
What does the oxymoron below suggest about how Juliet feels about Romeo after he kills Tybalt?
"Beautiful tyrant! Fiend angelical!" (Act 3, Scene 2)
Juliet struggles with her mixed feelings about Romeo after Tybalt's death.
What themes do we see during Juliet's soliloquy on the balcony in Act 2?
"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
The idea that there are more to people than just their names-->character over name/family
What does Romeo mean when he says to Mercutio "He jests at scars that never felt a wound" in Act 2?
Mercutio keeps making fun of Romeo for being a "lover", but he has never been in love and, therefore, cannot understand what it feels like to be heartbroken.
Character contrasting another to highlight differences.
Foil
What does the pun below mean?
Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.
Mercutio uses the word "grave" to mean both serious and a place where he will be buried.
What does the pun below mean?
"With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead." (Act 1, Scene 4)-said by Romeo before the party
Romeo plays on the words "soles" and "soul" to express his melancholy.
What does the following pun mean?
TYBALT
10 Mercutio, thou consortest with Romeo.
MERCUTIO
Consort? What, dost thou make us minstrels? An tho make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords. Here’s my fiddlestick; here’s that shall make you dance. Zounds, consort!
The fiddlestick is the sword and "make you dance" means that he will dance away from the sword, not actually dance.
Explain Friar Laurence's warning to Romeo & Juliet at the end of Act 2.
"Friar Laurence:
These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume: the sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite:
Therefore love moderately; long love doth so;
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow."
He is warning Romeo that fast passion can end just as quickly. He also warns that sweet love can be overwhelming. He suggests that Romeo should slow down.