Romeo and Juliet

By William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

•37 plays written•Conflicts and theme of plays are timeless

Tragedy• Definition:

• A drama or literary work • the main character is brought to ruin • or suffers extreme sorrow,• as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances

Catastrophe• The final event in a drama- the death in a tragedy

Comic Relief• A bit of humor injected into a

serious play to relieve the heavy tension of tragic events

• Ex: the nurse is a comic relief in Romeo and Juliet

ChorusWho: a single character

What: speaks to audience

Why: gives audience an idea about the conflict ahead

Soliloquy •Definition: •A character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener.

Aside • Lines spoken to the audience not

meant to be heard by the characters on stage • or lines spoken to another

character but not meant to be heard by all of the characters

Monologue•Definition: •A long speech made by one person

Pun• Definition: A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

• Examples: Let’s talk about rights and lefts. You’re right, so I left.• Without geometry, life is pointless

(Historical Context of R&J)

Life in 1595• Life expectancy was shorter•Childhood to adulthood-no teenagers

Romeo and Juliet• Romeo is a Montague• 16 years old• Acts on feelings-emotional kind of guy• Juliet is a Capulet• 13 years old • Acts out against parents

Star Crossed • "Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" is a

reference to those who fight against (or cross) their fate, which is written in the stars. The phrase was first recorded by William Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet

• also refers to destiny and the inevitability of the two characters' paths crossing each other. It also usually means unlucky, since Romeo and Juliet's affair ended tragically

• Doomed by unlucky stars

R&J Play • Story happens within a

total of 4 days • Influence on popular

culture!

Montagues and Capultes

• Ongoing family feud• No one knows why for sure• Constant fighting between two families• Citizens used to it

Montague Family• Wealthy• Romeo-16 year old son• Lord and Lady Montague-parents• Mercutio- a true friend of Romeo and very witty

and talkative (cousin to Prince Escalus)• Benvolio- a cousin and loyal friend to Romeo

(good sense and peacemaker)• Balthasar- a loyal servant to Romeo• Abram- a loyal servant to Lord Montague

Capulet Family • Juliet Capulet- 13 year old daughter• Lord and Lady Capulet- Juliet’s parents• Tybalt- cousin to Juliet; bad tempered,

expert swordsman• The Nurse- Juliet’s nurse; outspoken,

bawdy, loud, (rude), was Juliet’s wet nurse when her baby died

• Peter- the nurse’s servant• Sampson and Gregory- servants to Lord

Capulet

Drama is meant to be acted

• You will be assigned to act out scenes with proper costumes and props

• Everyone must partake! Ten points! If you are absent, you will rotate with someone

• The list will be given ahead, so you may practice and prepare for your part

• No judgments- participation points only-no Oscars or Grammys or other rewards

• It will be fun!

Other Important Characters

• Prince Escalus- ruler of Verona• Friar Laurence- a kind Catholic

priest; Romeo’s confessor and mentor; tries to help Romeo and Juliet• An Apothecary- a person who

prepares and sells medicine and chemicals

Five Act Dramatic Structure

Exposition Act I

Conflict/C

omplicati

ons

Act II

ClimaxAct III

Falling Action/

Tragedy Act IV

ResolutionAct V

Play

•Broken up into Acts (chapters) & scenes (usually about 5-6 scenes)

•Prologue

Prologue • Definition: • An introduction or preface,

especially a poem recited to introduce a play.

• Purpose: usually reveals key elements of the plot to inform even the most illiterate/uneducated audience members

Prologue•Uses Iambic Pentameter•da DUM | da DUM | da

DUM | da DUM | da DUM• if YOU | would PUT | the

KEY | inSIDE | the LOCK

Iambic Pentameter• Pentameter: 5 sets of stressed and unstressed

syllables (iambic units)

• This line has 5 feet, so it’s written in pentameter. And the stressing pattern is all iambs:

• if YOU | would PUT | the KEY | inSIDE | the LOCK• da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da

DUM

Sonnet• Popular verse form (1595)• 14 lines often iambic

pentameter• Couplets and rhyme scheme • Label the rhyme scheme (begin

with A)

The Prologue• Sonnet• Performs a vital dramatic function• Allows the audience to foresee events• Before the audience meets Romeo and

Juliet, they know their love is doomed• Their families are caught up in an

argument• It will only be resolved by the death of the

young lovers

Prologue• Read chorus (one character)

to audience• Gives an idea about the

conflict • Helps the

illiterate/uneducated audience understand

Line One Once there were two families of equal status and prestige

Line Two • Theses two families lived in Verona, Italy where the story takes place

Line Three• In Verona fighting has broken out in a riot

Line Four• The fighting has been a result of a long-standing and bitter feud between the two families-each noble family endured physical and bloody assault

Line Five • From each of these enemy

families come the young lovers of the story

Line Six• The young lovers are

doomed by their own fate from birth (family name) and will commit suicide

Line Seven•The two young lovers met and fell in love aware that their union would bring sorrow on their parents

Line Eight•The death of these young lovers becomes the source of horrible grief to their parents

Line Nine•They both die for love

Line Ten•Their death punishes their parents’ hate

Line Eleven•Their children’s death brings peace between the two families

Line Twelve• The next two hours, it is our (the actors’) business to show this tale

Line Thirteen•Have patient ears and

listen to the play

Line Fourteen• The missing pieces, we (the actors) will try very hard to clear up for you!