LITERATURE TERMS ACT III, IV, V

ROUND CHARACTER  A character that shows varied and sometimes contradictory character traits. This development is seen throughout the play.

ROUND CHARACTER  My examples:  Romeo: moody -at first he is pessimistic but he becomes spirited again as he meets Juliet (and then becomes irrational)  Nurse: matronly and then, at times, inappropriate, tactless, and improper  Juliet: immature and then mature, disobedient and obedient

FLAT CHARACTER  is a minor character in a work of fiction who does not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story.

FLAT CHARACTER  Examples: Balthasar, Sampson, Gregory

DRAMATIC FOIL  A minor character whose attitudes, beliefs, and behavior differ from those of a main character. The foil may - ⁻ highlight flaws in the main character’s personality. ⁻ suggest what the main character may have been like if these flaws had not been present. ⁻ highlight flaws in the main character’s personality. ⁻ suggest what the main character may have been like if these flaws had not been present.

DRAMATIC FOIL  Examples:  Tybalt vs. Mercutio  Mercutio/Romeo & Tybalt/Romeo  Benvolio vs. Romeo  Paris vs. Romeo  Juliet vs. Nurse (Juliet remains loyal to her husband)

BLANK VERSE  the verse form most like everyday speech; in English, unrhymed iambic pentameter. In the sixteenth century blank verse became the standard form for dramatic and epic poetry. Most of Shakespeare’s plays are in blank verse.

DRAMATIC IRONY  Occurs when the audience knows something that the character does not know

DRAMATIC IRONY  Prologue: R & J will die.  Act V: When Juliet is found dead in her bed, but she is not dead.  Act III: Juliet assumes Romeo is dead because the nurse is crying.  Act III: Lady Capulet thinks Juliet is crying over Tybalt’s death.

TRAGEDY  Depict the fall and death of a noble character who is in conflict with forces beyond his/her control. Tragedy requires that the hero-heroine make choices that lead to a situation from which there is no escape. Tragedy is the confrontation of human intelligence with forces that intelligence cannot cope with.