ROMEO AND JULIET

INTRODUCTION•William Shakespeare•The Globe Theater•Elizabethian Era

ENGLAND

SHAKESPEARE BACKGROUND 1563-1616 Stratford-on-Avon, England Wrote

37 plays that are considered Histories, Comedies, or Tragedies

154 sonnets Started out as an actor

MARRIAGE AND LIFE IN LONDON

1582 at age 18 married Anne Hathaway

1583-1592 ??? 1592 (28 years old) went to London

actor and playwright first accused of borrowing from other

playwrights 1592-1594 Plague

SHAKESPEARE PROSPERS 1598 built Globe Theatre

Owned shares in it Father granted a coat-of-arms

Gentlemen Recognized as a genius in his own time

DEATH AND BURIAL AT STRATFORD 1610 retired from theatre

1613 Globe theatre burns down lost much money but still wealthy helps rebuild Globe theatre

Dies on April 23, 1616 at age 52

Shakespeare’s Grave

BUST OVER WS’SGRAVE

SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL OVER THE GRAVE “Good friend for Jesus sake forbear

To dig the dust enclosed here!Blest be the man that spares these stones,And curst be he that moves my bones.

Attributed to Shakespeare

DID SHAKESPEARE REALLY WRITE HIS PLAYS? Many believe it is impossible for Shakespeare

to have written his plays Lacks heights and depths of passion Could not learn aristocratic sports and manners Lacked schooling

So who did? Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford Sir Francis Bacon Groups/Partners

SHAKESPEARE’S PLOTS AND CHARACTERS First reading =quick Second reading=more leisurely Plots=romantic, poetic, farfetched,

imaginative, supernatural Characters=realistic, alive, three

dimensional, powerful and eternally true

SHAKESPEARE AS A DRAMATIST Objective of Plays= give pleasure Fanciful, imaginative plays Audience= everyday people, uneducated,

wanted to escape Wrote in verse=free use of words

THE STAGE INFLUENCES ON SHAKESPEARE’S METHODS

Open, free stage=quick changes, rapid action Encourages speechmaking, passionate

soliloquies No women actors Only day time light= speeches about time,

season and weather (Macbeth=40 such speeches)

Closeness of different classes

SHAKESPEARE AS AN ELIZABETHAN Queen Elizabeth reigned (1558-1603) Emerging from the Middle Ages into the

Renaissance Age was extravagant and brutal

elaborate, ornate clothing, language and manners

language was growing fast middle class (stern, moral, and independent)

ELIZABETH I SYMBOLIZES THE AGE Queen Elizabeth Glory of England

To people, she represented beauty and greatness

one of the most powerful countries in the world

DRAMA IN THE ELIZABETHAN AGE After defeating the Spanish Armada, England

became intensely interested in the past. (Patriotic) Historical plays thrived.

Playwrights were practical men, bent on making a living

Plays were written to be acted, not read. Once a playwright sold his manuscript, he

had no personal right to it.

THE ELIZABETHIAN THEATER Round, wooden, roofless building Three galleries of seats Pit (no seats) cost a penny “groundlings” Main stage

40 feet wide 27 feet projection into the pit

Recessed inner stage (curtains and balcony) Music Room Heaven and a Hell

ELIZABETHAN WORDS An, and: If Anon: Soon Aye: Yes But: Except for E’en:Even E’er: Ever Haply: Perhaps Happy:

Fortunate

Hence: Away, from her

Hie: Hurry Marry: Indeed Whence: Where Wilt: Will, will you Withal: In addition

to Would: Wish

ROMEO AND JULIET Written about 1595 Considered a tragedy West Side Story (Movie) based on R&J Setting is in Verona, Italy

LITERARY TERMS

TYPES OF POETRY IN R & J

Much of R & J is written in it:unrhymed verseiambic (unstressed,

stressed)pentameter( 5

“feet” to a line)ends up to be 10 syllable lines

Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song

Only characters in the lower social classes speak this way in Shakespeare’s plays

Blank Verse Prose

TYPES OF CHARACTERS

Have many personality traits, like real people

One-dimensional, embodying only a single trait

Shakespeare often uses them to provide comic relief even in a tragedy

Round Flat

MONOLOGUE 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

ASIDE Words spoken, usually in an undertone

not intended to be heard by all characters

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?”

TYPES OF IRONY

Words used to suggest the opposite of what is meant

An event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience

Verbal Irony Situational Irony

ACT I

VOCABULARY I Adversary Discreet Nuptial Posterity Purged

For each word you will create a Vocab Block

Each block contains Definition (Found on page 18) Sentence from Book Your own sentence Picture representing the word

LITERARY ELEMENTS I1. A foil is a ______ who has qualities that are in sharp

contrast to another character, thus ____ the traits of each.

How is Mercutio a foil to Romeo? 2. Foreshadowing refers to hints in the text about_____.

What examples of foreshadowing do you find in the Prologue and in Scene iv of Act I?

3. Hyperbole means _________________________________.4. A pun is a play on _______________ that have similar

sounds but more than one possible _________________. 5. Good drama has conflict: struggle between ______

forces. What are some examples of conflict you have seen so far?

