Shakespeare and Romeo and
Juliet
HIS STYLE, HIS STRATEGIES, AND
WHATEVER ELSE MAKES IT INTO THIS
SLIDESHOW
Metaphor
 The comparison of two unlike objects without using
like or as.
 Used in order to get an idea across, something one
cannot usually fit into words themselves.
 But soft! What light from yonder window break?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!
Oxymoron
 Using two contradictory (or, opposite) terms to
describe something
 Usually to describe something abstract or
ambiguous, in between two ideas
 O brawling love! O loving hate!...Sad happiness!
Serious foolishness! Beautiful things muddled
together into an ugly mess!
Couplet
 A two line poem that rhymes
 Usually used at the end of a scene to signify an exit
or a resolution
 The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
 Speaking of the prologue…
Iambic Pentameter
 Sometimes described as the “sound” or “feel” of
Shakespeare, it was the way he would form his texts.
 Iambic means the stress of the syllable lands on the
second part
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Think of the difference between OB-ject and ob-JECT
 Pentameter means there are ten syllables per line
The Prologue
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
Write like the ‘Speare
 Using the four elements we just learned about
(metaphor, oxymoron, couplet, and iambic
pentameter), as well as lessons in spitting game from
Romeo, write a six line Shakespearean pick-up
to…whomever. Your significant other, a celebrity,
someone else in the classroom that doesn’t know
your name—it doesn’t matter.
 You must incorporate all the elements from above
and describe someone specific. Label each part of
your elements, and describe how it fits.
 O! That thine shining eyes might turn towards mine!
 O! That thine blood red mouth might meet mine!
 O! That thine talent will transform our love
 O! To that of a hateful song of love
 If thy heart will accept my love as gift,
 Then do not turn thee away, Taylor Swift.
Soliloquy, Aside, and
Monologues
OR, WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP TALKING
TO THEMSELVES?
The Private Thoughts of Characters
 It is difficult to show an audience what a character is
feeling in a performance
 Usually shown thorough their actions or their acting
 However! For those in Elizabethan theatre, this
would have been too difficult—thus, the self speaking
The Fourth Wall
 A stage is made up of four walls: the back and two
sides are literal, they’re actually there.
 However, those in theatre call the front end “the
fourth wall”…it is the invisible wall that the audience
looks through to see the action
 Characters are in this box and usually do not break
out of it, but will sometimes to direct thoughts to
audience.
Back
Audience
Soliloquy
 A soliloquy is when a character is delivering their
thoughts
 Not usually to anyone in particular, almost them
thinking aloud
 Usually done when they are alone onstage and
considering what had just happened.
Asides
 The inner thoughts of a character within a specific
moment
 Spoken aloud with other actors on the stage, but directed
straight at audience—others cannot hear what they are
saying
 A breaking of the fourth wall to hear their inner thoughts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYnnm3L12fA
Monologue
 When a character speaks for an elongated period of time
to other characters
 Usually done in a fit of emotion, and are rarely
interrupted by others
 The “big speech” that rallies the team, the confession that
stuns everyone, the reveal of the master plan
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRlh_w6uRds&t=0m
42s
Act III
 Working with your row, your group will look through a
scene and prepare a presentation for the class based on
it. You will become experts and then teach us about it.
 Each person will have a specific role that they may
choose. The rolls are…




Annotator: Will choose and identify a soliloquy, aside, or monologue
and annotate it using SWIFFT. It must be at least six lines and there
must be at least ten annotations.
Summarizer: Will summarize the scene as well as choose three
essential lines and explain them
Writer: Will write a SPES paragraph answering the question: “Why is
this scene important or needed in Act III?”
Discussion Director: Will write three discussion questions (heavy
questions) as well as answer with their own opinion.
Be prepared to present! Each group will
be teaching the class what they have
learned from that scene. Take notes!
There will be a quiz on it the next day.
Write your name and role on the sheet of
paper. You will be graded individually on
this.