Romeo and Juliet Review

Sunday

Act 1+2:servants argue, Paris asks to marry Juliet, part and Juliet's house, balcony scene

Monday

Act 2+3: Romeo and Juliet married by Friar Laurence, Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt, Romeo banished, Romeo and Juliet spend night together

Tuesday

Act 3+4:Lord Capulet insists Juliet marry Paris, Friar makes a plan, Juliet takes potion

Wednesday

Act 4:Juliet found "dead"

Thursday

Act 5:Romeo hears Juliet is dead and buys poison, Friar finds out his plan didn't work, Romeo kills Paris at the vault and then poisons himself and dies, Juliet wakes up and kills herself with a knife, Lord Montague and Lord Capulet make peace

Metaphor

Comparison stated without "like" or "as" ex:when Romeo says Juliet is the sun ex: "[The light] is the east and Juliet is the sun."

first person pronouns

I, me, we, us

Nurse

Juliet's confidante and messenger. She is a loyal but strange-looking person. At first she speaks well of Romeo then tells Juliet to marry Paris. (WSS:Anita)

Lord Capulet

Juliet's father. He has a party at his house, where Romeo and Juliet meet.

Elizabeth I

(1558-1603) Queen of England during the time of Shakespeare. During her leadership, England became an important naval and economic force in Europe and beyond.

William Shakespeare

(1564-1616) considered one of the finest playwrights, poets and writers in history. His plays include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth

Juliet

Lord Capulet's 13-year-old daughter and Romeo's wife. She defies her parents. She is a "star-crossed lover" that kills herself with a knife when she finds Romeo dead of poison. (WSS:Maria)

Prince Escalus

Prince of Verona. He wants to stop the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. He banishes Romeo for Tybalt's death. His relatives, Count Paris and Mercutio, die as a result of the feud. (WSS:Detective Shrank)

Sharks

Puerto Rican New York gang in the West Side Story (WSS). Maria's friends. (like the Capulets)

genre

a major category or type of literature Shakespeare wrote tragedies, romances, comedies, and histories

Count Paris

a noble gentleman that wants to marry Juliet. He is a relative of the Prince. Before she meets Romeo, Juliet agrees to get to know him. He is killed by Romeo in the vault at the end of the play (WSS:Chino)

illiterate

a person that can't read or write. Romeo finds out about the party from a Capulet servant that can't read.

playwright

a person who writes plays for the theater ex: William Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams

Wanted poster

a piece of paper placed where people can see it which describes criminals (outlaws, fugitives) wanted by law.

Friar Laurence

a priest and and plant expert that agrees to marry Juliet and Romeo so their families' feud will end. He devises a plan so the lovers can be together, but the plan doesn't work. (WSS:Doc)

Mercutio

a relative of the Prince and friend of Romeo. Nurse thinks he is a rude boy. Before he is killed by Tybalt while defending Romeo, he curses both families. (WSS:Riff)

vault

a room where the bodies of people from the same family are put after their death

sonnet

a type of poem that has 14 lines. Each line has 10 syllables with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

tragedy

a type of serious drama that usually ends in disaster for the main character

Tybalt

an excellent swordsman and Juliet's cousin. He is angry when he finds out Romeo is at the Capulet party and can't fight him. Later Romeo will not fight him because he is now a cousin. He stabs and kills Mercutio in a fight.Romeo kills him as revenge for Mercutio's death. (WSS:Bernardo)

prologue

an introduction to a play In Romeo and Juliet, this is written in the form of a poem called a sonnet. It summarizes the plot of Romeo and Juliet, two "star-crossed" (unlucky) lovers

plague

any epidemic disease with a high death rate. This was a problem during Shakespeare's time. The Friar's letter does not reach Romeo in time because the person delivering it gets quarantined because of this disease.

England

birthplace of William Shakespeare. During Shakespeare's lifetime it was ruled by James I and then Queen Elizabeth I.

simile

comparison using "like" or "as" ex: Her eyes shone like the sun. ex: Juliet says, "My bounty is as boundless as the sea."

Personification

giving human characteristics to nonhuman subjects ex: The giant wave angrily swallowed the small ship. ex: The morning smiles on the frowning night.

Lord Montague

head of the Montague family, father of Romeo, enemy of Lord Capulet

foreshadowing

hints or clues in the story that show how the story will end.

balcony

n. an area with a wall or bars around it that is joined to the outside wall of a building on an upper level This scene is one of the most famous scenes of all plays.

apothecary

one who prepares and sells drugs for medicinal purposes. Like a modern drugstore pharmacist In the story, he sells Romeo the poison because he needs the money

Romeo

protagonist of the play. He is a "star-crossed" lover, whose love for Juliet is tragic. He drinks poison and dies because he thinks Juliet is dead (WSS:Tony)

alliteration

repetition of beginning sound in poetry ex: Broncos Beat the Bears ex: Tears for Tybalt ex: Monstrous Murder

Rosaline

the girl Romeo is in "love" with at the beginning of the play

headline

the heading or caption of a newspaper article

Italy

the setting of the play Romeo and Juliet. The town is Verona, Italy.

banish

to force someone to leave a place. Prince did this to Romeo

Themes of Romeo and Juliet

tragedy, conflict, marriage, love

Jets

American gang in the West Side Story (WSS). Tony's friends. (Like the Montagues)

West Side Story

American musical of New York City gangs. Story based on Romeo and Juliet

Benvolio

Romeo's cousin and friend. He tries to stop the fighting in the play. He tells the Prince how Mercutio and Tybalt were slain. Later he tells the Prince what led to Romeo's death.

Lady Montague

Romeo's mother. She dies of grief when she hears about Romeo's banishment