Part One: Dramatic Terminology A play is broken up into acts, and the acts are broken up into scenes. Monologue: a long uninterrupted speech one character gives onstage to everyone, including the audience and actors. Soliloquy: a long uninterrupted speech one character gives alone on stage, inaudible to other characters. Aside: a short speech one character gives, traditionally so that other character(s) cannot hear. Pun: a humorous play on words that oftentimes uses words that have several meanings or words that sound similar but have different meanings.

Examples of Puns

Part Two: Romeo & Juliet the Basics was one of Shakespeare’s first major tragedy, performed in 1594-1595. used dramatic structure combining comedy and tragedy; used minor characters showing early signs of his dramatic skill. Frank Dicksee Romeo and Juliet (1884)

Comedy and Tragedy Romeo and Juliet begins as a comedy but ends as a tragedy Elements of a tragedy Must have a tragic hero/heroine Ends in the death of many of the main characters Elements of a comedy A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty that is often presented by elders Separation and unification Heightened tensions, often within a family The shift from comedy to tragedy is what sets Romeo and Juliet apart from the rest of Shakespeare’s plays

Tragedy Shakespeare’s tragedies also follow a pattern that would have made sense to his audience. Elizabethans believed that people’s decisions and mistakes always had consequences, and that people sometimes had to pay a high price for their mistakes. In Shakespeare’s tragedies, the main characters make decisions that upset the proper order of their world and so affect them and everyone around them. The situation is resolved only when others learn lessons from the main characters’ deaths.

Romeo & Juliet - Sources Thisbe, John William Waterhouse, 1909 Pyramus and Thisbe, by the Roman poet Ovid in The Metamorphoses. The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, written by Arthur Brooke in 1562. Similar plot details and characters Shakespeare condensed time frame from 9 months to 4 days. Shakespeare also added Mercutio and Paris. A popular tale of Romeo and Juliet also existed in a collection by William Painter, called The Palace of Pleasure, written in 1582.

Setting The story is set in the 14th century mostly in the town of Verona, Italy. However, there are a few acts set in Mantua, Italy, a smaller town just a few miles away.

Verona Today The Italian city of Verona, where Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine's Day. Today, Verona has an incredible amount of graffiti, which is legal, provided that you are writing about your love for someone.

The Feud Romeo’s family, the Montagues, have a long standing feud with Juliet’s family, the Capulets. While the audience never learns about the source of the ancient quarrel, we do learn that it has recently grown stronger.

Marriage In Shakespeare’s day, marriages were generally contracts set up by the parents. Women as young as fourteen were often married to men in their thirties, partly to ensure the bride’s virginity. When Juliet’s parents arrange a marriage for her, it seems strange to us; Shakespeare’s audience would have thought it was completely normal.

Why we read... So why do we still read plays like Romeo and Juliet? When Shakespeare’s world was so different from ours, what can we learn from his plays? What can we learn about love vs. hate; individual vs. society; fate vs. free will

Part Three: The Characters The characters in Romeo and Juliet are arranged around a central conflict between two rival families: the Montagues and the Capulets.

Servant to Romeo and Montague The Montagues Mercutio Romeo’s best friend Romeo Montague Romeo’s Dad Lady Romeo’s mother Balthasar And Abram Servant to Romeo and Montague Benvolio Romeo’s cousin

The Capulets Juliet Capulet Tybalt Nurse Lady Juliet’s father cousin nanny Lady Mother Sampson and Gregory Servants to Capulet

The Peacemakers Prince Escalus of Verona Friar Laurence This ruler tries to mediate between the feuding families. He is pretty tired of all the bloodshed caused by their “ancient grudge.” Friar Laurence This religious leader is respected as a holy man by both sides, and would like to see them reconciled. As a friar, he’s interested not only in religion, but also in medicinal herbs— which becomes important later.

Finally...the Chorus not a part of the action, but a speaker who comes onstage to make comments on the action. kind of like a TV announcer in contemporary life—as far as the characters know, the chorus doesn’t exist but helps explain things to the audience

Shakespeare’s 5 Act Storytelling Pattern: Act III: Crisis/Turning Point Turning point in complications Act IV: Falling Action Results of the turning point; characters locked into deeper disaster Act II: Rising Action A series of complications Act I: Exposition Establishes setting, characters, conflict, and background Act V: Climax/Resolution/Denouement Death of the main characters, and then the loose parts of the plot are tied up

Timeline Sunday – Act One Monday – Act Two Tuesday – Act Three Wednesday – Act Four Thursday – Act Five