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When he did not actually show himself, he signaled his presence or his passage with disastrous or comic occurrences for which he was more often than not blamed, so rife were the feelings of superstition. Had there been some accident, had one of the girls been the butt of a practical joke by a friend, or lost a powder-puff, the culprit must be the ghost, the Phantom of the Opera!

Explanation and Analysis:

At the beginning of the novel, the narrator describes the ballerinas’ terror after seeing a dark, skeletal figure they assume to be the ghost. The narrator notes that the girls’ reaction is typical of the atmosphere at the Opera, where people h...

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Original

Romeo

(aside) She speaks.
O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art
As glorious to this night, being o’er my head,
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white, upturnèd, wondering eyes
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy-puffing clouds
And sails upon the bosom of the air.

Juliet

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art though Romeo?
Deny they father and refuse they name.
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

Modern

Romeo

(to himself) She speaks. Speak again, bright angel! For tonight you are as glorious, there up above me, as a winged messenger of heaven who makes mortals fall onto their backs to gaze up with awestruck eyes as he strides across the lazy clouds and sails through the air.

Juliet

O Romeo, Romeo! Why must you be Romeo? Deny your father and give up your name. Or, if you won’t change your name, just swear your love to me and I’ll give up being a Capulet.

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