the tragedy of romeo and juliet by william shakespeare an introduction to romeo and juliet william...

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

An Introduction to Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare’s Life

Reading Shakespeare Aloud

Shakespeare and His Theater

Literary Focus: Tragedy

Reading Focus: Reading a Play

Writing Focus

Introducing Act II

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The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Why is the quest for love such a popular aspect of literature and film?

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The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet An Introduction to Romeo and Juliet

love at first sight


The story of the two young lovers doomed by their passion for each other is familiar to many; it’s been told for generations.

If playgoers know how the story ends, why is Romeo and Juliet still one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays?


Two Households, both alike in dignity,In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foesA pair of star-crossed lovers take their lives;

Two Households, both alike in dignity,In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foesA pair of star-crossed lovers take their lives;

In his prologue, Shakespeare calls Romeo and Juliet “star-crossed,” reflecting the belief that “the stars,” or fate, control destiny.

Is fate the only cause of their tragic end?[End of Section]

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare’s Life

Despite his fame, we know relatively little about William Shakespeare’s life. He left no journals or letters to help us get to know him, just his plays and poems.

The information that we do have comes from church and legal documents and the writings of some who knew him.


Shakespeare was born in Stratford, England, around April 23, 1564.

He married Anne Hathaway at age 18.

By 1592, he was working as an actor and a playwright. He probably wrote Romeo and Juliet between 1594 and 1596.

In 1612, he returned to Stratford for retirement.

He died on April 23, 1616.


Shakespeare lives on today through his poetry and his 37 plays, which are still produced throughout the world.

A 1980s production of one of his plays, Othello, was so popular that one critic estimated that if Shakespeare were alive today, he would earn $25,000 a week for that play alone.

[End of Section]

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Reading Shakespeare Aloud

As you read Romeo and Juliet, you’ll be reading both prose and poetry.

The common people—and sometimes Mercutio when he is joking—speak in prose.

Prose is the ordinary form of speaking or writing. It has no metrical structure, or rhythm, to it.

Now I’ll tell you without asking. My master is the great rich Capulet; and if you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray you come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry.


As you read Romeo and Juliet, you’ll be reading both prose and poetry.

Most characters speak in poetry, which is different from prose because it has a specific meter, or rhythm, to the lines.

My only love sprung from my only hate!Too early seen unknown, and known too late!

Unstressed syllables are marked with ˘, and stressed syllables are marked with ′.


The meter of a line of poetry is determined by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, or beats, in the line.

In iambic meter, each unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable.

prefer˘ ′


Iambic pentameter is the meter of most of the poetry in Romeo and Juliet.

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?′˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘

The prefix penta- means five; there are five iambic units in each line of iambic pentameter.


Poetry made of unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter is called blank verse.

Much of the poetry in Romeo and Juliet is blank verse, meaning there are no rhymes at the ends of lines.

Is love a tender thing? It is too rough,

Too rude, too boist’rous, and it pricks like thorn.

˘ ′ ˘ ′ ′ ′ ′˘ ˘ ˘

˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′


Though much of the play is in blank verse, Shakespeare does use some rhymes.

When rhyming, he generally uses couplets, two consecutive lines that rhyme.

Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.


Shakespeare often uses couplets to highlight a character’s exit or to show the end of a scene.

You can see this technique in Juliet’s exit lines from Act II, scene 2, known as the balcony scene.

Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow

That I shall say good night till it be morrow.


When you read poetry, pay attention to the punctuation at the end of each line.

If you stop at the end of each line, you may miss out on some of the excitement of the play.


An end-stopped line has punctuation at the end. The punctuation signals the actor to pause at the end of the line.

Listen for the pauses in these end-stopped lines that Juliet speaks in Act II, scene 2.

O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.


A run-on line has no punctuation at the end. The meaning is completed in the following line or lines.

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars

As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars

As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

Listen to these run-on lines. Where does Romeo pause?


Many of the words you will come across as you read the play are archaic, meaning that they are no longer commonly used or have taken on a different meaning.

Use your book’s sidenotes to help you with archaic words and other unfamiliar expressions.


Here are some archaic words that are used often in the play:

hap: luck.

happy: lucky.

humor: mood; moisture.

Jack: common fellow; ordinary guy.

maid: unmarried girl.

mark: listen to.

’a: he.

a ’: on.

an’ or and: if.

anon: soon; right away; coming.

but: if; except; only.

Good-den or go-den or God-den: Good evening.


Here are some archaic words that are used often in the play:

soft: quiet; hush; slow up.

stay: wait.

still: always.

withal: with that; with.

wot: know.

Marry: mild oath, shortened from “by the Virgin Mary.”

nice: trivial; foolish.

owes: owns.

shrift: confession or forgiveness for sins confessed to a priest. After confession, a person was said to be shriven.

[End of Section]

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare and His Theater

The shape and form of the theater for which a playwright is writing tends to influence the play.

Understanding Shakespeare’s theater helps you to see how he composed plays that made good use of the theater of his time.


Until 1576, when James Burbage built England’s first permanent theater, touring acting companies built temporary stages in the courtyards of inns.

They erected a stage at one end, and the audience watched from the balconies that lined the courtyard.

The shape and form of the inns influenced the theater that Burbage built and later Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.


Shakespeare’s theater was a round building and had three levels, much like the inns.

Extending into the yard was a large stage. Its back wall was a curtained inner stage.

The stage area also included a small upper stage and trapdoors in the floor of the main stage.


There were no spotlights or elaborate stage sets in Shakespeare’s theater.

The characters’ words and costumes set the scene.

The lack of scenery and the many acting areas provided by the various stages allowed the scenes to follow each other quickly, almost like in a movie.


