William Shakespeare Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1616. He grew up in a town called Stratf0rd-on-Avon and later moved to London to become an actor and playwright.

The Plays Shakespeare’s plays include comedies, histories—and tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet. Some of his other famous plays include Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In addition, Shakespeare wrote love poems called sonnets.

The Globe Shakespeare’s plays were performed in a theater called the Globe—sometimes called “The Wooden ‘O’” because of its circular shape.

The reconstructed stage of the Globe Theaters had no lighting, so performances took place during the day. There were few special effects or props; Shakespeare used detailed verbal description to paint a picture of his scenes. The reconstructed stage of the Globe

Actors and Actresses In Shakespeare’s time, it was considered immoral for a woman to appear onstage. So the female roles in Shakespeare’s plays were performed by young men.

Why we read… So why do we still read plays like Romeo and Juliet? When Shakespeare’s world was so different from ours, what can we learn from his plays? Well, the plays are not only great, powerful stories—they also teach lessons about life that apply to people in all cultures and time periods, and those lessons can help us when we come across hard times in our own lives.

By William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare

Setting The story is set in the late 1500’s mostly in the town of Verona, Italy. However, there are a few acts set in Mantua, Italy a smaller town just a few miles away.

Timeline Sunday – Act One Monday – Act Two Tuesday – Act Three Wednesday – Act Four Thursday – Act Five

Montagues

Capulets

The Feud Romeo’s family, the Montagues, have a long standing feud with Juliet’s family, the Capulets. While the audience never learns about the source of the ancient quarrel, we do learn that it has recently grown stronger.

Star-Crossed Lovers “Star-crossed lovers” refers to two people who are in love but have conflicting astrological signs. In Shakespeare’s times, people believed the course of their lives was determined by the exact second they were born.

Comedy and Tragedy Romeo and Juliet begins as a comedy but ends as a tragedy Elements of a tragedy Must have a tragic hero/heroine Ends in the death of many of the main characters Elements of a comedy A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty that is often presented by elders Separation and unification Heightened tensions, often within a family The shift from comedy to tragedy is what sets Romeo and Juliet apart from the rest of Shakespeare’s plays

PROLOGUE