“Romeo & Juliet” Literary Terms

Drama a story written to be performed by actors

Soliloquy a long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage

Monologue a speech by one character in a play, story, or poem

Prologue an opening speech that introduces the play’s main characters, plot, and setting

Tragedy a work of literature, especially a play, that results in a catastrophe for the main character.

Tragic hero a character of noble birth with the potential for greatness, but due to a tragic flaw in his character makes an error in judgment that leads to his death

Aside a short speech delivered by an actor in a play traditionally directed at the audience.

Comic Relief a technique that is used to interrupt a serious part of a literary work by introducing a humorous character or situation.

Dialogue a conversation between characters

Blank Verse poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

Dramatic Foil a character that provides a contrast to another character – opposites

Suspense a feeling of uncertainty about the outcome of events in a story – a way to keep the reader interested

Irony when a reader expects one outcome and the opposite occurs

Sonnet a fourteen line lyric poem traditionally written in iambic pentameter

Iambic Pentameter A series of five stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

Couplet a pair of rhyming lines in poetry

That completes our notes on literary terms. Now we will discuss sonnets more in depth.

A fourteen line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter Themes:  Love  Friendship  Mortality  Immortality of poetry Sonnets

A sonnet consists of three quatrains and one couplet

Sonnets A quatrain is a series of four rhymed lines

Sonnets  First quatrain: the subject is revealed and why it is loved is explained  Second quatrain: describe what is special about the subject – be descriptive and imaginative  Third Quatrain: A problem arises with loving the subject

Sonnets A couplet is a series of two rhymed lines Summarizes and leaves the reader with a new, concluding image

Sonnets Rhyme Scheme – a pattern of rhyme in a poem Sonnet Rhyme Scheme: ABAB/CDCD/EFEF/GG

Sonnets Iambic Pentameter: five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables (“da-DUH”); ten syllables per line. Meter means rhythm.

Sonnets “Who’s wood / these are / I think / I know /his house” “Is in / the village / though he / will not / mind me / stopping”

Sonnets Now we will be listening to some examples of sonnets.