Unlike today’s theater, there were no women in the casts of Shakespeare’s plays during his lifetime.

All women’s parts were played by boys.

If you’d gone to see Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare’s day, you’d have seen Juliet played by a boy.


Since Shakespeare’s time, the stage has changed into what is known as a proscenium stage. This type has just an inner stage separated from the audience by a curtain.

Recently, more and more theaters are building stages that extend into the audience, as Shakespeare’s did.

[End of Section]

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Literary Focus: Tragedy

A tragedy is a story about serious, important events that ends unhappily.


Sometimes the characters affected by the tragic outcome are innocent and haven’t done anything to cause their bad fortune.

In other tragedies, the main characters are responsible in some way for their unhappy ending.


Tragedies usually follow a dramatic structure, or pattern that looks like this:

Exposition

Rising Action

Turning Point

Climax

Resolution

Long ago in a faraway kingdom, there lived a prince who loved his castle and all of the riches that went along with it.

Unfortunately, the prince’s father had made a deal with an evil witch allowing her to take over the kingdom when he died.

Decades later, the end seemed near. The king grew weaker each day.


The exposition introduces the setting, the main characters, and the conflict or problem they face.

Unfortunately, the prince’s father had made a deal with an evil witch allowing her to take over the kingdom when he died.

Decades later, the end seemed near. The king grew weaker each day.

Long ago in a faraway kingdom, there lived a prince who loved his castle and all of the riches that went along with it.

Long ago in a faraway kingdomsetting

characters

conflict


In the rising action, the conflict escalates as the characters’ problem grows and they attempt to solve it.

Determined to keep his castle and save his wife and children from spending the rest of their lives as peasants, the prince tried everything he could to keep his father alive—or at least keep the witch away.

the princetried everything he could to keep his father alive—or at least keep the witch away.

He searches for a solution to his dilemma.


At the turning point, the main characters make a decision about how to handle their problem. This decision will determine the conflict’s outcome.

Unable to keep his father alive or the witch away, the prince decided to battle her, though his wife assured him they’d be just as happy living in a cottage as a castle.

the princedecided to battle herThis will resolve

the conflict one way or another: He will either win or lose.


The climax is the tragedy’s most dramatic, emotionally intense point. Often, the drama is created by the death of the main characters.

Overcome by the witch’s magical powers, the prince fell to his knees and, in a burst of smoke, was transformed into a tiny green frog.

the princefell to his knees and, in a burst of smoke, was transformed into a tiny green frog.

This is the high point of the action and emotion in the story.


The resolution ties up loose ends in the plot and allows you to see the end result of the conflict.

As a result of the prince’s defeat, his wife and children were forced to leave the castle and live the rest of their lives in a rundown shack at the edge of the kingdom.

his wife and childrenwere forced to leave the castle and live the rest of their lives in a rundown shack at the edge of the kingdom.

This shows you what happens after the main action of the plot.

[End of Section]

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Reading Focus: Reading a Play

When you read a full-length play, use a variety of strategies:

Read the lines aloud to help bring them to life.

Juliet: What’s he that follows there, that would not dance?

Nurse: I know not.

Juliet: Go ask his name.—If he be marrièd,

My grave is like to be my wedding bed.



Paraphrase (put into your own words) difficult sections to be sure you understand.


Nurse: I know not.

Juliet: Go ask his name.—If he be marrièd,

My grave is like to be my wedding bed.


Nurse: I know not.

Juliet: Go ask his name.—If he be marrièd, My grave is like to be my wedding bed.

Juliet: Who’s that guy who wouldn’t dance?

Nurse: I don’t know.

Juliet: Go find out. If he’s married, I’ll die.



Make inferences, or educated guesses, based on your reading about why the characters act the way they do.

Is love a tender thing? It is too rough,

Too rude, too boist’rous and it pricks like thorn.

Romeo seems very emotional. That may be why he falls in love so quickly.



Examine the causes and effects of the events in the play to help you understand what has happened and predict what might come next.

Cause

Romeo sneaks into Capulet’s party despite their families’ feud.

Effect

He meets and immediately falls in love with Juliet.

Prediction

Their families’ feud will get in the way of their love.

Into Action: As you read, use a chart like this one to help you understand and enjoy the narrative.

[End of Section]


Reading Strategy

My Notes

Read Aloud/Paraphrase

Make Inferences

Analyze Cause and Effect

Romeo and Juliet discuss marriage the night they meet.Based on their actions, they seem like very emotional people.

Find It in Your Reading

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer

As you read, make note of key plot events that will help you write a summary of each act and analyze the pattern of the play.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Introducing Act II

So far in Act I . . .

A fight between Capulet and Montague servants restarts their families’ feud.

The prince promises death to anyone continuing the violence.

Paris asks Capulet for permission to marry Juliet. Capulet tells him to woo her at his party that night.


So far in Act I . . .

Romeo agrees to crash Capulet’s party with Benvolio. He hopes to see Rosaline, a girl who rejected him.

Romeo and Juliet meet at the party and feel an instant attraction.

Separately, Romeo and Juliet find out each other’s identity. Both are upset that they’re from feuding families.


In Act I, Romeo and Juliet fell in love at first sight at her father’s party, before they even knew each other’s names.

Now that each knows the other’s identity, can their love overpower their families’ feud?

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.


In the famous balcony scene, Romeo and Juliet discuss plans for marriage . . .

the very same night they meet.


Friar Laurence agrees to help, but he has a warning for Romeo.

Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.

What advice would you have for the two young lovers?

The End

the tragedy of romeo and juliet by william shakespeare an introduction to romeo and juliet william...

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