Literary and Dramatic Elements Definitions and Examples in Romeo and Juliet

What is drama? O A story that is written to be acted for an aidience O Elements include exposition, complications (rising action), climax, and resolution

What is tragedy? O A play that depicts serious and important events in which the main character(s) comes to an unhappy end O The character’s downfall may be caused by a character flaw or by forces that are beyond human control

What is exposition? O The beginning part of a plot that gives information about the characters and their problems or conflicts O How the playwright lets us know what is going on in the story

What is scene design? O Sets, lights, costumes, props, all of which bring a play to life on stage O Furnishings and scenery that suggest the time and place of the action

What is meter? O The regular patter of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry O Meter provides the rhythm of a line

What is iambic pentameter? O Line of poetry that contains five iambs O Iambs are units of measure with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable O In Shakespeare, the main characters often speak in poetry and use iambic pentameter, with the “common” people speaking prose

What is blank verse? O Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter O Most of Shakespeare’s plays use blank verse, especially when the main characters are speaking O Contrast to prose

What is a soliloquy? O A long speech in which a character who is onstage alone expresses his or her thoughts aloud O The audience overhears the character’s private thoughts O Contrast to a monologue, which is any extended speech by one person, often expressed to another person

What is an aside? O Words that are spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character but that are not supposed to be heard by the others on the stage O Often noted through stage directions (italics on text of play)

What is dialogue? O The conversation between characters in a story or a play O Helps audience learn about the characters and move the plot forward

What is a couplet? O Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme O Shakespeare often uses couplets to end important speeches or a scene (signal to audience)

What is dramatic irony? O When the audience knows something important that a character does not know

What is foreshadowing? O The use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in the plot O Used to build suspense and anxiety in the audience