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Romeo and Juliet 1

About the Play

Romeo and Juliet was first published in quarto in 1597, and republished in a new edition only two years later. The second copy was used to created yet a third quarto in 1609, from which both the 1623 Quarto and First Folio are derived. The first quarto is generally considered a bad quarto, or an illicit copy created from the recollections of several actors. The second quarto seems to be taken from Shakespeare's rough draft, and thus has some inconsistent speech and preserved lines which Shakespeare apparently meant to cross out.

Romeo and Juliet derives its story from several sources available during the sixteenth century. Shakespeare's primary source for the play is Arthur Brooke's Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (1562), which is a long, dense poem. This poem in turn was based on a French prose version written by Pierre Boiastuau (1559), who had used an Italian version by Bandello written in 1554. Bandello's poem was further derived from Luigi da Porto's version in 1525 of a story by Masuccio Salernitano (1476).

Shakespeare's plot remains true to the Brooke version in most details, with theatrical license taken in some instances. For example, as he often does, Shakespeare telescopes the events in the poem which take ninety days into only a few days. He also depicts Juliet as a much younger thirteen rather than sixteen, thus presenting a young girl who is suddenly awakened to love.

One of the most powerful aspects of Romeo and Juliet is the language. The characters curse, vow oaths, banish each other, and generally play with the language through overuse of action verbs. In addition, the play is saturated with the use of oxymorons, puns, paradoxes, and double entendres. Even the use of names is called into question, with Juliet asking what is in the name Romeo that denies her the right to love him.

Shakespeare uses the poetic form of sonnet to open the first and second acts. The sonnet usually is defined as being written from a lover to his beloved. Thus, Shakespeare's "misuse" of the prose ties into the actual tension of the play. The sonnet struggles to cover up the disorder and chaos which is immediately apparent in the first act. When the first sonnet ends, the stage is overrun with quarreling men. However, the sonnet is also used by Romeo and Juliet in their first love scene, again in an unusual manner. It is spoken by both characters rather than only one of them. This strange form of sonnet is, however, successful, and even ends with a kiss.

It is worthwhile to note the rather strong shift in language used by both Romeo and Juliet once they fall in love. Whereas Romeo is hopelessly normal in his courtship before meeting Juliet, afterwards his language becomes infinitely richer and stronger. He is changed so much that the Mercutio remarks, "Now art thou sociable" (2.3.77).

The play also deals with the issue of authoritarian law and order. Many of Shakespeare's plays have characters who represent the unalterable force of the law, such as the Duke in The Comedy of Errors and Prince Escalus in Romeo and Juliet. In this play, the attempts to stop the civil disorder, and even banishes Romeo at the midpoint. However, as in The Comedy of Errors, the law again seems to be a side issue, one which cannot compete with the much stronger emotions of love and hate.

2 Short Summary

The play is set in Verona, Italy, where a feud has broken out between the families of the Montegues and the Capulets. The servants of both houses open the play with a brawling scene that eventually draws in the noblemen of the families and the city officials, including Prince Escalus.

Romeo is lamenting the fact that he is love with a woman named Rosaline, who has vowed to remain chaste for the rest of her life. He and his friend Benvolio happen to stumble across a servant of the Capulet's in the street. The servant, Peter, is trying to read a list of names of people invited to a masked party at the Capulet house that evening. Romeo helps him read the list and receives an invitation to the party.

Romeo arrives at the party in costume and falls in love with Juliet the minute he sees her. However, he is recognized by Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, who wants to kill him on the spot. Capulet intervenes and tells Tybalt that he will not disturb the party for any amount of money. Romeo manages to approach Juliet and tell her that he loves her. She and he share a sonnet and finish it with a kiss.

Juliet's Nurse tells Romeo who Juliet really is, and he is upset when he finds out he loves the daughter of Capulet. Juliet likewise finds out who Romeo is, and laments the fact that she is in love with her enemy.

Soon thereafter Romeo climbs the garden wall leading to Juliet's garden. Juliet emerges on her balcony and speaks her private thoughts out loud, imagining herself alone. She wishes Romeo could shed his name and marry her. At this, Romeo appears and tells her that he loves her. She warns him to be true in his love to her, and makes him swear by his own self that he truly loves her.

Juliet then is called inside, but manages to return twice to call Romeo back to her. They agree that Juliet will send her Nurse to meet him at nine o'clock the next day, at which point Romeo will set a place for them to be married.

The Nurse carries out her duty, and tells Juliet to meet Romeo at the chapel where Friar Laurence lives and works. Juliet goes to find Romeo, and together they are married by the Friar.

Benvolio and Mercutio, a good friend of the Montegues, are waiting on the street when Tybalt arrives. Tybalt demands to know where Romeo is so that he can challenge him to duel, in order to avenge Romeo's sneaking into the party. Mercutio is eloquently vague, but Romeo happens to arrive in the middle of the verbal bantering. Tybalt challenges him, but Romeo passively resists fighting, at which point Mercutio jumps in and draws his sword on Tybalt. Romeo tries to block the two men, but Tybalt cuts Mercutio and runs away, only to return after he hears that Mercutio has died. Romeo fights with Tybalt and kills him. When Prince Escalus arrives at the murder scene he chooses to banish Romeo from Verona forever.

