English Study Guide
English Study Guide
English Study Guide
Heroes
Agamemnon
• Son of Aeson
• Leader of Argonauts and husband of Medea
• Sent on quest to obtain Golden Fleece by King Pelias
• Had to complete a series of tasks to obtain from King Arêtes and fled
• Crew survived Scylla(six headed dragon-freak), Charybdis(whirlpool thing) and Sirens
Gods
Dionysus
Athena
• Goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture (no idea what that is)
• Born from Zeus and Dione
• Married off to Hephaestus in fear off fight of gods over her
• Given golden girdle by Hephaestus which made it impossible to resist her
• Had followers who considered sexual intercourse a method of worship
Creation
• Gaea was mother Earth and was born from chaos with Eros (Cupid)
• Had children (without male help) including Ouranous (The Sky)
• With Ouranous they had the Titans and other monsters which Ouranous deemed too ugly
so Gaea hid them in her
• The pain became too great when Ouranous put his “god children” in her and the plan of
Cronus taking over was set
Cronus and Rhea
Odyssey Themes
Odyssey Facts
• Odysseus is all about learning
• Calypso tries to make Odysseus forget his home if he does he loses his identity
• Gods can do anything but they cant change humans fate
• Telemachus doubtful about being Odysseus son and finds his identity through the Telemachy
• People are all about community Odysseus always used to have Assembly Penelope does
thing with weaving loom forever so she wont have social shame
• Penelope shows many resemblances to Odysseus
• Odysseus is a judge
• Odysseus knows the pain he will suffer on ocean but goes any way because he wants to be a
hero
• Phaecia people worship Poseidon and Athena, have best sailors and are like fairy world
cause the close to the gods
• Odysseus loves civilization
• Odysseus learns through the lands he encounters after Trojan War
• Odysseus goes to underworld and goes through hellish experience but comes out a new man
• Women persevere like Odysseus even though the gods cause them hardship
• Odysseus is a godly man
Figurative Language
o Personification: making something seem like person
o Simile: A descriptive phrase using like or as to compare
o Metaphor: a descriptive phrase comparing something to something else that
doesn’t use like or as
o Homeric Simile: a simile that is ten times as big and more descriptive than a
regular simile
o Conceit: A continued simile that goes on for many lines (Shakespeare)
o Imagery:
Tactile: feel
Kinesthetic: joints
Visual: sight
Auditory: hear
Organic: feeling in organs
Gustatory: taste
Olfactory: smell
- Romeo - The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. A young man of about
sixteen, Romeo is handsome, intelligent, and sensitive. Though impulsive and immature,
his idealism and passion make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle
of a violent feud between his family and the Capulets, but he is not at all interested in
violence. His only interest is love. At the beginning of the play he is madly in love with a
woman named Rosaline, but the instant he lays eyes on Juliet, he falls in love with her
and forgets Rosaline. Thus, Shakespeare gives us every reason to question how real
Romeo’s new love is, but Romeo goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his
feelings. He secretly marries Juliet, the daughter of his father’s worst enemy; he happily
takes abuse from Tybalt; and he would rather die than live without his beloved. Romeo is
also an affectionate and devoted friend to his relative Benvolio, Mercutio, and Friar
Lawrence.
- Juliet - The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl,
Juliet begins the play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage, but
she grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family’s great
enemy. Because she is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo
has to roam around the city, climb over walls in the middle of the night, or get into
swordfights. Nevertheless, she shows amazing courage in trusting her entire life and
future to Romeo, even refusing to believe the worst reports about him after he gets
involved in a fight with her cousin. Juliet’s closest friend and confidant is her Nurse,
though she is willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the moment the Nurse turns against
Romeo.
- Friar Lawrence - A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Kind, civic-
minded, a proponent of moderation, and always ready with a plan, Friar Lawrence
secretly marries the impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring
peace to Verona. As well as being a Catholic holy man, Friar Lawrence is also an expert
in the use of seemingly mystical potions and herbs.
- Mercutio - a relative to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. One of the most
extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Mercutio overflows with
imagination, wit, and, at times, a strange, biting satire and brooding fervor. Mercutio
loves wordplay, especially sexual double entendres. He can be quite hotheaded, and hates
people who are affected, pretentious, or obsessed with the latest fashions. He finds
Romeo’s romanticized ideas about love tiresome, and tries to convince Romeo to view
love as a simple matter of sexual appetite.
- The Nurse - Juliet’s nurse, the woman who breast-fed Juliet when she was a baby and
has cared for Juliet her entire life. A vulgar, long-winded, and sentimental character, the
Nurse provides comic relief with her frequently inappropriate remarks and speeches.
