  Born (most likely) and died on same day  Cause of death unknown

 Attended grammar school in Stratford, England  Latin classics, writing, memorization, and acting in Latin plays  Until age 15  Father was a wealthy businessman  Poet, actor, playwright, and director  Partial owner of Globe Theater

 Tragedy  Comedy  History  The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet  1597

 Opened 1599  2,000-3,000  Burned down in 1613  Rebuilt by 1614

 Open air theater  Flag: indicated kind of play showing  Red = history  Black = tragedy  White = comedy Why?

 The hut-storage space above stage  The heavens-roof of the stage, elaborately designed with images of the heavens  “Hell”-trapdoor in the middle of the stage

 “the pit” or courtyard-ground level, standing room only, cheapest “seats”  The galleries- three tiers of seating, wealthy seating  Groundlings- people who watched from the pit  1 penny for pit  2 pennies for balcony  24 pence for side of the stage  (4 pence = food and drink for a day)

 Lighting- natural or candles  Pace- fast b/c no costume changes or scene setup  Costumes- elaborate, modern, hand-me-downs from nobles  Scenery- little to none, setting described  Actors- no women, all characters played by men and boys

 Written in iambic pentameter  Iambic pentameter: a line of verse, 10 syllables long, follows unstressed then stress syllable pattern  Sonnet: a poem 14 lines long, in iambic pentameter, comprised of 3 quatrains(set of 4 lines) and a couplet (2 successive lines that rhyme) Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg  Aside: a short remark only intended to be heard by one or some character(s) and/or the audience  Soliloquy: long speech of character’s thoughts and feelings only heard by the audience, often character is alone on stage

 Based on a true story  Two wealthy feuding families in Verona, Italy  “star-crossed” young lovers die for each other  Story was well-known  Retold by other writers