Romeo & Juliet

William Shakespeare Humble Beginnings: born in Stratford- upon-Avon Known as “the Bard” Attended Stratford Grammar School until he was 14 Then he married Anne Hathaway and entered the “lost years”. Wrote about 37 plays and 154 sonnets Shakespeare’s sonnets all featured a male speaker and focused on the theme of love. Other common themes: time, death, and poetry itself.

More about Shakespeare! Left his family to arrive in London and joined the theater company, Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Earned his money by doing the following: 1.) Part owner of the Globe Theater 2.) An Actor 3.) A Playwright Generally wrote 3 types of plays: 1.) Tragedy- Ex. Romeo & Juliet 2.) Comedy- Ex. The Taming of the Shrew 3.) Historical- Ex. Henry VIII

Elizabethan Era The Renaissance Actors were men only o Men even played female roles! Plays were one of the main source of entertainment The Time Period

The Globe Theater Roofless= Open Air No Artificial Lighting Plays were performed in the afternoon to take advantage of the sunlight. Plays were written/produced for the general audience Courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of galleries Spectators: Wealthy- got benches “Groundlings”- poorer people stood and watched from the ground (the pit) All except for the wealthy were uneducated/ poor Burned down during a production of Henry VIII in Rebuilt the following year.

The Globe Theater Differences to today’s theater productions: No Scenery Settings were all referenced through dialogue Elaborate Costumes Plenty of props Fast-paced productions Only MALE actors would perform

Shakespeare’s 5 Part Storytelling Pattern: Act I: Exposition Establishes setting, characters, conflict, and background Act II: Rising Action A series of complications Act III: Crisis/Turning Point A series of complications Act IV: Falling Action Results of the turning point; characters locked into deeper disaster Act V: Climax/Resolution/Denouement Death of the main characters and then the loose parts of the plot are tied up

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

Tragic Hero Qualities of a Tragic Hero: Possesses high importance or rank Exhibits extraordinary talents Displays a tragic flaw- an error in judgment or a defect in character that leads to their downfall Faces downfall with courage and dignity

A Pair of Star Crossed Lovers… “My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!” ~ Juliet; Act I, Scene V

Literary terms to look for... 1.) Puns- a humorous play on words Romeo – “Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes / With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead…” (Act I Sc. 4) 2.) Allusions- a reference to a well-known work of art, music, literature, or history “At lovers’ perjuries, they say Jove laughs.” (Act II, Sc. 2 Jove is another name for Jupiter, the Roman King of the Gods.

3.) Metaphor- A direct comparison between two unalike things. Romeo- “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?/ It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” (Act II scene 2) 4.) Oxymorons- Two juxtaposed words have opposing/ very diverse meanings Juliet – “Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical!” (Act III Sc.2) 5.) Personification- Occurs when an inanimate object or concept is given the qualities of a person or animal. Juliet— “For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night / Whiter than new snow on a raven’s back. / Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow’d night” (Act III Sc. 2)

6.) Paradox- a statement that seems to contradict itself with two elements that are incompatible Juliet – “O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!” (Act III Sc. 2) 7.) Foreshadowing- a reference to something that will happen later in the story. Juliet – “Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun.” (Act III Sc. 2)

3 Key Themes 1.) Light and Dark Look for: References to “light” words ex. “the sun” and references to “dark” wods ex. “night” and “gloom” 2.) Time Look for: References to the passage of time or if things seem to be rushed 3.) Destiny Look for: Instances where events are blamed on “destiny” or “the stars”

MONTAGUE vs. CAPULET Romeo Lord Montague (his dad) Lady Montague (his mom) Mercutio (friend) Benvolio (cousin) Juliet Lord Capulet (her father) Lady Capulet (her mother) Tybalt (cousin) Nurse

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.

Interesting… “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. The Italian city of Verona, where Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine's Day.

Verona Today Today, Verona has an incredible amount of graffiti, which is legal, provided that you are writing about your love for someone.

Prologue 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 foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, and the continuance of their parents' rage, which, but their children's end, nought could remove, is now the two hours' traffic of our stage.