The document provides guidance and objectives for students to analyze William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It includes instructions for students to paraphrase passages from Act 1 into modern English, define puns, summarize sections of Act 1 Scene 1, and discuss the importance of the opening scene. Students are divided into groups to summarize and act out different parts of the scene. The objectives aim to help students understand themes and language in the play through activities like translation and discussion.

1. Ms. Marshall-Krauss
HCMS

2. 95
 Prediction: Review the “Social Offenses”
ranking you did yesterday. Choose one that
you felt strongly about and explain why. (Glue
the Study Guide onto page 79)
 Today’s objective is to discuss themes in
Romeo and Juliet and read and paraphrase in
Modern English the Act 1 Prologue.

3. 95
CHORUS: 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;
Whole 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;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

4. 96
Early Modern Why is this Modern How did you figure
Text difficult to Paraphrase it out?
understand?
1. “Two Because the Two families I changed
households both vocabulary is who are both household to the
alike in dignity.” different. respected. modern word
families and dignity
to the modern
word respect.
2.
3.
4.

5. 95
 Before reading Romeo and Juliet, you learned
a little about Early Modern English, sonnets,
and Shakespeare’s life as a writer. Did any of
this knowledge increase your appreciation or
understanding of the Act 1 Prologue? Explain.

6. 97
 Warm up: Copy the question and try to think
of an answer.
◦ Why can’t the bicycle stand on its own?
◦ Why did the golfer bring two pairs of pants to the
game?
 Today’s objective is to define and analyze
puns while reading Act 1 Scene.

7. 97
 COPY: A pun is a humorous play on words
using similar words or sounds with different
meanings.
 Words you will need to know (copy these):
◦ Carry coals: submit to humiliation
◦ Collier: people who work with coal
◦ In choler: angry
◦ Collar: hangman’s noose

8. 97-98
 Answer the following question as you read.
1 What is going on in these lines?
1 Who are these people?
1 How do they feel about each other?
1 Where does the scene take place?

9. 97
 Warm up: What happened in Act I Scene 1?
Write everything you can remember.
 Today’s objective is to write short summaries
of parts of Act 1 Scene 1 and act them out.

10. 98
 Write a short modern summary of part of the
scene. For instance, if you were given the
opening lines where Sampson and Gregory are
discussing the Montagues, a short summary of
the scene would be:

11.  Group 1  Group 4
 Lines 31-58  Lines 99-154
 
 Group 2  Group 5
 Lines 59-73  Lines 155-190
 
 Group 3  Group 6
 Lines 76-98  Lines 191-233


12. 98
 Why is this opening scene so important? What
does it show the audience about the play?
How does reading a modern paraphrase help
you understand it?