The Nurse goes to tell Juliet the sad news about what has happened to Tybalt and Romeo. Juliet is heart-broken, but soon recovers when she realizes that Romeo would have been killed if he had not fought Tybalt. She sends the Nurse to find Romeo and give him her ring. Romeo comes that night and sleeps with Juliet. The next morning he is forced to leave at dusk when Juliet's mother arrives. Romeo goes to Mantua where he waits for someone to send news about Juliet or about his banishment. 3 During the night Capulet decides that Juliet should marry a young man named Paris. He and Lady Capulet go to tell Juliet that she should marry Paris, but when she refuses to obey Capulet becomes infuriated and orders her to comply with his orders. He then leaves, and is soon followed by Lady Capulet and the Nurse, whom Juliet throws out of the room, saying, "ancient damnation" (3.5.235).

Juliet then goes to Friar Laurence, who gives her a potion that will make her seem dead for at least two days. She takes the potion and drinks it that night. The next morning, the day Juliet is supposed to marry Paris, her Nurse finds her "dead" in bed. The whole house decries her suicide, and Friar Laurence makes them hurry to put her into the family vault.

Romeo's servant arrives in Mantua and tells his master that Juliet is dead and buried. Romeo hurries back to Verona. Friar Laurence discovers too late from Friar John that his message to Romeo has failed to be delivered. He rushes to get to Juliet's grave before Romeo does.

Romeo arrives at the Capulet vault and finds it guarded by Paris, who is there to mourn the loss of his betrothed. Paris challenges Romeo to a duel, and is quickly killed. Romeo then carries Paris into the grave and sets his body down. Seeing Juliet dead within the tomb, Romeo drinks some poison he has purchased and dies kissing her.

Friar Laurence arrives just as Juliet wakes up within the bloody vault. He tries to get her to come out, but when she sees Romeo dead beside her, Juliet takes his dagger and kills herself with it. The rest of the town starts to arrive, including Capulet and Montegue. Friar Laurence tells them the whole story. The two family patriarchs agree to become friends by erecting golden statues of the other's child.

Prologue

The chorus introduces the play, and tells the audience that two families in Verona have reignited an ancient feud. Two lovers, one from each family, commit suicide after trying to run away from their families. The loss of their children compels the families to end the feud.

Act One, Scene One

The servants of the Capulets are on the street waiting for some servants of the Montague's to arrive. When they do, Samson from the Capulets bites his thumb at them, essentially a strong insult. Abraham from the Montague's accepts the insult and the men start to fight.

Benvolio, Romeo's cousin, enters and makes the men stop fighting by drawing his own sword. Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, then also enters the street. Seeing Benvolio, he too draws his sword and enters the fight.

Old Capulet runs onto the stage and demands a sword so that he too may fight. His wife restrains him, even when Old Montague emerges with his sword drawn as well. The Citizens of the Watch have put up a cry, and manage to get Prince Escalus to arrive. The Prince chides them for three times before causing the street of Verona to be unsafe. He orders them to return home, and personally accompanies the Capulets.

The Montagues and Benvolio remain on stage. They ask Benvolio why Romeo was not with him, and he tells them Romeo has been in a strange mood lately. When Romeo appears, the 4 Montagues ask Benvolio to find out what is wrong, and then depart. Romeo informs Benvolio that he is in love with a woman named Rosaline who wishes to remain chaste for the rest of her life, which is why he is so depressed.

Act One, Scene Two

Paris pleads with Capulet to let him marry Juliet, who is still only a girl of thirteen. Capulet tells him to wait, but decides to allow Paris to woo her and try to win her heart. He then tells his servant Peter to take a list of names and invite the people to a masked ball he is hosting that evening.

Peter meets Romeo on the street, and being unable to read, asks Romeo to help read the list for him. Romeo does, and realizes that the girl he loves, Rosaline, will be attending this party. Peter tells him that it will be held at Capulet's house, and that his is invited if he wishes to come. Both Benvolio and Romeo decide to go.

Act One, Scene Three

Lady Capulet asks the Nurse to call for Juliet. She does, and then tells Lady Capulet that Juliet will be fourteen in under two weeks. She then digresses and speaks of how Juliet was as a child, causing both Juliet and her mother embarrassment.

The mother tells Juliet that Paris has come to marry her. She then describes Paris as being beautiful, and compares him to a fine book that only lacks a cover. Juliet does not promise anything, but agrees to at least look at the man that night at dinner.

Act One, Scene Four

Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio are making their way to the masked party. Romeo is still depressed, even though he gets to see Rosaline. Mercutio tries to cheer him up by telling a story about Queen Mab, a fictitious elf that infiltrates men's dreams. Romeo finally shushes him and comments that he is afraid of the consequences of going to this party.

