Literary Devices
1. Prologue: Sets the mood in the minds of the audience
Example: The Prologue
2. Oxymoron: An expression containing two opposite or contrasting ideas
Example: Act I, scene i (lines 174-180) “O loving hate”
“Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health”
3. Metaphor: A comparison between two items or events where one thing is another.
Example: Act I, scene iii (lines 80-90)
Paris is compared to a book and then a flower.
4. Pun: A humorous play on words.
Example: Act I, scene iv - sole/soul
Act III, scene i (lines 93-94) “Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a
grave man.”
5. Soliloquy: Lines spoken as if to oneself in order to allow the audience to know the
thoughts of the speaker.
Example: Act II, scene iii (lines 1-31) - Friar Lawrence
6. Concealment: Character is seen by the audience, yet is hidden from other characters.
Example: Act II, scene i - Romeo is hiding from Benvolio and Mercutio
7. Aside: Allows the character to speak directly to the audience.
Example:
8. Tragedy: A drama where the protagonist must make a moral decision which leads to
his/her downfall or death.
Example: “Romeo and Juliet” – the decision to go against the family feud leads to
the death of the lovers.
9. Simile: A direct comparison using “like” or “as”.
Example: Act II, scene ii (line 165)
“Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books.”
10. Hyperbole: An extreme exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.
Example: Act II, scene ii (line 2)
“Juliet is the sun”
11. Allusion: The indirect reference to something.
Example: Act III, scene iii (lines 1-4)
Romeo is married to bad luck.
12. Irony: A contrast between what is thought to be the truth and what the truth really is.
Dramatic Irony: When the audience knows something that the character does not.
Example: Act IV, scene ii – it is ironic that Capulet is grateful for Friar Lawrence’s
help.
13. Foreshadowing: A warning or hint of what is to come.
Example: Act I, scene v (lines 95-96)
“But this intrusion shall
Now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall.”