Romeo & Juliet

The Globe Theatre This was where Shakespeare’s plays were performed. It housed everyone from common drunks to the Queen! It had no roof and plays were performed at 2pm because they had no electricity to light the stage.

The Globe The floor was muddy and made worse by people urinating on it (because they’d been to the local tavern before). You had to pay extra for a cushion on your seat (but if you had a seat you were pretty rich anyway!).

The Globe Most people watching the play were illiterate and if they didn’t understand or didn’t enjoy the play they would throw whatever was handy at the actors on the stage! Objects ranged from their shopping or shoes to clumps of wee soaked mud from the floor.

The Globe To ensure the actors didn’t get heckled off stage, Shakespeare used the most dramatic words, included some very shocking (at the time) themes and created some very intriguing and entertaining characters.

What’s it all about? The story is, of course, about a pair of star-crossed lovers. Two teenagers pursue their love for each other despite the fact that their families have been at odds with each other for decades. The story combines sword fighting, disguise, misunderstanding, tragedy, humour, and some of the most romantic language found in literature all in the name of true love.

Who’s Who? Montagues Romeo – son to Montague. Benvolio – nephew to Montague & friend to Romeo. Balthasar – servant & friend to Romeo. Mercutio – friend to Romeo. Lady Montague – wife to Lord Montague. Montague – Romeo’s father and head of the family. Friar Lawrence – a local priest, friend of Romeo.

Who’s Who? Capulets Paris – a young nobleman. Juliet – daughter to Capulet. Capulet – Juliet’s father and head of the family. Lady Capulet – wife to Lord Capulet. Nurse – servant & Nurse to Juliet. Tybalt – nephew to the Capulets.

The Main Themes in R&J Love at First Sight – common 16th century belief that if you didn’t fall in love at first sight then you weren’t really in love.

Hate – the two families hate each other and are constantly fighting, causing many deaths. No one really knows why they are fighting as they fell out so long ago. Consider: Are they right to continue to hate even though they don’t know why?

Loyalty – Some characters have certain loyalties, like the Nurse to Juliet, the Friar to Romeo and The Montagues and Capulets to their own blood relatives. These loyalties become hard to maintain when certain decisions have to be made. Consider: Do you think you have to be loyal to someone just because it is expected of you?

Honesty – Many of the characters lie and deceive to get what they want such as The Friar, Romeo and Juliet. Consider: How far would you go to get what you wanted in life? Do a few lies here and there matter?

Fate – another common belief was that your future was mapped out in the stars and you couldn’t influence the future in anyway. Just like us reading our horoscopes really.

The Prologue Remember the play was written to be performed, not read. Also, the majority of the audience weren’t as intelligent as you so they needed a bit of a helping hand. The Prologue, (meaning ‘before speech’) gave them a few hints about what they were about to see and asked them to try and understand – even if it didn’t all make perfect sense.

The Montagues & Capulets Both very wealthy & powerful families. Italian city The old feud between the families. No one knows the reason why they fell out. The feud continues with new generations of Montagues & Capulets 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. Suggesting that many civilians are guilty for killing others.

Loins are your privates Loins are your privates! What they do with their loins results in their death. enemies Their meeting was destined to happen through fate. It was an adventure that went wrong suicide 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. But one good thing came from it in that it stopped all the hate & bloodshed

The time they had together was very dangerous Suggests they died at the hands of fate. Rage at the other families. Their parents never knew of the romance until they were dead. Only the death of their own children would make them stop hating the other family & make them call a truce. 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,

The play lasts for two hours You need to listen & be patient If you don’t quite understand what I’ve just said in this prologue... I’ll work hard to help you understand in the action that’s about to happen! 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.

Did you know... Shakespeare’s play is based on a well know Italian Tale. It had previously been translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562. It was also adapted into prose in 1567 as Palace of Pleasure by William Painter. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both versions and is believed to have written the play between 1591 and 1595 (although he expanded the plot and characters such as Paris and Mercutio).