Some Devices to Incorporate Within Introductory Paragraphs
(Note: most of the devices below are not methods for building a complete introductory paragraph; instead, they are elements that can be included within an introductory paragraph.)
In Romeo and Juliet, discuss where the blame for the two protagonists’ deaths should be placed.
- ask a question: But should Friar Laurence be exempt from blame?
- use a quotation: “Love is unto itself a higher law.”
- give a definition: Justice is “a proper, harmonious relationship between the warring parts of a person or city.”
- make a startling statement: The star-crossed lovers knew in advance that their demise would result in the reconciliation of the two families.
- give a series of facts that lend urgency and importance: Friar Laurence knew of the impending quarantine. The Friar knew that Friar John might very well be stopped before the completion of his errand.
- provide background information: Burial vaults at this time were stone or brick-lined underground spaces for the interment of a dead body or bodies. They were originally and are still often vaulted and usually have stone slab entrances. They are often privately owned and used for specific family or other groups, but usually stand beneath a public religious building, such as a church, or in a churchyard or cemetery.
- start with a contrasting statement: In Westerns, the good guys wear white hats; the bad guys wear black hats, and judging between right and wrong is easy to do. However, few situations offer the clear-cut ethical distinctions offered by Westerns. In contrast to the simplicity of white hats and black hats, deciding who is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is significantly more complex.
- propose an analogy: In basketball, even when the players can’t hit their shots or play defense, the coach takes the blame. In the same way, though Romeo drank the poison and Juliet made use of the dagger, it is the Friar—the adult who should have known better—who must be held accountable.
- share an anecdote: Once Jarvis, a friend of mine, told me to go into a classroom and pick up his backpack. I did, and I brought it out and handed it to him. It turns out that the backpack wasn’t his at all, but another person’s. Jarvis was stealing from the backpack but using me as the one who would take the blame.