2. 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
Death of the main characters and then
the loose parts of the plot are tied up
3. Key Facts
Full Title: The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy
of Romeo and Juliet
Genre: Tragic drama
Setting: The Italian cities of Verona and Mantua during
the Renaissance (around the fourteenth century).
Climax: Romeo and Juliet's double suicide in the
Capulet tomb.
Protagonists: Romeo and Juliet
Antagonists: There are many antagonists to Romeo
and Juliet's love. The most important include the feud
between the Capulets and Montagues; Tybalt; the Prince,
citizens, and laws of Verona; and fate.
4. Central Theme: The Feud
The feud between the Capulet and Montague families
runs so deep that even the servants of each house
despise the other.
They have hated each other for generations and
although nobody knows the original reason, they
continue with the hatred, fighting and unnecessary
bloodshed.
This blood feud is why Romeo and Juliet feel pushed
to make the decisions they do...
5. Other Themes:
Right vs. Wrong – what is right for one person may be
totally wrong for another.
Love vs. Family – having to make the difficult choice
between the one you love and the family you should feel
loyalty toward.
Youth vs. Old age – the clash between the young lovers
and the old people who have very different ideas about
love, life and the feud itself.
Friendship – the bonds of friendship are often tested (as
demonstrated in this play.)
6. The Beginning of the Play: The Prologue
A prologue is an introduction to a play/book.
The prologue for Romeo and Juliet is written as a
fourteen line poem.
It would be recited by a choral group.
Also referred to as “the chorus”.
9. Activity
1. Read the prologue
2. What do you think the following words mean?
DO NOT USE YOUR DEVICE FOR THIS.
a. Dignity b. Ancient c. Grudge
d. Civil e. Loins f. Star-cross’d
g. Strife h. Nought i. Toil
3. Using the book and your device, re-write (in
modern English) the entire prologue.
4. What information does the prologue give us about
the play and the people involved?
10. Definitions
Dignity = The quality of being worthy of respect
Ancient = extremely old, sometimes valuable
Grudge = a feeling of anger toward a person who has
wronged you somehow in the past
Civil = polite OR relating to ordinary citizens OR of an
upper class
Loins = The region of the hips and groin and lower
abdomen
Star’crossed = Not favored by the stars; ill-fated
Strife = Angry disagreement OR Bitter conflict; heated
and often violent
Nought = Nothing
Toil = Hard work
11. Prologue – modern English
1. Two houses, both equal in status
2. in beautiful Verona, where this play is set
3. start a new fight which stems from an old feud.
4. Civilised blood/ upper class is spilled and makes civilised hands unclean.
5. Born from these two enemies,
6. a pair of doomed lovers commit suicide.
7. Their sad and poorly thought out actions
8. bury their parents argument with their deaths.
9. Their doomed love, which is stained by death
10. and the continuing rage felt by their parents,
11. which could only be removed by the deaths of their children,
12. will be portrayed on our stage for the next two hours.
13. If you will listen patiently
14. Anything that is missed in this prologue, will be fixed by the acting.
12. Information from the Prologue
1. We learn the play is set in Verona and that there
are two powerful houses who are “at war” with each
other.
2. There are two children – one from each house –
who fall in love with each other.
3. These children are doomed from the beginning of
their love, because their families hate each other so
much.
4. The play portrays the events surrounding the
deaths of the two young lovers and how the families
buried the feud after these deaths.
13. How does the prologue link to the rest of the play?
Although the prologue seems unnecessary to modern
audiences, it is a concise look at the play.
It may seem like a “spoiler”, but in actual fact, the
prologue is designed to inform the audience about
what is to come...
The task of the actor/director is to make the
audience empathise with the characters so that we
feel something for them when their inevitable
downfall occurs.
We already feel sorry for the young lovers, who are
so ill-fated, but the play will now provide context...
