Romeo and Juliet Characters

The Montague Family

Those and them loyal

Romeo Montague

*About 16 years old

*from an upperclass family

*Tragic Flaw: In love with the idea of being in love

Lord Montague

*Romeo's father

*Often referred to as just Montague

Lady Montague

*Romeos mother

Benvolio

*Romeos cousin + friend

*Benevolent (good natured. well meaning. kindly, trustworthy)

*Ussually is not bias

Abram

* a Montague servingman (servant)

Balthasar

*Romeos servingman

*more dedicated to serving and working for specifically Romeo

Mercutio

*Romeo's best friend; no blood relation

*related to the prince Escalus (prince of Verona)

*Sassy, rude, crude, speaks his mind

The Capulet Family

Juliet

*she is turning 14

*Romeo's love interest throughout the vast majority of the play (after Rosaline)

Lord Capulet

*Juliet's father

*often referred to as just "Capulet"

*head of the family rivaling with the Montague's

Lady Capulet

*Juliet's mother

Nurse

*Juliet's nursemaid and caretaker

*shes raised Juliet and is responsible for meeting Juliet's needs (kind of like a nanny but with greater responsibilities)

* Juliet's confidant

*Heavyset and dumb-witted

Tybalt

* Juliet's cousin

*hotheaded

*always ready to fight

Romeo And Juliet [Script + Device Vocab]

Script Vocab

Prologue

-part of story that comes before main actions and intro

-the prologue for romeo and juliet gives an overview of the entire play

~why do you think plays include this info?

Epilogue

-a short section at the end of the story; a way of wrapping up or giving final thoughts

Dialogue

-the words that characters exchange when speaking with one another

~Point to Note: all end in -logue

-Etymology: from french... -logue from ancient greek -oros (-logos "one who speaks in a certain manner")

Player

-Term that means actor/ess

Stage Directions

-not meant to be spoken

-info that is written into the script to tell how the player should perform

- often set off by italics

Act

-A large division of a play

-most plays have 3-5 acts

Scene

Smaller division of a play

scenes are marked with in a act

Chorus

a special narrator or announcer

Device Vocab

Dramatic Irony: when the reader or audience knows something about what is happening in the story but the characters in the story don't know

Situational Irony: The player realized the situation or event is opposite of what s/he previously expected or thought

Verbal Irony: Sarcasm; words spoken different/sharply in meaning from the actual meaning

Pun: a Shakespearean favorite; this is a humorous play on words to produce a double meaning

Comic Relief: a break in a very serious scene

a character says or does something funny but related to the scene. It lightens the mood momentarily.

Soliloquy: A long speech made by one character alone on stage and is used to communicate inner thoughts and feelings to the audience

Monologue: similar to soliloquy but occurs with other players on stage; there are many significant monologues in ROM. including Mercutio's queen mab speech

Aside: lines spoken by a player in a way that suggests that the other characters on the stage can not hear but audience can

Allusion: an appearance or reference to another peice of literature or art

Foreshadowing: a hint or suggestion of things to come

Simile: 2 unlike things compared using like or as

Metaphor: see "simile" w/ out using like or as

Hyperbole: great overstatement or exaggeration

Foil: (No not aluminium) equal but opposite character [alternate ego]

Tragedy Plot

Plot:

Tragedy's Plot...Regular....

1) Exposition: Introduction of main characters

Hero will start out favorably

Author will plan seeds in readers mind of developing problem

Intro of secondary main characters

2) Rising Action: Here the author will inject some crisis that puts pressure on the hero

Events begin to work against the main character

He will need to make some difficult decisions

Unfortunatly and at the worst possible time, his tragic flaw will get in the way

causing him to make a bad irreversable decision

nothing the main character can do to stop it

as the readers we see sadness, destruction and possible death looming

3) Climax: While we thin of the word climax as something big, but its actually more subtle

It is the highest point of tension in tragedy however it comes later than we usually expect.

the climax of a tragedy begins to reveal the total downfall and complete destruction of the main character.

4) Falling Action: Readers sinse the main characters destruction but others close to him may not or may also be ruined

Main character might try to make last attempts but the situation has already spun out of control

As readers, we are aware of doom, but read further to see how it will unfold and to what degree

5) Denouement: Readers learn how the main character ends up. It will be sudden to the main character. The problem may be solved, but it will be in a very sad way. Reader may cry/want to cry for main character after all, he could of been a likeable person

The English Sonnet

Sonnet: Means title song

-There are Italian sonnets

~created by Giacomoda Lentino of Italy in 1230

-There are English Sonnets

~ also called Shakespearean sonnets

Sonnets

~Structured poems of 14 lines

~English sonnets are arranged as 3 quatrains (stanza of 4 lines) followed by a couplet

~Traditional rhyme scheme is:

abab, cdcd, efef, gg

~Written in Iambic Pentameter

1) Iamb = 1 foot

2 syllables

That follow a unstressed, stressed pattern

2) Pent = 5

5 iamb's in a line (So for every line there are 5 stressed syllables and 5 unstressed)

*** First syllable is unstressed

~ "embedded sonnets" in a lot of Shakespeare's plays

~used in a lot of his plays, writing, etc.