Act One, Scene Five

Romeo stands to the side during the dancing, and it is from this ,spot that he first sees Juliet. He immediately falls in love with her. Tybalt sees him and recognizes him as Romeo Montague. However, before Tybalt can create a scene, Old Capulet tells him to leave Romeo alone, since it would look bad to have a brawl in the middle of the festivities.

Romeo finds Juliet and touches her hand. They speak in sonnet form to one another, and Romeo eventually gets to kiss her. However, Juliet is forced to go see her mother. The Nurse tells Romeo that Juliet is a Capulet, at which he is startled.

Juliet finds her Nurse at the end of the party and begs her to find out who Romeo is. The Nurse returns and tells her he is Romeo, the only son of the Montague family. Juliet is heart-broken that she loves a "loathed enemy" (1.5.138).

5 Analysis This play starts with a lovely sonnet, an unusual beginning given that sonnets were meant to be from a lover to his beloved. The sonnet is also a very structured form of prose, lending itself to order. Shakespeare cleverly contrasts this orderly sonnet with the immediate disorder of the first scene. The sonnet degenerates into a bunch of quarreling servants who soon provoke a fight between the houses of Montegue and Capulet.

This scene is wrought with sexual overtones, with the various servants speaking of raping the enemies women. The sexual wordplay will continue throughout the play, becoming extremely bawdy and at times offensive, yet also underlying the love affair between Romeo and Juliet.

The disorder within the play is evidenced by inverted circumstances. Servants start the quarrel, but soon draw the noblemen into the brawl. The young men enter the fight, but soon the old men try to deny their age and fight as well. The fact that this whole scene takes place in broad daylight undermines the security that is supposed to exist during the day. Thus the play deals with conflicting images: servants leading noblemen, old age pretending to be youth, day overtaking night.

The Nurse speaks of Juliet falling as a child when she relates a story to Lady Capulet. This story indirectly pertains to the rise and fall of the characters. Since this is a tragedy, the influence of wheel's fortune cannot be overlooked. Indeed, Juliet's role in the play does parallel the wheel of fortune, with her rise to the balcony and her fall to the vault.

The Nurse also foreshadows, "An I might live to see thee married once" (1.3.63). Naturally she does not expect this to be realized in so short a time, but indeed she does live to only see Juliet married once.

Romeo compares Juliet to, "a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear"(1.5.43) when he first sees her. This play on the comparison of dark and light shows up frequently in subsequent scenes. It is a central part of their love that important love scenes take place in the dark, away from the disorder of the day. Thus Romeo loves Juliet at night, but kills Tybalt during the day. It especially shows up in the first act in the way Romeo shuts out the daylight while he is pining for Rosaline.

In the fifth scene the lover's share a sonnet which uses imagery of saints and pilgrims. This relates to the fact that Romeo means Pilgrim in Italian. It is also a sacrilegious sonnet, for Juliet becomes a saint to be kissed and Romeo a holy traveler.

The foreshadowing so common in all of Shakespeare's plays comes from Juliet near the end of the first act. She states, "If he be married, / My grave is like to be my wedding bed." (1.5.132). This will be related over and over again, from her Nurse and later even from Lady Capulet.

One of the remarkable aspects of the play is the transformation of both Romeo and Juliet after they fall in love. Juliet first comes across as a young, innocent girl who obeys her parents commands. However, by the last scene she is devious and highly focused. Thus, she asks her nurse about three separate men at the party, saving Romeo for last so as not to arouse suspicion. Romeo will undergo a similar transformation in the second act, resulting in Mercutio commenting that he has become sociable.

6 There is a strange biblical reference which comes from Benvolio in the very first scene, when he attempts to halt the fight. He remarks, "Put up your swords. You know not what you do" (1.1.56). This is the same phrase used by Jesus when he stops his apostles from fighting the Roman guards during his arrest. It seems to preordain Juliet's demise, namely her three day "death" followed by a resurrection which still ultimately ends in death.

Act Two, Introduction

The chorus introduces the next act, saying that Romeo has given up his old desire for a new affection. Juliet is likewise described as being in love. Both lovers share the problem that they cannot see each other without risking death, but the chorus indicates that passion will overcome that hurdle.

Act Two, Scene One

Romeo enters and leaps over a garden wall. Mercutio and Benvolio arrive looking for Romeo, but cannot see him. Mercutio then call out to him in long speech filled with obscene wordplay. Benvolio finally gets tired of searching for Romeo, and they leave.

Romeo has meanwhile succeeded in hiding beneath Juliet's balcony. She appears on her balcony and, in this famous scene, asks, "Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" (2.1.75). She wishes that Romeo's name did not make him her enemy. Romeo, hiding below her, surprises her by interrupting and telling Juliet that he loves her.

Juliet warns Romeo that his protestations of love had better be real ones, since she has fallen in love with him and does not want to be hurt. Romeo swears by himself that he loves her, and Juliet tells him that she wishes she could give him her love again.

Juliet's Nurse calls her, and she disappears only to quickly reappear again. Juliet informs Romeo that if he truly loves her, he should propose marriage and tell her when and where to meet. The Nurse calls her a second time, and Juliet exits. Romeo is about to leave when she emerges yet a third time and calls him back.

