Trimester 3 Vocab Week 4

aside In a play, a comment made by a character who is heard by the audience but not by the other characters on stage. Example: Romeo and Juliet, Act I Scene I: Sampson (aside to Gregory): “Is the law on our side if I say ay?” Gregory (aside to Sampson): “No.”

comic relief A humorous scene, incident, character, or bit of dialogue occurring after some serious or tragic moment. Deliberately designed to relieve emotional intensity (lighten the mood)

couplet Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme Example: “The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.” -Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

dramatic conventions Any dramatic device which, though it departs from reality, is understood and accepted by the audience as representing reality. Example: An audience can “accept” the fact that a character has aged 10 years within a matter of minutes. -In one scene, the character is shown as a 10-year-old boy playing in the yard; in another scene moments later, the same character is shown as a 20-year-old man leaving for military service.

dramatic monologue A poem (or long speech) in which a speaker addresses one or more silent listeners, typically revealing their innermost thoughts and feelings about a specific problem or situation

soliloquy Long speech in which a character is alone onstage, expressing his or her thoughts aloud Example: Juliet’s balcony scene in Act II of Romeo and Juliet

sonnet A type of lyric poem with 14 lines and regular rhyme schemes Ends with a couplet