Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare A guide to help you through the play

Standards Covered in this Unit Literary Response and Analysis 3.1 – Purpose and characteristics of different forms of prose 3.4 – Determine character’s traits through what they say about themselves 3.7 – Analyze/recognize literary devices, including figurative language, imagery, allegory, symbolism 3.10 – Identify/describe functions of dialogue, scene design, soliloquies, asides, and foils in dramatic literature 3.12 – Analyze how literature is related to its historical period

Tragedy Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies A tragedy tells about serious and important actions that end unhappily In a tragedy, the central character(s) suffer disaster or great misfortune –In many tragedies, the downfall results from Fate Character flaw/Fatal flaw Combination of the two

How to read Shakespeare Read through the end of the line, only stopping when there is punctuation Pay attention to the stage directions for clues to understanding the scene Realize that Shakespeare will often reorder his sentences so that the subject is at the end of the sentence and the predicate is at the beginning

How to read Shakespeare Look for opposites in the speech – Shakespeare often sets up two ideas and compares or contrasts them Look for figurative language – Shakespeare likes to compare one thing to something else

Blank Verse Blank verse – poetic lines of 10 syllables each Blank means that there is no rhyme at the end of the lines Considered a heightened form of language; poets and playwrights were expected to use it Couplets are two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme at the end Shakespeare generally uses couplets to show a character’s exit or the ending of a scene

Prose Prose is ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song Only characters in the lower social classes speak this way in Shakespeare’s plays Occasionally Mercutio will speak in prose when he is joking

Sonnets Sonnets are 14-lined poems, written in iambic pentameter, a form of blank verse Sonnets are composed of three quatrains (groups of four lines) and one couplet (a group of two lines) Iambic pentameter – each line of the poem has ten syllables, which form five groups of two The rhyme scheme is: abab, cdcd, efef, gg

Sonnet 130 My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; (a) Coral is far more red than her lips' red; (b) If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; (a) If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. (b) I have seen roses damask'd, red and white, (c) But no such roses see I in her cheeks; (d) And in some perfumes is there more delight (c) Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. (d) I love to hear her speak, yet well I know (e) That music hath a far more pleasing sound; (f) I grant I never saw a goddess go; (e) My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground. (f) And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare (g) As any she belied with false compare.(g) Quatrain 1 Quatrain 2 Quatrain 3 Couplet

Important Terms Foil – a character or scene that is set up as a contrast to another so that each will stand out vividly Round Characters - characters who have many personality traits, like real people Flat Characters - characters who have few traits and little or no depth

Important Terms Static Characters - characters within a story who remain the same. They do not change. They do not change their minds, opinions or character. Dynamic Characters - characters that change somehow during the course of the plot. They generally change for the better. Motivation – a character’s reasons for his/her actions (a motive is not always what it appears to be)

Important Terms Soliloquy – an unusually long speech in which a character who is onstage alone expresses his/her thoughts aloud Aside – words spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character that are not supposed to be over-heard by others onstage Pun – a play on the multiple meanings of a word, or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings

Important Terms Allusion – a reference the author makes to a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture Foreshadowing – the use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in the plot Theme – the central idea in a work of literature; although it is not usually stated directly, the theme is the message or lesson the author wants the readers to understand about the work

Shakespeare’s Words an,and:if anon:soon aye:yes but:except for e’en:even e’er: ever haply:perhaps happy:fortunate

Shakespeare’s Words counsel:private thoughts frank:generous Go-den:Good evening hap:luck humor:mood maid: unmarried girl mark:listen to soft:quiet strange:aloof or cold

Shakespeare’s Words hence:away, from her hie:hurry marry:indeed whence:where wilt:will, will you withal:in addition to would:wish wherefore:why wot:know

Important Characters Montagues Lord Montague Lady Montague Romeo Benvolio Mercutio (Romeo’s friend) Capulets Lord Capulet Lady Capulet Juliet Tybalt Nurse Others Prince Escalus, Friar Lawrence, Count Paris, an Apothecary