Act Two, Scene Two

Friar Laurence is out collecting herbs when Romeo arrives. Romeo quickly tells him that he has fallen in love with Juliet Capulet. The Friar is surprised to hear that Rosaline has been forgotten about so quickly, but is delighted by the prospect of using this new love affair to unite the feuding families.

Act Two, Scene Three

Benvolio and Mercutio speak about Romeo's disappearance the night before. Benvolio tells Mercutio that Romeo did not come home at all. Romeo arrives and soon engages in a battle of wits with Mercutio, who is surprised by Romeo's quick replies. He says, "Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo" (2.3.77).

Juliet's Nurse arrives with her man Peter and asks to speak with Romeo. Mercutio starts making 7 sexual jokes about the Nurse, but finally exits with Benvolio. The Nurse tells Romeo her mistress is willing to meet him in marriage. Romeo indicates the Nurse should have Juliet meet him at Friar Laurence's place that afternoon.

Act Two, Scene Four

Juliet eagerly awaits her Nurse and news from Romeo. The Nurse finally arrives and sits down. Juliet begs her for information, but the Nurse comically refuses to tell her anything until she has settled down and gotten a back rub. She finally informs Juliet that Romeo awaits her at the chapel where Friar Laurence lives.

Act Two, Scene Five

Romeo and Friar Laurence are in the chapel waiting for Juliet to arrive. The Friar cautions Romeo to "love moderately." Juliet soon appears and Friar Laurence takes the two young lovers into the church to be married.

Analysis

The interaction and conflict of night and day is raised to new levels within the second act. Benvolio states that, "Blind is his love, and best befits the dark" (2.1.32), in reference to Romeo's passion. And when Romeo finally sees Juliet again, he wonders, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. / Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon" (2.1.44-46). Romeo then invokes the darkness as a form of protection from harm, "I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes" (2.1.117). This conflict will not end until the disorder of the day eventually overcomes the passionate nights and destroys the lives of both lovers.

It is worthwhile to note the difference between Juliet and Rosaline. Juliet is compared to the sun, and is one of the most giving characters in the play. "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, / My love as deep. The more I give thee / The more I have, for both are infinite" (2.1.175-177). Rosaline, by contrast, is said to be keeping all her beauty to herself, to die with her. This comparison is made even more evident when Romeo describes Rosaline as a Diana (the goddess of the moon) and says to Juliet, "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon" (2.1.46).

The balcony scene is more than a great lovers' meeting place. It is in fact the same as if Romeo had entered into a private Eden. He has climbed over a large wall to enter the garden, which can be viewed as a sanctuary of virginity. Thus he has invaded the only place which Juliet deems private, seeing as her room is constantly watched by the Nurse or her mother.

One of the interesting things which Shakespeare frequently has his characters do is swear to themselves. For instance, when Romeo tries to swear by the moon, Juliet remarks that the moon waxes and wanes, and is too variable. Instead, she says, "Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self" (2.1.155). Shakespeare often has characters encouraged to be true to themselves first, as a sign that only then can they be true to others..

Again, note the change in Juliet's behavior. Whereas she used to obey the authority of her nurse, she now disappears twice, and twice defies authority and reappears. This is a sure sign of her emerging independence, and is a crucial factor in understanding her decision to marry Romeo and defy her parents. 8

There is a strong conflict between the uses of silver and gold throughout the action. "How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night" (2.1.210) and "Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, /That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops" (2.1.149-50). Silver is often invoked as a symbol of love and beauty. Gold, on the other hand, is often used ironically and as a sign of greed or desire. Rosaline is thus described as being immune to showers of gold, which almost seem to be a bribe. When Romeo is banished, he comments that banishment is a "golden axe," meaning that death would have been better and that banishment is merely a euphemism for the same thing. And finally, the erection of the statues of gold at the end is even more a sign of the fact that neither Capulet nor Montegue has really learned anything from the loss of their children.

One of the central issues is the difference between youth and old age. Friar Laurence acts as Romeo's confidant, and the Nurse advises for Juliet. However, both have advice that seems strangely out of place given the circumstances of the play. For instance, Friar Laurence says to Romeo, "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast" (2.2.94). He also advises Romeo to "Therefore love moderately" (2.5.9). The insanity of this plea to love "moderately" is made ludicrous by the rapid events which follow. In fact, by the end of the play we even see Friar Laurence rejecting his own advice and stumbling to reach Juliet's grave before Romeo can find her. "How oft tonight have my old feet stumbled at graves?" (5.3.123).

Act Three, Scene One

Benvolio and Mercutio are on a street in Verona waiting for Romeo to arrive. While there, Tybalt and Petruccio see them and come over to provoke a quarrel. Tybalt is expressly looking to find Romeo, whom he want to punish for sneaking into the masked party the previous day.