Use infoPgs 86 & 87

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS I1. Summarize the events in scene i.2. Why does Romeo come across as sad when

talking with Benvolio? 3. What role to women play based on what you

read in scene iii. 4. What kind of friend would you say Mercutio is to

Romeo based on what you read in scene iv?5. How many lines do Romeo and Juliet say to

each other before they kiss? Why is this significant?

6.  Explain the conversation between Tybalt and Lord Capulet in Scene v. What does this reveal about Tybalt’s character?

CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS

Prince of Verona  Kinsman to the

Prince  Kinsman to the

Prince 

Rosaline  Friar Lawrence Paris

Prince of Verona Additional Characters

CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS CONT.

Main Character  Head of Household Wife Nephew to Lady

Capulet Juliet’s Care Giver Servants to Capulet Servant to Juliet’s

Nurse

Main Character  Head of Household Wife Servant to Romeo Friends of Romeo Nephew of Lord

Montague

The House of the Capulets

The House of the Montagues

ACT II

VOCABULARY II Chided Confounds Driveling Lamentable Perjuries Rancor Repose Sallow

For each word you will create a Vocab Block

Each block contains Definition (page 90) Sentence from Book Your own sentence Picture representing the word

LITERARY ELEMENTS II1. A metaphor is a direct __ ____ of ______ things.

Explain the metaphor that is used by Juliet on page 104.

2. Imagery refers to language that appeals to the __________________.

3. Shakespeare allows his characters to reveal their ______________ to the audience through speeches called soliloquies.

Discuss the meanings in Friar Lawrence’s soliloquy on page 114.

4. A malapropism is a ________ mistake uttered by certain __________.

Use infoPgs 152 & 153

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS II1. Summarize Act II Scene i. 2.  Romeo is professing his love in scene ii.

What lines help the audience know that Juliet has some reservations about how genuine he is?

3. What is Friar Lawrence’s motive to go ahead and marry Romeo and Juliet?

4. Based on the conversation between Romeo and the Nurse in scene iv, how would you characterize the nurse? Why?

5. What was Juliet’s excuse to leave and marry Romeo?

ACT III

VOCABULARY III Civil Digressing Jocund Monarch Plague Reconcile Renowned

For each word you will create a Vocab Block

Each block contains Definition (page 156) Sentence from Book Your own sentence Picture representing the word

LITERARY ELEMENTS III1. A theme is the underlying _____________ or

________________ of a work of literature. 2. An oxymoron occurs when

_____________________ words are paired.

Use infoPg 223

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS III1. Why does Romeo first refuse to fight Tybalt?2. Who do you think is to blame for the fight

between Mercutio and Tybalt? Why?3. Explain why Romeo chooses to fight Tybalt

after all. In your opinion, was he justified in killing Tybalt? Why or why not?

4. Explain Lord Capulet’s plan. Do you think he has his daughter’s best interest in mind? Why or why not?

5. The Nurse advises Juliet to forget about Romeo and to marry Paris. Does this advice surprise you? Why or why not?

DQ CONT.6. Review the Friar’s

plan beginning on page 193. In the table below, list each step of the plan in the left column and the things that could go wrong in the right column.

 

Things that Could go Wrong

1. Step 12. Step 23. Step 34. Step 4

ACT IV

VOCABULARY IV Arbitrating Distraught Entreat Immoderately Resolution Solace Spited

For each word you will create a Vocab Block

Each block contains Definition (page 226) Sentence from Book Your own sentence Picture representing the word

LITERARY ELEMENTS IV1. Shakespeare often adds _________________________

to his more serious plays. Describe the comic relief in scene v and what purpose

it serves. 2. An allusion is a reference to a _________figure,

happening, or _____________ that is meant to ________________ the meaning of the story.  

3. Dramatic Irony occurs when the ________ knows more than some of the ______________ in the play.

List two or three examples of dramatic irony in Act IV. 4. Personification means giving _____________ to

nonhuman things or objects.

Use infoPgs 264 & 265

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS IV1. What is your opinion of Paris? Use details

from the play to support your opinion. 2. Why do you think Friar Lawrence would ask

Juliet to carry out a dangerous plan instead of just going to her parents and explaining that she is already married to Romeo?

3. Describe Juliet’s thoughts from her soliloquy beginning on page 245 just before she takes the potion.

ACT V

VOCABULARY V Abhorred Apprehend Contempt Penury Remnants Steeped Wretchedness

For each word you will create a Vocab Block

Each block contains Definition (page 268) Sentence from Book Your own sentence Picture representing the word

LITERARY ELEMENTS V1. A tragedy tells of the defeat of a tragic

hero. His or her downfall is a result of a tragic flaw or fatal character weakness.

What is Romeo’s tragic flaw?

Use the infofrom Pg 305

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS V1. Why does Romeo believe Juliet to be dead?

Who tells him that she is dead?2. Do you think that fate or the character’s

choices are responsible for the outcome of the play? Explain.

3. Why do you think Shakespeare includes the deaths of Paris and Lady Montague in Act V?

4. Do you think the feud of the Capulets and the Montagues is really over? Why or why not?

5. What are some things that could have been done differently by the adults to avoid the tragedies found in Romeo and Juliet?