Excerpt from "West Side Story"

"Tonight, tonight, it all began tonight." Actually, these lines, scripted by the musical playwright Arthur Laurents, for a scene on a fire escape (1957) were inspired by the balcony scene from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" (1597).

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 9 Unit 5's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: As You Like It, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Is Shakespeare still relevant, Shakespeare marathon, Iraq learns from Shakespeare, How Shakespeare Changed Everything, Kentucky inmates turned actors, Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy, Texting Makes U Stupid, give the Bard the heave-ho
10 words 174 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. alley
    a narrow street with walls on both sides
    11:00 P.M. A back alley. A suggestion of buildings; a fire escape climbing to the rear window of an unseen flat.
  2. gesture
    show, express, or direct through movement
    Just as I am one of them--(she gestures toward the apartment.)
  3. imagine
    expect, believe, or suppose
    Imagine being afraid of you!
  4. fade
    become less clearly visible or distinguishable
    And now the buildings, the world fade away
  5. suspended
    supported or kept from sinking or falling by buoyancy
    leaving them suspended in space
  6. address
    the place where a person or organization can be found
    Today the world was just an address,
    A place for me to live in,
    No better than all right,
    But here you are
    And what was just a world is a star
  7. strict
    characterized by severity or restraint
    They are strict with me.
  8. bridal
    of or relating to a wedding
    I work at the bridal shop.
  9. pause
    a time during which something is temporarily stopped or delayed
    (He stops. A pause.)
  10. dream
    have a daydream; indulge in a fantasy
    Good night, good night,
    Sleep well and when you dream,
    Dream of me
    Tonight.
Created on Mon Sep 29 14:05:29 EDT 2014 (updated Tue Sep 30 18:23:56 EDT 2014)

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