Soliloquy: A single character on stage thinking out loud.
It lets the audience know what is on the characters mind.
- An example of Soliloquy in the play is found in Act 2 Scene 5 when Juliet is waiting for here Nurse to report if Romeo has made wedding plans. Juliet is speaking out loud to herself explaining to the audience how anxious she is to hear what the Nurse has to say:
Now is the sun upon the highmost hill
Of this day’s journey, and from nine till twelve
Is three long hours, yet she has not come. (II.iv.9-11)
Shakespeare uses soliloquy help the audience understand the play by revealing to the audience what the character is thinking or feeling.
Dramatic Irony: Occurs when the audience or reader knows something a
character does not know.
- Dramatic Irony is found in Act 1 Scene 5 when Romeo and Juliet fall in love. The audience knows that Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet but they do not know it yet. Shakespeare uses irony to make the play more suspenseful.
Comedy/Humor: A play, movie, or television program that is
funny or has a happy ending.
When it did taste the wormwood on the nipple
Of my dug, and felt it bitter, pretty fool,
To see it tetchy and fall out wi’th’dug! (I.iii.31-33)
Shakespeare uses comedy to make the play more enjoyable and to give relief.
- One example of comedy in the pay is found when Lady Capulet is trying to talk to Juliet about marriage but the Nurse starts chatting away about memories about nursing Juliet as an infant:
When it did taste the wormwood on the nipple
Of my dug, and felt it bitter, pretty fool,
To see it tetchy and fall out wi’th’dug! (I.iii.31-33)
Shakespeare uses comedy to make the play more enjoyable and to give relief.
Tragedy: A serious play having an unhappy ending.
- Tragedy is very relevant throughout the play. The Capulets’ and Montagues’ have been rivaling families for years and when Romeo and Juliet fall in love things are bound to go wrong. In the end many people die and Romeo and Juliet two end up killing themselves because of their forbidden love. This device enhances the play because it touches the audience and makes the play much more meaningful.
Foreshadowing: The use of clues or hints suggesting events that will occur
later in the plot. It helps the reader or audience anticipate the outcome.
- An example of foreshadowing in the play is found in Act 1 Scene 1 when the Prince breaks up the fight on the street between the Capulets’ and the Montagues’. “If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace” (I.i.90-91). The Prince explains that if the two families disrupt the peace again it will result in death. Shakespeare uses this device to enhance the play by giving the audience suspense.