Romeo arrives and tries to be submissive to Tybalt by telling him that he harbors no hatred of the Capulet house. Tybalt is unsure how to deal with Romeo, but since Mercutio is provoking him to a duel, he draws his sword and attacks Mercutio. Romeo draws his sword and intervenes too late to stop Tybalt from stabbing Mercutio. Tybalt and Petruccio then exit the area.

Mercutio leaves the stage with Benvolio, who soon returns to tell Romeo that Mercutio has died. Romeo vows revenge on Tybalt, who soon reappears to fight with him. In the duel, Romeo kills Tybalt. Benvolio tells Romeo to run away before the Prince arrives.

The Prince, followed by the Montague and Capulet families, shows up at the scene. Benvolio tells him the entire story, but the Prince refuses to believe Romeo is guiltless. He banishes Romeo from Verona, threatening to kill him should he return.

Act Three, Scene Two

Juliet delivers one of the most elegant soliloquys in the play about Romeo, whom she is hoping to receive news about. Her Nurse enters with the news of Tybalt's death and Romeo's banishment, but as in the previous scene refuses to immediately tell Juliet what she knows. Instead, the nurse lets Juliet believe that it is Romeo who has been killed.

When the Nurse finally reveals the truth to Juliet, Juliet immediately chides Romeo for pretending to be peaceful when in fact he is able to kill Tybalt. She then recants, and tell the Nurse, "Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?" (3.2.97). Juliet laments the fact that Romeo has been banished, and indicates that she would rather have both her parents killed then see Romeo banished. 9

The Nurse promises to go find Romeo and bring him to Juliet's bed that night. She tells Juliet that he is hiding with Friar Laurence. Juliet gives the Nurse a ring for Romeo to wear when he comes to see her that night. Act Three, Scene Three

Friar Laurence tells Romeo that he is banished from Verona, and that he should be happy that the Prince was willing to commute the death sentence. Romeo considers banishment worse than death, because it means that he can never see Juliet again. When the Friar tries to console him, Romeo says, "Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love.../ Then mightst thou speak" (3.3.65/68).

The nurse enters and finds Romeo on the ground weeping. She tells him to stand up. Romeo is so upset by the events that he starts to stab himself, but the Nurse snatches away the dagger. Friar Laurence tells Romeo that he should be happy, since he and Juliet are still alive and want to see each other. The Friar then gets Romeo to go see Juliet that night, with the expectation that Romeo will run away to Mantua the next morning.

Act Three, Scene Four

The Capulets and Paris are preparing for bed, even though it is almost morning. Old Capulet decides right then that Juliet will marry Paris. He comments, "I think she will be ruled / In all respects by me" (3.4.13-4). He tells Lady Capulet to speak to Juliet about the matter immediately before going to bed. Romeo and Juliet are in her bedroom as daylight approaches. They pretend for a short minute that it really is still the night, but the Nurse arrives to tell Juliet her mother approaches. Romeo descends from the balcony to the ground and bids her goodbye.

Lady Capulet tells Juliet she has news to cheer her up, namely the planned wedding with Paris. Juliet tells her that she would sooner marry Romeo rather than Paris. Capulet himself enters and becomes furious when Juliet refuses to marry Paris. He calls Juliet "young baggage" and orders her to prepare to marry Paris the upcoming Thursday.

Lady Capulet refuses to help Juliet, and even the Nurse tells her that Paris is a fine gentleman whom she should marry. Juliet kicks out her Nurse and prepares to visit Friar Laurence. As the Nurse leaves, Juliet calls her, "Ancient damnation!" (3.5.235).

Analysis

Mercutio leads the action in this most dramatic of the five acts. When wounded, he cries out "A plague o' both your houses"(3.1.101), saying it three times to ensure that it becomes a curse. Indeed, it is the plague which causes the final death of both Romeo and Juliet. Friar John says that he was unable to deliver the letter to Romeo because, "the searchers of the town, / Suspecting that we both were in a house / Where the infectious pestilence did reign, / Sealed up the doors, and would not let us forth" (5.2.8-11).

One of the most beautiful soliloquys is that of Juliet when she beckons for nightfall, again representing the contrast to the disorder of the day's events. "Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night, / Give me my Romeo, and when he shall die/ Take him and cut him out in little stars, / And he will make the face of heaven so fine / That all the world will be in love with night / And pay no worship to the garish sun" (3.2.20-25). 10

The Nurse's arrival in this act with information about Romeo and Tybalt reinforces the fact that this is now a tragedy, not a comedy. This can be seen in the contrast of this scene with the first scene where the Nurse withholds information from Juliet. In the first scene, the Nurse is playfully devious in telling Juliet about where Romeo wants to meet her for their marriage. Now however, the same playfulness is no longer comic, rather it is infuriating. In this sense Shakespeare turns the Nurse from a comic character into a tragic character, one who cannot realize the importance of what she is saying.

Juliet's dedication to Romeo emerges very strongly at this point. At first she derides Romeo for killing Tybalt, but she soon has a change of heart and says, "Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?" (3.2.97). She then states that she would sacrifice ten thousand Tybalts to be with Romeo, and later includes her parents in the list of people she would rather lose than Romeo. This dedication to a husband or lover is something which emerges frequently in Shakespeare, and is a point he tries to emphasize.

