Romeo and Juliet Background Notes

Introduction

Theme Tragic young love Star-crossed lovers

1595 The year the play was written

Shakespeare “borrowed” from a lot of sources Tragedical History of Romeo and Juliet Arthur Brooke Brook borrowed the idea from an old Italian poem (just like the other writers of his day)

Shakespeare and his times

Actor

Other actors included: Richard Burbage Cuthbert Burbage Will Kemp John Hemminges

1594 Lord Chamberlain’s Men 1603 The King’s Men

Theatres

Sets were not elaborate Before theatres, taverns and town halls hosted plays $$$ meant you could afford to sit in the balcony Groundlings paid one penny to stand in the pit

No artificial lighting Plays were usually performed in the afternoon Stage was a platform Groundlings threw garbage

Familiarity with the plots help the audience appreciate the performances Women were not allowed to be actresses so young boys played the female roles

Theatre troupes usually had 12 men

Actors needed to be versatile (multi- talented)

swordsmen

acrobats

singers

dancers/musicians

The Playwright’s Art

Staging

No outside curtains

Actors’ lines helped the audience understand the setting This is the forest of Arden.

Prologue an introductory speech spoken by a narrator also known as a chorus

Romeo and Juliet takes place is less than one week

Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy

contrasted in –characters – mood – setting Romeo and Juliet

Important Influences in Romeo and Juliet chance/fate time love

Language مسالم paz paix pace MNP ruhe pokój peace

action + language = good show pun

Iambic Pentameter five stressed beats and five unstressed beats per line Shall I compare thee to a summers day? ∕  ∕∕∕∕ 

Literary Criticism Shakespeare was popular with the people but not with the critics

Shakespeare broke the Rules of Good Writing

Instead of writing for the king and queen… …Shakespeare wrote for the “common folk”

Rather than avoiding the realities of life and not showing crime… …Shakespeare showed murder on stage

Instead of keeping genres of theatre separate… …Shakespeare combined comedy and tragedy to create a different form of entertainment

Rather than agreeing with other playwrights that theatre was to be serious and straight-laced… …Shakespeare ignored the rules of decorum and made theatre fun and accessible for all