1 / 24

Drama and Literary Devices for Reading Romeo and Juliet

Drama and Literary Devices for Reading Romeo and Juliet. "For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo ” (V.iii). Essential Question #1. How is drama different from other literary genres?. Drama.

ljesse
Download Presentation

Drama and Literary Devices for Reading Romeo and Juliet

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Drama and Literary Devices for Reading Romeo and Juliet "For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo” (V.iii)

  2. Essential Question #1 How is drama different from other literary genres?

  3. Drama • Drama contains elements similar to the novel and short story: plot, characters, setting, and theme(s) • Unlike other types of literature, drama is meant to be seen and/or performed • Drama becomes a play when it is acted out • Drama also contains some unique elements: lighting, sets, props and costumes, stage directions, format (use of dialogue)

  4. What are the types of drama? Tragedy vs. Comedy Tragedy: Ends in death and destruction Comedy: More humor; usually ends with a wedding…

  5. Tragedies, Comedies and Catharsis • Even in tragedies, there is usually some comedy. • Comedy is a type of drama where the hero overcomes his flaws and triumphs in the end. • Catharsis literally means “a cleansing.” • If you experience catharsis at the end of a play, you are relieved that the tragedy happened to a character and not you.

  6. Examples? Tragedy Comedy Romeo and Juliet A Midsummer Night’s Dream

  7. Tragedy • Tragedy is a type of drama that began in ancient times. • The tragic hero is the character who is brought down by a single weakness. • The weakness that brings down the hero mentioned above is called the tragic flaw. • The word Tragedy comes from the Greek word, “tragos,” meaning “goat song.”

  8. How is a drama organized? Plays are divided first into Acts, and then into scenes. • Scene: A short, very specific section of a play. (Similar to a page/several pages in a book.) • Act: A group of scenes together. (Similar to a chapter in a book.) There are five Acts in Romeo and Juliet, and each Act has many scenes. Ex: Act 1, scene 2 written as: I.ii Ex: Act 2, scene 5 written as: II.v

  9. Speech in Drama • Dialogue: any conversation between characters • Soliloquy: a speech in which one character is alone on stage expressing his/her thoughts to the audience • Ex: Juliet’s balcony scene– she thinks she is alone and expresses her thoughts about Romeo • Monologue: a speech in which one character is talking, but there are other characters on stage • Ex: In the opening of the play, the Prince speaks publicly to both families about their fight

  10. Allusion • A reference to something from history mythology, pop culture, music, etc. that the writer expects the reader to know. • Ex: “Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone…”(T. Swift referring to Shakespeare!) • Ex: Romeo in I.i: “She will not be hit with Cupid’s arrow” (reference to Cupid, mythology)

  11. Aside A part of an actor's lines supposedly not heard by others on the stage and generally intended only for the audience • Sort of like an “under the breath” comment

  12. Dramatic Irony • Dramatic irony happens when a play’s audience knows something that the character(s) don’t know. • Ex: At the end of the play, the audience knows Juliet is not really dead, just sleeping… but Romeo does NOT. This is dramatic irony.

  13. Character Foils Two characters who are complete opposites, and therefore, exaggerate differences in one another. Benvolio: Kind, caring, thoughtful Tybalt: Mean, rude, violent

  14. Foreshadowing The use of clues early on in a work of literature to suggest what will happen later on. • Ex: Prologue: “Two star-crossed lovers…” • Ex: Romeo: “I fear some consequence…shall begin its work tonight…”

  15. Metaphor and Simile Simile: A comparison between two very different things that uses ‘like’ or ‘as’ Ex: Benvolio: “Love goes from love, like a schoolboy from his books” (I.iv) Metaphor: A comparison between two very different things WITHOUT using ‘like’ or ‘as’ Ex: Romeo: “Juliet is the sun” (II.ii) Ex:

  16. Oxymoron The use of two completely opposite words to describe something. Ex: Pretty ugly, wicked nice, jumbo shrimp Examples from Romeo & Juliet: Heavy lightness, loving hatred, sweet sorrow

  17. Pun A ‘play’ on words; the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to suggest multiple meanings, OR the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning. Examples: Mercutio: Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man. Romeo: You have dancing shoes with nimble soles. I have a soul of lead that stakes me to the floor.

  18. The Sonnet • A type of poem • Always has 14 lines • 3 quatrains and a rhyming couplet • Iambic pentameter (specific rhythm) • ABAB rhyme scheme The Prologue to Romeo and Juliet is written as a sonnet. Shakespeare also wrote hundreds of sonnets and made this type of poem famous.

  19. Meter Meter is just the name for the rhythm a line of poetry has, based on the number of syllables and the pattern they make. There are several types of meter that poets use on a regular basis. Ex: Iambic pentameter = 5 beats in the iambic pattern Ex: Dactylic trimeter = 3 beats in the dactylic pattern

  20. Iambic Meter/Pentameter • Iambic pentameter is a type of meter (rhythm) that is used often in poetry and drama. • The word 'iambic' describes the type of rhythm that is used: an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. • Examples of i-AMBS: Da Dum, aWAY, preDICT, beLONG • The word 'pentameter' indicates that a line has five of these ’iambs’: Two households, both alike in dignity (Two HOUSE)(holds, BOTH) (aLIKE) (in DIG)(niTY)

  21. Blank Verse is any line of writing comprised of unrhymed lines all in the same meter, usually iambic pentameter. Most of Romeo and Juliet is written like this. “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost (SomeTHING) (there IS) (that DO)(esn't LOVE) (a WALL), (That SENDS) (the FRO)(zen GROUND)(swell UN)(derNEATH)

  22. Quatrain A stanza (group of lines in a poem) that is 4 lines long (quat = 4) • A sonnet has 14 lines, so there are 3 quatrains and a couplet (group of 2 lines). Two households, both alike in dignity (A) In fair Verona where we lay our scene (B) From ancient grudge break to new mutiny (A) Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. (B)

  23. Couplet Any two lines working as a unit, whether they form a single stanza or are part of a larger stanza. Most couplets rhyme (aa), but they do not have to. Into my empty head there comea cotton beach, a dock wherefromI set out, oily and nudethrough mist in oily solitude Lady Montague: “O, Where’s Romeo? Saw you him today? Right glad I am he was not at this fray.”

  24. QUIZ!This Friday, April 17 • What you will need to know: • Shakespeare’s biography and background information, including the years he lived • Be able to describe the theater during Shakespeare’s lifetime and what his society was like, including Queen Elizabeth’s dates of rule • Characteristics of the sonnet

More Related