Romeo's misery at being banished is clearly shown in his preference for death. "Then 'banished' / Is death mistermed. Calling death 'banished' / Thou cutt'st my head off with a golden axe" (3.3.20-22). Friar Laurence tries to show him that by being alive he at least still has a chance to see Juliet again. Even the Nurse, entering where Romeo is hiding, says, "Stand up, stand up, stand an you be a man" (3.3.88).

The analysis of the first act introduced the image of the wheel of fortune. This was applied to Juliet, who throughout the previous acts rose from a humble daughter to become a strong woman standing on a balcony, and completely in charge of her situation. However, at this juncture the Nurse informs Romeo that Juliet "down falls again" (3.3.101) as a result of his banishment and her loss of Tybalt. Later, Juliet takes this image even further, saying, "Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low / As one dead in the bottom of a tomb" (3.5.55-6).

This of course also is integrated with the foreshadowing so common in Shakespeare's plays. Lady Capulet comments about Juliet's refusal to marry Paris that, "I would the fool were married to her grave" (3.5.140). This phrase will of course come true quite soon, when Juliet dies while still married to Romeo.

The conflict between the older generation and the younger comes to head in the final scene of act three. The Nurse advocates that Juliet forget about Romeo and instead focus on Paris, the virtues of whom she proceeds to extol. Juliet, poisoningly sweet in her sarcasm, sends the Nurse away from her for the first time, remarking, "Ancient damnation!" (3.5.235), both a reference to the Nurse's age and to the problems she must deal with. This leaves Juliet completely alone to face the hostile world.

Act Four, Scene One

Paris is speaking with Friar Laurence about the wedding with Juliet. Friar Laurence, aware that Juliet cannot marry Romeo, is full of misgivings.

Juliet enters and is forced to speak with Paris, who acts arrogant now that the marriage is going to happen. Juliet rebuffs him by giving vague answers to his questions. She finally asks Friar Laurence if she can meet with him alone, meaning that Paris has to leave.

Friar Laurence comes up with a rash plan to get Romeo and Juliet together. He gives Juliet a 11 poison which will make her appear dead to the world. In this way, rather than marry Paris, she will instead be placed in the vault where all deceased Capulets are buried. Friar Laurence will then send a letter to Romeo, telling him what is being done so that he can return and sneak Juliet out of the tomb and also away from Verona. Act Four, Scene Two

Juliet arrives home and tells her father that she has repented her sin of being disobedient to him. He pardons her and happily sends her off to prepare her clothes for the wedding day. Capulet then goes to tell Paris that Juliet will marry him willingly.

Act Four, Scene Three

Juliet convinces both her mother and the Nurse that she wants to sleep alone that night. She prepares to drink the poison that Friar Laurence gave her, but cautiously puts a knife next to her bed in case the potion should fail to work. Juliet then drinks the potion and falls motionless onto her bed.

Act Four, Scene Four

The Nurse goes to fetch Juliet but instead finds her lying dead. Lady Capulet enters and also starts lamenting her daughter's demise. Capulet then arrives and, discovering his daughter has committed suicide, orders the music to change to funeral tunes.

Act Five, Scene One

Romeo has had a dream in which Juliet finds him dead which has disturbed him. His servant Balthasar arrives in Mantua from Verona with news that Juliet is dead. Romeo immediately orders him to bring a post horse so that he can return to Verona and see her for himself. Romeo then finds a poverty stricken apothecary and pays him for some poison.

Act Five, Scene Two

Friar John arrives to tell Friar Laurence that he was unable to deliver the letter to Romeo. His excuse is that some people were afraid he carried the pestilence (the plague) and refused to let him out of a house. Friar Laurence realizes that this destroys his plans, and orders a crowbar so that he can go rescue Juliet from the grave.

Act Five, Scene Three

Romeo and Balthasar arrive at Juliet's tomb, where Paris is standing watch to ensure no one tries to rob the vault. Paris sees Romeo and fights him, but is killed in the process. His page then runs off to fetch the city watchmen.

Romeo opens up the tomb and sees Juliet. He sits down next to her, takes a cup and fills it with the poison, then drinks it and dies kissing Juliet. Friar Laurence arrives only seconds later and discovers that Paris has been killed by Romeo.

Juliet awakes and finds Romeo dead beside her, with the cup of poison still next to him. She kisses him, hoping some of the poison will kill her as well. Friar Laurence pleads with her to 12 come out of the vault, but instead Juliet chooses to kill herself with Romeo's dagger.

At this point the watchmen arrive, along with the Prince,Montague and Capulet. Friar Laurence tells them the story as he, knows it, and Balthasar gives the Prince a letter written by Romeo which verifies the story. Montague, in order to make mamends for Juliet's death, tells them he will erect a golden statue of her in Verona for all to see. Not to be outdone, Capulet promises the same of Romeo. The Prince ends the play with the words, "For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." (5.3.308-9)

Analysis

Much in the way that the characters in Richard III dream about their fates in the final act of that play, Romeo too has a dream which tells of his fate. "I dreamt my lady came and found me dead" (5.1.6). The use of dreams is meant to foreshadow, but also heightens the dramatic elements of the tragedy by irrevocably sealing the character's fate.

