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Romeo and Juliet
Act 1 Literary terms
Aside
• A device in which a character in a
drama makes a short speech which is
heard by the audience but not by other
characters in the play
Oxymoron
• Definition: A figure of speech which
brings together contradictory (opposite)
terms.
• Examples: living death, pretty ugly,
sweet sorrow, smart but stupid,
cheerful pessimist
Simile
• Definition: A comparison of two unlike
objects using the word like or as.
• Example: “My love is like a red, red
rose.”
Metaphor
• Definition: A comparison of two unlike
objects without the use of the word like
or as.
• Example: “The cat's eyes were jewels,
gleaming out of the darkness.”
Personification
• Definition: Giving human attributes
and/or feelings to an idea or thing as if
it were human.
• Examples: a wicked tongue
a lonely road
a lazy day
Foreshadow
• Definition: The introduction early in a
story of verbal and dramatic hints that
suggest what is to come later.
Pun
• Definition: A play on words which uses
words that sound alike but have
different meanings.
• Example: “The dentist joined the army
because he liked to drill.” (drill could
have two meanings: drilling of the teeth
or march drills in the army)
Irony
• Definition: A contrast between
appearance and reality.
• Types of Irony:
– Verbal
– Dramatic
– Situational
Verbal Irony
• Definition: A difference between what is
literally said and what is actually meant.
• Example: “Well, thanks a lot!” (spoken
when someone has not been at all
helpful)
Dramatic Irony
• Definition: When the reader or audience
knows that the situation is exactly the
opposite of what the participants think it is.
• Example: In William Shakespeare’s Othello,
the audience knows Iago is the villain, but
Othello believes Iago is his most trusted
friend
Situational Irony
• Definition: When the outcome of
circumstances is the opposite of what is
expected or appropriate.
• Example: In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The
Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale is found to
be a liar and an adulterer, but he is also
a reverend.
Alliteration
• Definition: The repetitious use of the
same beginning consonant sound in
two or more nearby words.
• Example: “The ballot is bigger than the
bullet.”
– Abraham Lincoln
Comic Relief
• Definition: A humorous scene or
incident that improve tension in an
otherwise serious work.
Allusion
• Definition: A reference, usually brief, to a
person, place, thing, or event with which the
reader is presumably familiar. The allusion
lets the reader condense great meaning into
only a few words. Allusions often refer to
mythology, history, religious and literary texts,
etc.
• Example: “He has the patience of Jesus.”
Motif
• Definition: A motif is an idea, object, or
theme that is repeated. A motif may
also be two contrasting elements in a
work, such as good and evil.
• Example: In Jaws, the approach of the
shark is always signaled by a
strumming of bass strings slowly as the
music builds in pitch and speed.
Symbol
• Definition: Any word, object, character,
or action used to stand for something
else, embodying and evoking a range
of additional significance and meaning.
• Example: heart=love; dove=peace;
skull=death
Hyperbole
• Definition: An exaggeration or overstatement
to make emphasis and heighten the overall
effect (comic or serious) of a work.
• Example: “This backpack weighs a ton!”
• Example: She called me a million times.