Romeo and Juliet Literary Terms
Across
- 1. Irony When the audience knows something important that the characters in the story do not know.
- 4. Hero A main character, usually noble or important, who has a flaw or makes a mistake that leads to their downfall.
- 5. Verse Poetry written in unrhymed lines but with a regular rhythm, often used in Shakespeare’s plays.
- 7. Plot A secondary storyline that develops alongside the main plot and connects to the main events or themes.
- 9. A figure of speech that combines two contradictory or opposite words (example: “sweet sorrow”).
- 10. Relief A humorous scene or character that provides a break from the serious or tragic parts of a play.
- 11. A brief remark made by a character that is heard by the audience but not by other characters on stage.
- 13. A type of wordplay that uses words with multiple meanings or similar sounds for humor.
Down
- 2. A type of drama in which the main character faces serious problems that usually lead to a sad or disastrous ending.
- 3. A story written to be performed by actors on a stage.
- 6. Pentameter A rhythm pattern with ten syllables per line, alternating unstressed and stressed syllables (da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM).
- 7. An introduction at the beginning of a play that gives background information and prepares the audience for the story.
- 8. Character A character whose traits contrast with another character in order to highlight the other character’s qualities.
- 12. A speech in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud while alone on stage, revealing their inner feelings.