When Romeo goes to the Apothecary to buy his poison, it is as if he were buying the poison from Death himself. Note the description of the Apothecary, "Meagre were his looks. / Sharp misery had worn him to the bones" (5.1.40-1). He is clearly an image of Death. Romeo pays him in gold, saying, "There is thy gold - worse poison to men's souls" (5.1.79).

This description of gold ties into the conflict between gold and silver. It is gold that underlies the family feuding, even after the death of both Romeo and Juliet when Capulet and Montegue try to outbid each other in the size of their golden statues. Thus for Romeo gold really is a form of poison, since it has helped to kill him.

The analysis of the first act pointed out some of the numerous sexual references throughout the play. In the final death scene there is even the full force of the erotic element. Romeo drinks from a chalise, a cup with a shape that is often compared to the torso of a woman. Meanwhile Juliet says, "O happy dagger, /This is thy sheath! There rust, and let me die" (5.3.169). The dagger is of course Romeo's, and the sexual overtones are starkly clear. In addition to this, there is ambiguity about the use of the word "die." To die actually had two meanings when Shakespeare was writing, meaning either real death or sexual intercourse. Thus, even at the very end of the play, we cannot be sure from the words alone whether Juliet is committing suicide or engaging in sexual relations with Romeo.

A final comment concerns Friar Laurence. His actions at the end of the play are remarkable for a holy man because he attempts to play God. Friar Laurence gets Juliet to drink a potion which puts her to sleep, faking death, and then he tries to resurrect her. In his attempt to play God, Friar Laurence is condemned to fail by the simple arrogance of his act. This tie-in with the death of Christ would not have escaped the Christian audiences watching the play.

Cast of Characters 13

Romeo Montague, the young man who falls in love with Juliet Capulet.

Montague, the father of Romeo.

Lady Montague, the mother of Romeo.

Benvolio, the nephew of Romeo's father.

Abraham, a servingman of the Montagues.

Balthasar, Romeo's man.

Friar Laurence, Romeo's older friend who is involved in their attempt to run away, he provides the sleeping potion.

Juliet Capulet, the young girl who falls in love with Romeo Montague.

Capulet, the father of Juliet.

Lady Capulet, the mother of Juliet.

Tybalt, the nephew of Juliet's mother.

Pertruccio, the page of Tybalt.

Capulet's Cousin Nurse, the nurse of Juliet, and the woman she turns to for advice and help.

Peter, a servingman of the Capulets.

Samson, a servingman of the Capulets.

Gregory, a servingman of the Capulets.

Servingmen, additional servingmen.

Prince Escalus, the Prince of Verona, he provides for law and order.

Mercutio, a kinsmen to Prince Escalus.

Count Paris, a suitor of Juliet.

Page, a page to Paris.

Musicians Friar John Apothecary Chief Watchman Citizens of the Watch Chorus

Act I 14

Scene 1

1.Notice the series of anthesis (anthesis - a contrast of ideas expressed by parallelism of strongly contrasted words) in the following lines:

"Here is much to do with hate, but more with love, Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate, Of anything, of nothing first create! O heavy lightness, serious vanity, Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms, Feather of lead, bright-smoke; cold fire, sick health, Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this."

What does this reveal about Romeo?

Scene 2

1.What is Capulet trying to tell Paris?

"My child is yet a stranger in the world, She hath not seen the change of fourteen years. Let two more summers wither in their pride Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride."

2.What is Paris' argument? Quote the line which supports your answer.

3.What does Capulet mean in, "And too soon marred are those so early made."

4.What is the meaning of:

"At my poor house look to behold tonight Earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light..."

5.Explain:

"Such comfort as do lusty young men feel When well-apparelled April on the heel Of limping Winter treads..."

6.What does the servant mean when he says:

"...and if you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray come and crush a cup of wine."

Scene 3

1.In a few sentences summarize the conversation between Juliet, her mother, and the nurse.

Scene 4 15

1.What does Romeo mean in the following lines?

"I am too sore empierced with his shaft To soar with his light feathers; and so bound I cannot bound a pitch above dull woe."

What is the allusion in "shaft"? (Allusion - implied or direct reference) What is the play on the word "bound"?

2.What do the following lines show about Romeo's state of mind?

"I fear, too early, for my mind misgives Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars, Shall bitterly begin, his fearful date With this night's revels and expire term Of a despised life, closed in my breast, By some vile forfeit of untimely death."

3.What do these lines show about Romeo's belief in fate?

"But he that has the steerage of my course Direct my sail."

