Dramatic Conventions
Benchmark Skills
Show Me Your Skills!
Grammar
LA Hodge Podge
100
The literary term for the reason why an author writes a piece of work.
Author's Purpose (Inform, Entertain, Persuade, etc.)
100
Read this sentence from lines 61–62:
"Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man."
Grave means somber, but what other meaning of the word grave is used as a pun in this line?
Grave - a place where someone is buried.
100
Determine the meaning of the underlined word using the context clues.
I was going to accept the job, but then I decided to decline because I received a better offer.Refuse / Not take
100
Choose the phrase that most effectively uses parallel structure:
100
Shakespeare wrote his plays and poetry using this meter
iambic pentameter
200
When the audience knows more about a situation than the characters, creating tension.
Dramatic Irony
200
Read lines 33–37 of Act 3, scene 1.
ROMEO
I do protest I never injured thee,
But love thee better than thou canst devise
Till thou shalt know the reason of my love;
And so, good Capulet, which name I tender
As dearly as mine own, be satisfied.
What dramatic irony is presented in this excerpt?
The audience knows that Romeo and Tybalt are now related by marriage and are now family.
200
Read this excerpt from lines 11–12 of Passage 1.
"What, dost thou make us minstrels (traveling musicians)? An thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords."
Shakespeare creates a pun by playing on the meaning of discord, which means “disagreement,” and —
200
Use a verb phrase to replace the underlined section in the sentence below.
Later at dinner, I still wondered what she think, but she hardly said a word.
Later at dinner, I still wondered what she was thinking, but hardly said a word.
200
Shakespeare was an author from this time period
The Renaissance
300
a long, uninterrupted speech that is spoken in the presence of other characters.
monologue
300
Determine the purpose for the repetition of the phrase, "A plague on both of your houses" in Act 3, scene 1
It emphasizes the tragic outcome of the story.
It reiterates how the two families and lovers are cursed.
It reinforces the theme of how the characters unable to evade their fate in the play.
It reinforces the cosmic irony in the play.
300
Some students love the story of Romeo & Juliet, while others are appalled by the violence and bloddshed.
Disgusted. Horrified.
300
Make the following sentence parallel:
She didn’t listen to what I was saying, not even noticing I was in the room.
She didn't listen to what I was saying or notice I was in the room.
300
Every essay you ever write will always have these three components: (Hint: A-N-T)
A - Attention Grabber
N - Necessary Information
T - Thesis Statement
400
the universal message of a story
theme
400
ROMEO
Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain?
Away to heaven respective lenity,
And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now! Now,
Tybalt, take the “villain” back again
That late thou gavest me, for Mercutio’s soul
Is but a little way above our heads,
Staying for thine to keep him company.
Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.
Romeo’s tragic flaw, his impulsiveness, leads him to do this in the play.
He vows to avenge the death of Mercutio.
400
Determine a synonym for ascent as it is used in paragraph 9?
These days, expeditions run by private companies charge up to $60,000 for a guided ascent to Mount Everest. The routes are well charted. Fixed ropes replace the unknowable perils that people face. Equipment is lighter, warmer, safer.
Climb up
400
Make the following sentence parallel:
She gazed silently at her phone, and she stared out the window in complete silence, and while washing the dishes.
She gazed at her phone, stared out the window, and washed the dishes, all in complete silence
400
Parting is such "sweet sorrow" is an example of this.
An Oxymoron
500
Wordplay that creates humor through double meanings (double entendre) or phonetic similarities.
pun
500
Read lines 72–79 of Act 3, scene 1:
ROMEO
This gentleman, the Prince’s near ally,
My very friend, hath got this mortal hurt
In my behalf—my reputation stained
With Tybalt’s slander—Tybalt, that an hour
Hath been my kinsman, O sweet Juliet,
Thy beauty hath made me effeminate
And in my temper softened valor’s steel!
What does this soliloquy reveal about Romeo?
His love for Juliet has allowed him to let his guard down.
500
Read this excerpt from paragraph 13.
And then there are moments where it seems like old and young don’t really act all that differently. Juliet’s hasty marriage to Romeo, for example, isn’t much more precipitous than Lord Capulet’s sudden decision to marry her to Paris.
What is the meaning of the word precipitous in this context?
done quickly with little thought
500
Use a verb phrase to replace the underlined section in the sentence below.
When she still not talking the next morning, I finally asked her what was going on.
When she still wasn't talking the next morning, I finally asked her what was going on.
500
The 4 S's in a conclusion
Signal Word, Summary, Significance, and Speed
600
It is a french term meaning pattern, when an idea is repeated throughout a literary work.
Ex: Romeo & Juliet uses lightness and darkness / day and night which are examples of this term.
Motif
600
By Mercutio dieing in Act III, scene 1 this leads to two more events in the plot later in the scene. Name the the two events.
It causes Romeo to act impulsively
It causes Romeo to avenge Mercutio's death
It leads to Tybalt's fateful death.
600
Determine the rhyme scheme of the following poetic lines:
A band of Capulets did meet—my heart it rues!
Within the walls, by Purser’s gate, a band of Montagues.
The Capulets, as chief, a young man have chose out,
Best exercised in feats of arms, and noblest of the rout,
aa bb
600
Use a verb phrase to show a shift in time to replace the underlined section in the sentence below.
After starting high school three years later, I understood what is wrong with my sister.
After starting high school three years later, I understood what had been wrong with my sister.
600
What are two ways an author can speed up or slow down the pace of their writing.
Speed Up - Use short sentences or fragments to deliver a sense of urgency and a hurried feeling.
Slow Down - Provide a lot of details that elaborates on specific aspects of a scene. For example, in the 57 Bus the author talked about the paint on the walls in the interrogation room.
- Authors can also emphasize the time for example 10 minutes went by, then 30, then an hour.