Elements of Greek and British Tragedy

Greek

Aristotle and the Unities

*Unity of time

*Unity of place

*Unity of action

Time:

- Greek depicted a story that spanned one day

- Has beginning middle and end

Place:

- stage represents action in ONE place

Action:

- action that strayed from play was not included; no play within a play

-each scene should contribute directly to progression of play

-no chance or coincidence

Aristotle's Plot

*Violence is not portrayed on stage

Character

-Tragic hero brings about his own downfall, he has little control of his own plight

-In ancient Greece, tragedy is influenced by fate, god, etc

-hero may or may not die

- suffering is bad as dying

-hero must understand his doom (simple versus complex)

Aristotle's Influence => Shakespearean

* an explicit link to Aristotle influence in Shakespeare arguably does not exist

* Shakespeare did not know Greek and ancient text were just being rediscovered

* Shakespeare didn't have access to information

Shakespearean Tragedy

*Hero dies

*relatives die because of a excess of a trait (Ex: pride jealousy, greed)

* Hero contributes directly to the disaster from which he dies (while, Aristotle => Fate)

Shakespearean Tragedy Cont.

*less to do with how small man is in the world and how little he has to do with his own fate

* Catastrophe - is the result of a deed or action, and action is result of mans character

Shakespearean Character

*tragic hero

* Some argue that its a mistake to call the hero's flaw a "tragic flaw" because he is predisposed to the trait which could also a characters virtue => which in different circumstances leads to downfall

* Character CHOOSES not to do anything about his flaw

Shakespearean Plot

*allows chance

*hero may encounter circumstances that when combined w/ chance occurrences lead to circumstances that are beyond the hero's control

Opinions of Shakespeare

-argued whether it was correct during Shakespeare's time because it did reflect Aristotle's work

-Shakespeare did not have access to the information or documents

Shakespearean Tragedy

-British tragedy

-Renaissance tragedy

-Shakespearean tragedy

Elements of Aristotelian Tragedy

Elements: Plot, Character, Thought, Diction, Melody, Spectacle

Characteristics of Tragedy

- Aristotle defines tragedy according to 7 characteristics

>>Mimetic: copies life

> mime; mimics

>> It is serious

>> It tells a full story of appropriate length

> has beginning, middle, and end

>>It contains rhythm + harmony

> it flows

> story line goes together

>>rhythm and harmony occur in different combinations in different points of the tragedy

>> performed rather than narrated

>> it arouses feelings of pity and fear, then purges these feeling through catharsis

> Catharsis: emotional/spiritual cleansing

6 Components - Most important to least important

1. Plot

2. Character

3. Thought

4. Diction

5. Melody

6. Spectacle

Plot

- outcome must rely on tightly constructed cause and effect

-tragedy should NOT depend primarily or personality of protagonist

-most important according to Aristotle

- tragedies are "plot driven"

I. Beginning, Middle, and End

-Beginning must start the cause and effect chain and not depend on anything out side the realm of play

- Middle (climax) should be caused by earlier incidents and affect events yet to come

-End (resolution) should be caused by earlier events and not lead to any further incidents

II. Completeness and Unity of action

- self contained

- acts should not succeed one another w/out probable or necessary sequence

- coincidence should be avoided

- Info should be dramatized not reported

III. Magnitude

-tragedy should have a certain level of impact on audience

- it should be appropriately long and complex

- serious w/ universal significance

> Universal Significance: no matter who watches it, it is significant to any audience from anywhere and means something to them

IV. Simple or Complex

-if plot is simple:

>should focus on hero's downfall

-if plot is complex:

>should have both a reversal of intention and recognition

a. Reversal of Intention: what protagonist intended is not what happened

b. Recognition: protagonist will understand what lead to his downfall

Character

-should support plot

-protagonist should be of high social standing so that his fall is apparent

> if someone is already poor and doesn't have much, what is there really for him to lose..?

