RomJul Flashcards
aside
lines that are spoken by a character directly to the audience
act
a division within a play, much like chapters of a novel
cast of characters
a list of characters presented before the action begins
chorus
a person or group of people who act as a narrator, commentator, or general audience to the action of the play
comedy
a humorous work of drama Ends happily, usually with a wedding or other celebration
dialogue
a conversation between two or more characters
drama
a work of literature designed to be performed in front of an audience
foil
a character who is nearly opposite of another character; the purpose of a foil (or character foil) is to reveal a stark contrast between the two characters, often the protagonist and antagonist Ex. Romeo/Friar Lawrence, Benvolio/Mercutio, Nurse/Juliet
monologue
a long speech spoken by a character to himself, another. Character, or to the audience
scene
a division of an act into smaller parts
soliloquy
thoughts spoken aloud by a character when he/she is alone, or thinks he/she is alone
stage directions
italicizes comments that identify parts of the setting or the use of props or costume, give further info about a character, or provide background info; in Shakespeare’s plays, stage directions can also appear in brackets, parenthesis, and/or half-brackets
tragedy
a serious work of drama in which the hero suffers catastrophe or serious misfortune, usually because of his own actions
tragic hero
a protagonist with a fatal flaw which eventually leads to his demise
alliteration
repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables
allusion
a literary reference to a well-known work of art, music, history, or literature
blank verse
non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter. Most of Shakespeare’s plays are written in this form, which is very close to normal speech rhythms and patterns Often Shakespeare will deviate from this form in order to make a point about the characters state of mind or for other emphasis, like a change in the mood
comic relief
in a tragedy, a break in the seriousness for a moment of comedy of silliness
double entendre
a word or phrase with more than one meaning, usually when the second meaning is risqué
dramatic irony
when the audience or reader knows something that the characters in the story do not know
euphemism
a substitution of a more pleasant expression for one whose meaning may come across as rude or offensive
figurative language
writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally; often used to compare dissimilar objects; figurative language includes metaphor, simile, personification, and hyperbole
foreshadowing
hints of events to occur later in a story
iamb
a unit in poetry consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
