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: a story¶s time, place, and background
? Example: Although no specific date is given, most scholars say the action of the play probably takes place
around 1200 or 1300 A.D., when Italian families were feuding.
?What other allusion is made to a myth or legend in lines 216 and 217?
: a play on words based on the similarity of sound between two words with different meanings
? Example: In Act 1, Scene 4, lines 14-16, Romeo is feeling sad, so he does not want to dance. He says to the
others, ³You have dancing shoes / with nimble soles. I have a soul of lead / so stakes me to the ground I cannot
move.´
? Write a line from Capulet that shows he has a different point-of-view from that of his nephew Tybalt.
: a statement that might seem to contradict itself but is nevertheless true; for example, ³less is more.´
? Example: In Act 1, Scene 5, line 152, Juliet expresses a paradox when she speaks of Romeo, saying, ³My only
love sprung from my only hate.´ This seems to be a contradictory statement, because love and hate are opposites.
? What is another metaphor that Romeo uses for Juliet in this scene (see line 29)?
(: a speech an actor gives as though talking to himself or herself
? Example: Romeo starts his famous soliloquy about Juliet with the words, ³But soft, what
light through yonder window breaks´ (II.ii.2). He is speaking to himself about Juliet.
? What words does Juliet use to start her famous soliloquy about Romeo?
: words spoken by an actor supposedly heard only by the audience
? Example: Romeo uses asides as he is listening to Juliet¶s soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 2. In line 27, he says, ³She
speaks.´ He is not talking to Juliet, the only other person on stage. Only the audience is intended to hear this line.
? What is the other aside in this scene? Look for the word | in brackets, as a stage direction.
$ : a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect
? Example: In Act 2, Scene 2, line 140, Juliet says that her ³bounty is as boundless as the
sea.´ In other words, she says what she has to offer Romeo is wider than the ocean.
? How does Juliet extend this hyperbole in the next line (141)?
: a direct comparison of unlike things using ³like´ or ³as´
? Example: In Act 2, Scene 6, lines 8-10, Friar Lawrence uses a simile to warn Romeo
about being too passionate too soon.
He says: ³These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which, as they
kiss, consume.´
? What similarity does Friar Lawrence find between hasty, passionate love and fire and gunpowder?
: the main character in a piece of literature
? Example: In this play, Romeo is one protagonist.
? Who or what is another antagonist? Explain why you think this person or force is an antagonist.
)
: the main idea of a piece of literature
? Example: One theme of | might be that ³haste makes waste.´ In other
words, hurrying too much often leads to problems.
? What is another example of a tragedy you have seen or read? It could be a book, a play, or a movie.
*" : the struggle between opposing forces or characters
? Example: An obvious example of conflict is Tybalt¶s hatred of Montagues, and
especially Romeo, which ends with a fight.