-fall should be the result of a flow in personality, not of vice

> you have to like the character to have pity and fear aroused

I. Hamartia

-Often translated as "tragic flaw"

> but it is argued whether it is closer to "mistake"

-Protagonist mistakenly brings own downfall

-Downfall ~ result of lack of knowledge, not because he/she is sinful or morally weak

II. Character Qualities

-good or fine

-true to type

-true to life

-consistency

-necessary or probable

-true to life yet more beautiful

Thought

-speeches should reveal character

> what character says has to reveal their thoughts because it is shown on a stage and the audience cant hear their thoughts

-a general attitude is expressed

-the themes of a play

Diction

-the "expression of the meaning of words"

-appropriate for the plot and characters

- Metaphors used

>"...it is the mark of genius, for to make good make metaphors implies an eye for resemblances."

Song or Melody

-Musical element of chorus

-still a piece of tragedy that reflects its origins

-should be carefully integrated almost like another actor/character

-choral odes should contribute to the plot

Spectacle

-the play itself, not special effects, should arouse pity and fear

-spectacle "create[s] a sense, not of the terrible but only of the monstrous

-least important

Homework- Sentence Build

I apologize. I have been trying to get pages for assignments, homework, notes, etc. Unfortunately this has been difficult so for now we will make do.

The Sentence Build Homework is an on-going assignment that is added to each night. The first night you were instructed to create a simple sentence with one subject and one verb. For instance: The dog barked. The next step was to add a subject: The dog and bird barked. Next, you were to add a verb: The dog and bird barked and tweeted. The next night we added an adjective to each subject: The brown dog and the blue bird barked and tweeted. Tonight, you must add one adverb to each verb: The brown dog and the blue bird barked loudly and tweeted softly. These are just examples. DO NOT use these because A: that's cheating but B: if you turned in those sentences, she would not approve. She expects creativity. If this assignment continues with further instructions, I will edit this post with updates.

Evolution of Tragedy

Tragedy is not a narrative, but a drama. This means that it is a play or script and not a story.

Tragedy originated from the Greek word, Tragodia meaning "goat song"
Tragedy began as a religious ritual where a group of men would come together in a circular dancing place (called orchestra) and they would sing a choral or group lyric. This song was specifically called a Dithyramb because it payed tribute to Dionosys, a Greek god. Dionosys was the God of wine, agriculture and fertility. He was son to Zeus and a mortal woman, but when his mother died he was raised by Nymphs, spirits of nature. He was the patron of the stage and he enjoyed intoxication and believed in drugs, etc.
The men that participated in these religious rituals were dressed as Satyrs (half men, half goats) because they were said to be friends of Dionosys, the God they were worshiping.
The choral song they sang eventually widened into a story of heroes and myths.
An actor was introduced to these rituals to answer questions posed by the group. Later on a playwright, Aesechylus added a second actor so there could then be conflict between the two. (Aeschylus also wrote Prometheus Bound and Mary Shelly's husband wrote Prometheus unbound which ties in the story Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly, which we will read later this year) Following Aesechylus, the playwright, Sophocles, author of Antigone, added a THIRD actor to these rituals, creating them into more of a play.
The actors would then wear masks and sang or spoke poetically. (also like plays)
The ceremonies included three parts: the Strophe, Antistrophe and the Epode. These resemble modern day acts and scenes from a play.
Tragedy was recognized as an official state cult for the first time in Athens during the year 534 BC.
This religious festival, or now closer to play would take place in late March or early April in honor of Dionosys, being the God of nature as well.
This event ended in a contest of three playwrights, over three consecutive days, competing to judge which play was best. These theaters they were held in could hold 12,000 people.
Tragedy depicts the downfall of a noble hero or heroine through some combination of excessive pride, fate, and/or will of Gods.
"Oedipus the King", written by Aristotle, outlines the qualities of a tragedy today.
We will soon be getting into Aristotelian Tragedy.

Types of sentences 9/12/11

Simple Sentence:
a sentence with ONE independent clause
For example: I ran to the store
the can also have compound subjects, and/or compound verbs
For instance: I ran and jumped. OR Grant and I ran and jumped.

Compound sentence:
a sentence with TWO independent clauses and a coordinating conjunction (coordinating conjunctions include For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So and can be remembered by the acronym: FANBOYS)
For example: Grant ran and I jumped.

Complex sentence:
a sentence with ONE independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
For example: Although Grant and I ran and jumped, we did not visit the store.

9/11/11

Final drafts are due on Monday! I received a question asking if we had to include both plagiarism and cheating. The answer is no. You can stick to one point.

*Take a moment today to remember the brave and beloved lives lost in the attack that occurred this day, ten years ago*

9/8/11

Today in class we peer edited eachothers' drafts. Second revised drafts due tomorrow.

