Romeo and Juliet Terms to Know

When the audience knows something that the character on stage does not know.

• allusion

• aside

• dramatic irony

• pun

A long speech made by a character who is alone.

• aside

• soliloquy

• allusion

• tragedy

The humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings to make a joke.

• tragic flaw

• dramatic irony

• allusion

• pun

A serious play with an unhappy ending.

• comic relief

• soliloquy

• tragedy

• comedy

Lines whispered to the audience; not heard by all characters on stage.

• aside

• allusion

• soliloquy

• pun

When the author gives hints at what might happen later in the story.

• pun

• foreshadowing

• tragic flaw

• aside

An implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text. The assumption there is knowledge of this reference.

• tragic flaw

• soliloquy

• aside

• allusion

A character trait that leads to one’s downfall.

• tragic flaw

• comic relief

• soliloquy

• tragedy

A bit of humor injected into a serious play to relieve the heavy tension of tragic events.

• aside

• tragic flaw

• tragedy

• comic relief