However, until a disagreement near the play’s end, the Nurse is Juliet’s faithful
confidante and loyal intermediary in Juliet’s affair with Romeo. She provides a contrast
with Juliet, given that her view of love is earthy and sexual, whereas Juliet is idealistic
and intense. The Nurse believes in love and wants Juliet to have a nice-looking husband,
but the idea that Juliet would want to sacrifice herself for love is incomprehensible to her.
- Tybalt - A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. Vain, fashionable, supremely
aware of courtesy and the lack of it, he becomes aggressive, violent, and quick to draw
his sword when he feels his pride has been injured. Once drawn, his sword is something
to be feared. He loathes Montagues.
- Capulet - The patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet,
and enemy, for unexplained reasons, of Montague. He truly loves his daughter, though he
is not well acquainted with Juliet’s thoughts or feelings, and seems to think that what is
best for her is a “good” match with Paris. Often prudent, he commands respect and
propriety, but he is liable to fly into a rage when either is lacking.
- Lady Capulet - Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. A woman who herself married young (by
her own estimation she gave birth to Juliet at close to the age of fourteen), she is eager to
see her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on the Nurse for moral
and pragmatic support.
- Montague - Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of
Capulet. At the beginning of the play, he is chiefly concerned about Romeo’s melancholy.
- Lady Montague - Romeo’s mother, Montague’s wife. She dies of grief after Romeo is
exiled from Verona
- Paris - A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet. Once
Capulet has promised him he can marry Juliet, he behaves very presumptuous toward,
acting as if they are already married.
- Benvolio - Montague’s nephew, Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend, he makes a
genuine effort to defuse violent scenes in public places, though Mercutio accuses him of
having a nasty temper in private. He spends most of the play trying to help Romeo get his
mind off Rosaline, even after Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet.
- Prince Escalus - The Prince of Verona. A kinsman of Mercutio and Paris. As the seat of
political power in Verona, he is concerned about maintaining the public peace at all costs.
- Friar John - A Franciscan friar charged by Friar Lawrence with taking the news of
Juliet’s false death to Romeo in Mantua. Friar John is held up in a quarantined house, and
the message never reaches Romeo.
- Balthasar - Romeo’s dedicated servant, who brings Romeo the news of Juliet’s death,
unaware that her death is a ruse.
- Sampson & Gregory - Two servants of the house of Capulet, who, like their master, hate
the Montagues. At the outset of the play, they successfully provoke some Montague men
into a fight.
- Abram - Montague’s servant, who fights with Sampson and Gregory in the first scene of
the play.
- The Apothecary - An apothecary in Mantua. Had he been wealthier, he might have been
able to afford to value his morals more than money, and refused to sell poison to Romeo.
- Peter - A Capulet servant who invites guests to Capulet’s feast and escorts the Nurse to
meet with Romeo. He is illiterate, and a bad singer (IV.iv.128–166).
- Rosaline - The woman with whom Romeo is infatuated at the beginning of the play.
Rosaline never appears onstage, but it is said by other characters that she is very beautiful
and has sworn to live a life of chastity.
- The Chorus - The Chorus is a single character who, as developed in Greek drama,
functions as a narrator offering commentary on the play’s plot and themes.
Anon
Definition: now; at once; soon; shortly
Beseech
Definition: implore; beg; ask; importune
Ere
Definition: before; previous to; sooner than
Methinks
Definition: I think; it seems to me; it appears as if
Morrow
Definition: morning
Soft
Definition: stop, be quiet; hold up
Wherefore
Definition: why
Zounds
Definition: expression of surprise, anger, amazement, disappointment. The word is a corruption
of "by His wounds" (meaning the wounds of Christ).
Unit 11
Unit 12
Subject/Verb/Pronoun Agreement:
-verbs and nouns must have the same person and number in order to agree
-Indefinite Pronouns
-Each=singular pronoun
-Everybody=singular
-Most, any, none= when the object of the prep is singular, the verb should also be (visa
versa)
-Subjects joined by “and” have a plural verb; exceptions are two things that go together, such as:
-Subjects joined by “or” or “not” take singular verbs when both subjects are singular; verb is
-When the subjects are not the same number, the subject closest to the verb dictates the number
of the verb when one is plural and the other subject is singular.
(All rules that apply to subjects and verbs, apply to pronouns and antecedents,
essentially)
-Ms. Stockard's Tirade: “His” is the correct pronoun when the gender is not known.
Usage/Correct Verbs:
-Forms of Verbs:
Basic verbs:
Tricky verbs:
Usage:
-could of-->could've
-fewer: plural (fewer cars in that parking lot than in this one)
-hopefully: adverb, not to modify whole clause; NOT: Hopefully, Santa Claus will come
tonight
-I wish he wouldn't have done that. Wouldn't have should be had not.
Tenses:
Perfect Tenses:
(Picture a timeline with present perfect on today's date—the things before that are the past,
-She had put the children to bed before her mother called.
Perfect Progressives:
This is going to be fun. Here are some sample essay topics that treat all three books