Writing Process 9/7

1. Pre-writing- brainstorm, list, think, develop ideas
2. Drafting- multiple drafts will be written before the final
3. Revising-fixing problems within the content of the writing
4. Editing- making small fixes of spelling, grammar, format, etc.
5. Publishing- making public and visible to other people, often teacher

This is a recursive process, meaning that you can repeat and revisit previous steps, before publication.

Types of writing and essay info 9/5-6

Argumentative- making a claim, supporting it and acknowledging the opposing view
Explanatory/informative- thoroughly describing and giving details to a topic.
Narrative- Telling a story of real or imagined events

important points if writing a paper: RAFTS
Role (usually your paper is written from the role of a student)
Audience (usually your audience is the teacher)
Format (essay, list, letter, story, etc.)
Topic (animal, science project, persuasive argument, etc.)
Strong ______ (argument, word choice, description, etc)

Today Ms. Metz discussed how we will be writing a paper about our notes on Plagiarism and cheating. We will write one to two paragraphs in an argumentative form. This should take a stance about plagiarism & cheating and back it up. Not only should you recognize your claim but also acknowledge the opposing viewpoint. The informative writing can be organized by problem/solution, cause and effect, compare/contrast, chronological order, or classification. The narrative can be a story about anything that includes your notes. This can be in first person, third person limited or third person omniscient. WARNING: no first or second person can be used on the argumentative or informative writings. Avoid using the words: this, that, these, or those.

NO extra research or a citation page is required on your paper. All information comes directly from your notes (check for notes on the blog if you missed them) The assignment is due Friday as three separate pieces.

Notes 9/2/11

9/2/2011

1. serving as a team captain
Participial Phrase
Participial - Serving
Phrase - There is no subject so it cannot be a clause

2. these are just a few
Independent Clause
Independent - it can stand as a sentence
Clause - there is a subject and a verb

3. being president of a club allows other students to flex their leadership muscles
Independent Clause
Subject - being

4. although the body of a paragraph should give examples
Dependent Clause
Subordinating Conjunction - although
Verb Phrase - should give

5. because it deals with one topic
Dependent Clause

Independent Clause = Simple Sentence

4 Types of Sentences
1. Simple
2. Compound
3. Complex
4. Compound-Complex

Cheating and Plagiarism 9/1/11

Find differences in the following word groups. Label parts of the sentences/ phrases.

After I took notes on plagiarism,
I remembered to review the information
in my composition book.

The first line is a dependent/subordinate clause. After, the subordinating conjunction, makes the clause dependent, or unable to stand on its own. The second line is an independent clause. It can stand on its own and it includes both a subject (I) and a verb(remembered). The third line is a prepositional phrase. It includes a preposition(in) and an object(composition book). The reason this one is a phrase and not a clause, is that a phrase does not necessarily need a subject and verb. It is always missing one or both. A clause requires both a subject and a verb.

Notes on Cheating and Plagiarism:

"Do" list-
-study notes together with other people
-allow classmates to copy missed notes
-discuss ideas, directions before completing a task
-show a classmate how to answer a question
-call a classmate for missed assignments
-explain directions, help others
-read a webpage or article to help gather information
-use online or other resources to clarify
-ask help from the teacher during quizzes
-use sparknotes to help understand difficult text

"don't" list-
-don't let others copy or do another persons work
-do not do work with someone else and print two copies of the same work
-do not copy paste from a website or steal from any source, claiming the writing is your own
-Do not look at another test
-do not talk during testing
-do not share work individual tasks
-do not copy/steal from any source or friend

PLAGIARISM- derived from the latin word, "plagiarius", meaning kidnapper
refers to a form of cheating, false assumption of authorship, taking someone else's product and presenting it as your own

Plagiarism is wrong in two ways. To steal one's work or thoughts or ideas is wrong but then to present it as your own is false, lies in other words, fraud.

-often moral or ethical offense, rather than legal, not often stolen from copyrighted sources and then published for profit but usually used as a grade and if caught is punished by supervisor (usually by affecting your grade)

-ignorance (not knowing that it was wrong) is NOT an excuse.

you must know the difference between:
-your own ideas/thoughts which is often common knowledge that does not need to be proven
-your summaries of another's ideas
-exact wording copied from sources (only acceptable if quoted and cited)

if there is ever doubt about what is written in your paper if it is stolen or your own, always be safe and cite the source that may have triggered this thought.

-presenting exact wording without quotations " " is plagiarism even if the source is cited

MS. METZ WILL ASSIGN A PAPER ON THESE NOTES ABOUT CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM. YOU WILL HAVE TO WRITE ABOUT THIS SO REMEMBER TO LOOK THEM OVER!!