Lesson Details

R&J: Prologue

2014-2015

Freshman Literature, Fall 2014

Date

Oct. 21, 2014

Additional Info
Literary Term #27: chorus
In ancient Greek plays, the chorus was a group of dancers/actors who sang or spoke about the action being performed. They gave clues about characters or acted as a group to give the audience insight into one or more aspects of the play. In Shakespearean theater, this function would be performed by a single actor.


Allusion #27: Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge is the main character in Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Story. Scrooge is a rich man who guards his money and is cruel to those around him. When we call someone "a Scrooge" we are alluding to this character and usually mean that the person is being stingy with his or her money in addition to being a mean and/or angry person.

show Crash Course video

1. Cast of characters: make a character chart on a sheet of paper

2. Prologue: a section of a play or book that serves as an introduction; it "sets the stage" for the action that is about to take place. (please add this term to your literary term dictionary.)

3. Read the prologue with a partner. Look up any words in the dictionary that you don't know. One partner should write down your annotation of the entire sonnet. Using the annotation, the other person (but on the same sheet of paper) should make a list of all the things you learn about the play from the prologue. Include things from the past (about the two families) and things about the future (about Romeo and Juliet). List everything that serves as context for what "the two hours' traffic" will be about.

4. As a class, list on the board what we learn from the prologue.