English 9 / Unit 5: Drama and Shakespeare
5.6 Puns, Foreshadowing and Dramatic Irony in Drama
Notes
Shakespeare uses wordplay and audience knowledge to add layers of meaning.
- A pun is a play on words with more than one meaning. Dying Mercutio says, "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man" (grave = serious and in a grave).
- Foreshadowing: Romeo fears that going to the party may lead to "untimely death."
- Dramatic irony in plays: the audience knows Juliet is only drugged, but Romeo thinks she is dead.
- An oxymoron pairs opposite words: "O brawling love! O loving hate!"
Practice
Mercutio's line "you shall find me a grave man" is effective because "grave" means both "serious" and:
The pun hints darkly at his coming death.
"Parting is such sweet sorrow" combines opposite ideas. This device is a(n):
"Sweet" and "sorrow" are contradictory.
The audience knows a character drank a sleeping potion, but her husband believes she is dead. This is:
The audience knows something the character does not.
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