1. An Introduction to Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Tragic Love
An Introduction to
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare

2. Romeo and Juliet Setting
Verona, Italy
Late 1500s

3. Characters:The Capulets
Juliet Capulet – a lovely girl of almost fourteen
Lord and Lady Capulet – her noble parents who are in a bitter feud with the Montagues
Count Paris – The man Juliet’s parents want her to marry
Tybalt – her hot-tempered cousin
Nurse – the woman who has cared for Juliet since she was born
Juliet Capulet – a 13-year-old girl
Lord and Lady Capulet – Juliet’s parents
Count Paris – the man Juliet’s father wants her to marry
Tybalt – Juliet’s cousin.
Nurse – Juliet’s nurse, who has taken care of her since she was a baby

4. Characters: The Montagues
Romeo Montague – the romantic son of the Montagues who falls in love with Juliet at first sight
Lord and Lady Montague – Romeo’s noble parents who feud with the Capulets
Benvolio Montague – Romeo’s cousin, a peacemaker
Mercutio – friend of Romeo, humorous, a card
Friar Laurence – An influential Franciscan priest
Romeo Montague: A young man, probably about 17 years old
Lord and Lady Montague: Romeo’s parents
Benvolio Montague: Romeo’s cousin
Mercutio: Romeo’s best friend
Friar Laurence: A priest and friend of Romeo

5. Shakespeare Wrote Plays That Were Comedies and Tragedies
Definition of tragedy: a dramatic work that has a serious or sad theme. It has a character that has many problems or weaknesses. A tragedy usually ends with the deaths of the main characters.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy.

6. Examples of tragedy:

7. Thinking about Tragedy
What tragedies have taken place in human history?
What television shows, movies, or books show tragedy?
How does tragedy affect people’s lives?

8. Tragic Love Romeo and Juliet is considered a tragic love story.
What is tragic love?
How does tragic love affect teenagers today?

9. What is a Tragedy?
A narrative about serious and important actions that end unhappily. Usually a tragedy ends with the deaths of the main characters. In some, the disaster this totally innocent characters; in others the main characters are in some ways responsible for their downfall.

10. Shakespeare’s Tragic Plays Usually Follow This Five-Part Pattern
Act I –
Act II – .
Act III –
Act IV –
Act V –

11. Shakespeare’s Tragic Plays Usually Follow This Five-Part Pattern (Gosh, doesn’t this look like something you’d need to know for a test?!?!)
Act I – Exposition
Introduces setting, characters, background, and conflict.
Act II – Rising Action
Complications arise as characters take action to resolve problems.
Act III – Crisis/Turning Point
The forces of conflict come together and the characrers determine the direction of the action.
Act IV – Falling Action
Events that result from actions taken at turning point. Lock characters deeper into disaster and into tragedy.
Act V – Climax and Resolution
The climax is usually the deaths of the main characters. The loose parts of the plot are tied up in the resolution.

12. Romeo and Juliet: Summary
A family feud
Falling in love
A secret marriage
A family feud: The story takes place in Verona, Italy, in the late 1500s. The Montagues and the Capulets, two very powerful families, have been fighting for many years.
The Capulets throw a big party.
Romeo Montague wants to go to the party to see Rosaline, a girl he likes. Because of the feud, his family is not invited. He wears a costume and sneaks into the party anyway.
Falling in love:
At the party, Romeo sees a girl, Juliet, and falls in love. Soon he finds out that she is a Capulet.
Juliet sees Romeo and falls in love with him, too. She has no idea that he is a member of the Montague family.
Later, Juliet learns that Romeo is a Montague. She goes out on her balcony to talk to the stars about her love for Romeo.
Romeo hears her and tells her he feels the same.
A secret marriage:
The next day Romeo and Juliet are married secretly by Romeo’s friend Friar Lawrence. They tell no one.

13. Romeo and Juliet: Summary
A fight
A banishment
A match-making father
A fight:
The same day that Romeo and Juliet are married, Romeo's cousin Benvolio and his best friend, Mercutio, get into a fight with Juliet’s cousin Tybalt.
Tybalt is mad at Romeo for coming to the Capulets’ party, so he starts a fight with Benvolio and Mercutio.
Romeo shows up. He does not want to fight Tybalt because he is married to Juliet, but he cannot tell anyone.
Romeo’s friends don’t understand why Romeo won’t fight, so Mercutio fights Tybalt instead. Tybalt kills Mercutio.
Romeo is angry and kills Tybalt.
A banishment:
The Prince of Verona tells Romeo that he must leave the city forever and never come back.
Juliet is very sad because Romeo is gone.
A Match-making father:
Juliet's father, who doesn’t know that Juliet is already married to Romeo, decides to marry her to a man named Paris.

14. Romeo and Juliet: Summary
A desperate plan
Some deadly gossip
The death of Romeo and Juliet
A lesson learned
A desperate plan:
Juliet goes to Friar Lawrence for help.
He gives her a potion to drink that will make her look dead, even though she really will just be sleeping.
The Friar says he will tell Romeo to come get her from the familytomb.
Some deadly gossip: Before the Friar can tell Romeo that Juliet is not really dead, Romeo gets a message from a friend that Juliet is dead in Verona.
Romeo wants to die beside his wife, so he buys poison and goes to Juliet's tomb.
At the door of the tomb, Romeo fights and kills Paris.
The death of Romeo and Juliet:
Inside the tomb, Romeo drinks the poison and dies next to Juliet.
Soon after, Juliet wakes up and sees Romeo dead next to her.
Friar Lawrence comes into the tomb and tells Juliet what happened.
Juliet takes Romeo’s dagger and kills herself.
A lesson learned:
The Montagues and Capulets learn a lesson from the deaths of their children. They agree to never fight again.

15. Romeo and Juliet Today Why do we read Romeo and Juliet today?
How does the story connect to the lives of teenagers today? Think locally, think globally.

16. Literary Terms We’ll Study (in addition to reviewing those we’ve already learned)
Dramatic Irony Soliloquy Foil Iambic pentameter Allusion Tragedy Foreshadowing Blank verse Aside Couplet Comic relief Stanzas Puns Prologue Implied Metaphors Meter Sonnet Climax Rhyme and rhyme scheme Drama

17. Homework
Your homework tonight is to use the Handbook of Literary Terms beginning on page 967 in the back of your textbook to write the definitions for all 20 of the literary terms on the previous slide. I have a handout. Aren’t I nice? It is due ____________. All of these terms will appear in some form on your final test.