“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.