ROMEO AND JULIETWILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Act I: Vocabulary and Literary Terms

ACT I VOCABULARY

Adversary: opponent, enemy

Boisterous: stormy, rowdy, violent

Nuptial: wedding

ACT I LITERARY TERMS

Aside: words spoken by a character in a play, usually in an

undertone and not intended for others to hear• Find an example!

Blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter

Characterization: the personality a character displays; the

means in which the author reveals that personality

Conflict: the struggle between opposing forces or

characters (know the types of external and internal conflict)

ACT I LITERARY TERMS

Couplet: two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

Epithet: a descriptive adjective or phrase used to

characterize someone or something

Figurative Language: language that is not intended to be

interpreted in a literal sense• Find an example!

Foil: a character who sets off another character by contrast• Find an example!

ACT I LITERARY TERMS

Foreshadowing: the use of hints or clues in a narrative to

suggest what action is to come• Find an example!

Iambic meter: unstressed syllable followed by a stressed

syllable

Iambic pentameter: five verse feet with each foot an iamb

Metaphor: comparison between two unlike things without the

use of like or as• Find an example!

ACT I LITERARY TERMS

Simile: comparison of two unlike things using like

or as• Find an example!

Pun: the humorous use of a word or phrase to

suggest two or more meanings at the same time• Find an example!