Notes
Parts of a play
- A play is divided into acts and scenes. The story is told through dialogue and stage directions.
- Monologue: long speech to others. Soliloquy: speech alone revealing thoughts. Aside: short remark only the audience hears.
Tragedy and comedy
- A tragedy ends in the downfall of a tragic hero whose tragic flaw helps cause it. Comic relief eases tension.
- A comedy ends happily after confusion, often with marriages.
Shakespeare's language
- thou/thee/thy = you/your; art = are; hast = have; doth = does; wherefore = why.
- Nobles often speak blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter); comic and lower-class characters often use prose.
- Read to the punctuation and paraphrase.
Romeo and Juliet
- The Prologue is a sonnet that reveals the tragic ending, creating dramatic irony.
- Themes: love vs. hate, fate ("star-cross'd"), the danger of haste.
- Wordplay includes puns and oxymorons ("sweet sorrow").
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Asides are brief remarks heard only by the audience.
Ere = before, thou shalt = you will.
His pride is a tragic flaw that causes his downfall.
The stars, or fate, are against them.
Each phrase joins opposite ideas.
Soliloquies let the audience hear inner thoughts.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Read this original scene: "[A dark garden. MAYA, alone, holds a letter.] MAYA: He says to meet him at midnight. My brother swore he'd never let us speak again. Yet my heart runs faster than my sense. [Aside, as her brother enters] If he sees this letter, all is lost. BROTHER: Sister, why are you out so late?"
(a) Identify one stage direction and explain what it adds.
Show the answer and scoring guide
"[A dark garden. MAYA, alone, holds a letter.]" It sets a secretive, nighttime setting and shows that the letter is important, building a tense mood.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Distinguish between Maya's soliloquy and her aside in this scene.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Her first lines are a soliloquy because she is alone and speaks her private thoughts. "If he sees this letter, all is lost" is an aside because her brother is now on stage but cannot hear it; only the audience can.
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Explain how the scene creates dramatic irony and suggests a possible tragic flaw.
Show the answer and scoring guide
The audience knows about the secret letter and meeting, but the brother does not, so his innocent question creates dramatic irony and tension. Maya admits "my heart runs faster than my sense," suggesting haste or impulsive emotion as a tragic flaw.
Check off the points you earned: