Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare A TALE OF TRAGIC LOVE

Who is William Shakespeare?  He was born on Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. Although no actual birth records exist, experts can infer from his Baptism records from Holy Trinity Church that he was born on April 23 rd  He married Anne Hathaway in Nov  He is considered one the greatest writers of all time.  He built the Globe Theatre in His company was called Lord Chamberlain’s Men then changed their name to the King’s Men when King James began attending his plays.  He is known as one of the first professional writers. He has introduced over 3,000 words to the English language. He wrote 37 plays and 54 sonnets

Setting of Romeo and Juliet  Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy in the late 1500s. Below are pictures of Verona and “Juliet’s Wall” where people write love letters to the fictional character.

Characters, The Capulets  Juliet Capulet  Lord and Lady Capulet  Count Paris (Who Juliet’s father tries to marry her off to)  Tybalt (Juliet’s Cousin)  The Nurse

Characters, The Montagues  Romeo Montague  Lord and Lady Montague  Mercutio  Friar Laurence

Events from Romeo and Juliet  A family feud  Falling in love  A secret marriage  A fight  A banishment  A match-making father  A desperate plan  Some deadly gossip  The death of Romeo and Juliet  A lesson learned

Romeo and Juliet as a Tragedy  A tragedy is a dramatic work that has a serious or sad theme. Tragedies usually have characters whose human actions (love, greed, lust) lead them to inevitable consequences. The main character(s) usually die based on their fatal missteps.  Tragedies are dramas based on human suffering. Interestingly, human nature draws us to be interested in tragedies.  Shakespeare mainly wrote two types of plays: Tragedies and Comedies, also “tragicomedies” and sonnets (a type of poetry).  Examples of tragedies are: Tornados, devastating fires, earthquakes, preventable accidents, plane crashes, etc….

Romeo and Juliet/Tragic Love  Tragic love can be defined as love that is forbidden from the beginning, with both parties having to go through hardships to be together and then one or both of them end up dying before they have a chance to enjoy their lives together.  Ex. Rose and Jack from Titanic. Rose goes through so much to get away from her abusive fiancé Cal and makes a decision to follow her heart and be with Jack, then Jack dies in the tragic sinking of the Titanic and they were never able to establish a relationship for longer than a few days.

Star-Crossed Lovers  Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers because they are “ill-fated by the unfavorable position of the stars.” The words “ill-fated” and a reference to “the stars” means that they were born into their circumstances and can’t change them.  Do you think the fact that they are “forbidden” to be together is what drives them to be together?  Why do you think things that are “forbidden” tend to be enticing to people?

Prologue Prologue: noun, the introduction to a book, play, or speech.  The prologue to Romeo and Juliet is both entertaining and unique. It basically tells the entire story to the audience in only a few lines; giving away the plot here:  “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life”  Reading Skill:  As you read the prologue, take notice of what is being said in each sentence (read foot notes). Notice how the chorus is directly addressing the audience.  Notice the “iambic pentameter:” one short syllable followed by one long syllable.