Romeo and Juliet

1. Romeo and Juliet

2. Two households…

3. Both alike in dignity…

4. In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…

5. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny…

6. Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

7. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,

8. A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.

9. Romeo and Juliet • Written about 1595 • The play’s most direct source is a poem by Arthur Brooke, which in turn was based on a popular Italian story. • Considered a tragedy • Set in Verona, Italy

10. Interesting Bits • The much-misunderstood line “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” (2.2) means “Why are you Romeo?” not “Where are you, Romeo?” • West Side Story (Movie) based on R&J • In Verona, Italy, one can visit the Juliet’s fake balcony, touch the right breast of her statue for luck, and write love graffiti on the wall

11. What’s the play about? • Romeo and Juliet is about love, of course, but it is about a particular kind of love: love that extinguishes itself.

12. This story is fixated on the idea of opposites, contradictions, and opposing pairs, and the focus throughout is on things that consume each other in a flash.

13. This tragedy has less to do with the results of the choices the principles make than it does with the PREORDAINED FAILURE OF YOUTHFUL PASSION—the passion of both awakening physical love and the sudden violence of a street quarrel.

14. We know that the lovers will die by the sixth line of this play. • RJ relies heavily on notions of fate, destiny, and accident.

15. Look for ongoing references to light/darkness, explosions and flashes, stars, fate.

16. Cast of Characters

17. Romeo • Is a Montague • 18 years old • Cute, smart, sensitive • Impulsive and immature • Romantic heart • EMO • He doesn’t care about the feud

18. Lady Montague • Romeo’s Mom • Dies of grief for love of her son

19. Lord Montague • Romeo’s dad • Worries about Romeo’s sadness • Patriarch (head man) of the Montagues • Loves his son

20. Balthasar • Romeo’s servant • He goes to tell Romeo that Juliet is dead (he doesn’t know that it is a fake death)

21. Abraham or Abram • Lord Montague’s servant • Fights Sampson and Gregory in the beginning

22. Benvolio • Romeo’s cousin & friend • Tries to break-up fights. Keep the peace. • Counsels Romeo about love and make him feel better.

23. Mercutio • Related to the prince • Good friends W/ Romeo • Bad temper • Doesn’t like emotional people • Believes love is about the physical contact and nothing else.

24. Juliet • -is a Capulet, 13 yrs old • Begins as a naïve child, • She doesn’t have as much freedom as Romeo b/c she is a girl • SO she sneaks around to see Romeo • She totally trusts Romeo • Juliet is very close with the nurse.

25. Lord Capulet • Juliet’s dad • He truly loves Juliet, but does not know her feelings and dreams • Bad temper when things don’t go his way • He commands respect and propriety • Patriarch of the Capulets

26. Lady Capulet • Juliet’s mom • Ineffectual mother- relies on the nurse to “mother” Juliet • She married young, had Juliet around age 14, and is eager for her to marry Paris

27. Nurse • Has cared for Juliet since she was born • Vulgar, long-winded, loyal and a confidante to Juliet • At end though, they have a falling-out over Romeo

28. Gregory & Sampson • Servants to the Capulets • Start a fight w/ Montagues at the beginning of the play

29. Tybalt • Juliet’s cousin • Vain, fashionable, very into proper etiquette, prideful • He is well-trained in sword fighting and someone to fear • He loathes Montagues • “Cat”

30. Prince Escalus • Prince of Verona • He is concerned with maintaining public peace • Related to Mercutio and Paris

31. Paris • Related to the prince • Preferred by the Capulets to marry Juliet • He treats Juliet inappropriately after Capulet says he can marry her.

32. Rosaline • The woman who Romeo is obsessed with at the beginning of the play.

33. The Apothecary • “a pharmacist” • He sells the poison to Romeo. • Values money more than morals

34. Friar Lawrence • Friend to Romeo and Juliet • Kind, civic-minded • Secretly marries R & J in hopes that their marriage will end the feud. • He is a Catholic holy man and also familiar with potions and herbs.

35. Friar John • A Catholic holy man asked to tell Romeo about Juliet's false death. • He is held up in a quarantined house and so never gets the message to Romeo.

36. How we will dramatize the play… • Any person of any gender can read any role. • There are no Elizabethans around to tell us how to say the words, so readers do not need to worry about pronunciation too much; rather, they should do the best they can. • Readers do not need to act, but they do need to read with inflection.

37. Each time we read you will be reading with a focus: • Director: • Summarizes: Who are these guys? • What’s going on here? How do you know? • Stage Manager: • Visualizes and explains: what does the action on the stage look like? • Where and how does the motif of light/dark appear? • Acting Coach: • Interpret characterization via literary devices (simile, metaphor, puns, etc.)

38. Literary Terms to Know

39. Literary Analysis: • the study or examination of a literary work or author. • Literary Devices: • figures of speech or tools a writer uses to add layers of meaning to the text

40. Tragedy (Shakespearean) Shakespeare's tragic works are similar enough to the Aristotelian model that it is a useful point of reference for these "aspects": 1. A faulty or corrupt society, or at least some particular characters who are decidedly more wicked than the tragic hero. 2. A tragic hero: by Aristotle's definition, a man who is neither completely evil nor good, but somewhere in between. The audience will usually identify or sympathize with the tragic hero, instinctively. 3. Hamartiaon the part of the tragic hero. Aristotle's term means "mistake," but we really have to divide the concept into two things:

41. Tragedy (Shakespearean) (a) a chronic shortcoming in character, often called a "tragic flaw." In Shakespeare, this often takes the form of metaphorical "blindness" or defective imagination: it is usually related, paradoxically, to the tragic hero's ideals of some sort; and it leads him into metaphorical "madness" (usually referred to explicitly) which is barely distinguishable (if at all) from real madness. A particular result of this idealism/madness is that the hero will imagine the people around him as worse than they are, often resorting to animal imagery in his language; and ironically he becomes more "corrupt" or dangerous than the social corruption he deplores. (b) a specific mistaken act, related to or caused by the "flaw."

42. Comic Relief • the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension • In R & J, look for moments of comic relief that help “relieve” the tragedy of the situation

43. Dramatic Foil • a character that contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) and so highlights various facets of the main character's personality • A character whose purpose is to show off another character • Benvolio for Tybalt • look for others in RJ

44. Prose • Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song • Only characters in the lower social classes speak this way in Shakespeare’s plays • Why do you suppose that is?

45. Blank Verse • a type of poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no rhyme • Much of R & J is written in it: • unrhymed verse • iambic (unstressed, stressed) • pentameter( 5 “feet” to a line) • ends up to be 10 syllable lines

46. Iambic Pentameter • iambic pentameter- describes a particular rhythm that the words established in each line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet". The word "iambic" describes the type of foot that is used. The word "pentameter" indicates that a line has five of these "feet".

47. Couplet • Two lines that rhyme in any poem or blank verse. • Always concludes a sonnet.

48. Monologue • an extended uninterrupted speech by a character in a drama. The character may be speaking his or her thoughts aloud, directly addressing another character, or speaking to the audience • One person speaking on stage > may be other character on stage too • ex > the Prince of Verona commanding the Capulets and Montagues to cease feuding

49. Aside • aside—a line “quietly” spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage

50. Direct Address • Words that tell the reader who is being addressed: • “A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit.” • “Ah, my mistresses, which of you all/ Will now deny to dance?”