Scene 5

1.Who is speaking the lines below and to whom do these lines refer? What do the speakers mean? Give the numbers of the lines.

a."...Verona brags him To be a virtuous and well-governed youth. I would not for the wealth of all this town Here in my house do him disparagement." (Lines ______)

b."Patience perforce with willful choler meeting Makes my flesh tremble in their difference greeting." (Lines ______)

c."...If he be married, My grave is like to be my wedding bed." (Lines ______)

d."My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!" (Lines ______)

Act II 16

Scene 1

1.Briefly sum up what takes place in this scene.

Scene 2

1.What time is it when Juliet appears at her window? Quote the lines which support your answer.

2.What does Juliet deplore in the following line?

"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?"

What does she wish Romeo to do in this line?

"Deny thy father and refuse thy name."

3.Who says the following? What is meant? Give the numbers of the lines.

a."O that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek." (Lines ______)

b."What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet." (Lines ______)

c."...Look thou but sweet, And I am proof against their enmity." (Lines ______)

d."I have no joy of this contract tonight. It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; Too like the lightning..." (Lines ______)

Scene 3

1.What is the meaning of the following passages? Paraphrase in modern English.

a.The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night, Check'ring the Eastern clouds with streaks of light; And flecked darkness like a drunkard reels From forth day's path and Titan's fiery wheels. Now, ere the sun advance his burning eve The day to cheer and night's dank dew to dry, I must up-fill this osier cage of ours With baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers." (Lines 1-9)

b."O mickle is the powerful grace that lies In plants, herbs, stones, and their true qualities. For naught so vile that on the earth doth live But to the earth some special good doth give." (Lines 15-18)

c."With Rosaline, my ghostly father? No. 17 I have forgot that name and that name's woe." (Lines 46-46)

d."Young men's love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes." (Lines 67-68)

e."Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast." (Line 94)

Scene 4

1.What is the letter that Tybalt sent to Romeo's father?

2.How does Benvolio mean that Romeo will answer the letter?

3.What does Mercutio mean when he says, "Alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead!"

4.List the traits which Mercutio attributes to Tybalt in his description to Benvolio.

5.According to Romeo, what sort of youth is Mercutio? Quote the lines which support your answer.

6.Explain:

"...to lead into a fool's paradise."

7.Which message does Romeo give the nurse in the following lines:

"Bid her devise Some means to come to shrift this afternoon, And there she shall at Friar Laurence' cell Be shrived and married." (Lines 169-172)

Scene 5

1.What time of day is it?

2.How long has the Nurse been gone on her errand to Romeo?

3.Quote the lines which show Juliet's impatience.

Scene 6

1.What does Friar Laurence mean,

"So smile the heavens upon this holy act That after-hours with sorrow chide us not!" (Lines 1-2)

2.What does q1 tell us about the Friar's state of mind?

3.Is Romeo fearful of the future? Explain the following lines:

"Then love-devouring death do what he dare It is enough I may but call her mine." (Lines 7-8) 18

4.What is the Friar's warning in the lines:

"These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die like fire and powder, Which, as they kiss, consume." (Lines 9-10)

5.What is the Friar's advice to Romeo in the following lines?

"Therefore love moderately: long love doth so: Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow." (Lines 14-15)

6.What is the Friar's meaning in lines 35-37?

"Come, come with me and we will make short work; For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone Till Holy Church incorporate two in one."

Act III

Scene 1

1.What do the following lines foreshadow?

"I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire. The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, And, if we meet, we shall not 'scape a brawl, For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring." (Lines 1-4)

2.What does Mercutio tell us about Benvolio in the lines 15-29? Explain.

3.What does Romeo remind Mercutio and Tybalt about in the following lines:

"Tybalt, Mercutio, the Prince expressly hath Forbid this bandying in Verona streets." (Lines 86-87)

4.Explain "a grave man". (Line 96) What figure of speech is used? What is the meaning?

5.Explain the following lines:

"This gentleman, the Prince's near ally, My very friend, hath got his mortal hurt In my behalf - my reputation stained With Tybalt's slander - Tybalt, that an hour Hath been my cousin. O sweet Juliet, Thy beauty hath made me effeminate And in my temper soft'ned valor's steel!" (Lines 107-113)

6.What do the following lines foreshadow?

"Romeo, away, be gone! The citizens are us, and Tybalt slain. 19 Stand not amazed. The prince will doom thee death If thou art taken. Hence, be gone, away!" (Lines 130-134)

7.Who says these lines?

8.What does Benvolio tell Romeo and why?

9.What does the Prince mean in the lines which state:

"But I'll amerce you with so strong a fine That you shall all repent the loss of mine."

10.What is the Prince's loss?

11.What does the Prince promise to do if Romeo is found?

12.What does this line mean?

"Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill."

How does it apply to the "capital punishment" issue in politics today?

Scene 2

1.Explain the classical allusions in lines 2 and 3.

2.Explain the words:

a.cockatrice (line 47) b.bier (line 60) c.serpent (line 73)

3.What is Juliet's first reaction when learning of Tybalt's death?

4.What does Nurse think of men in general? Quote the lines which support your answer.

5.What is Juliet's reaction when Nurse curses Romeo? Quote.

6.Where is Romeo hiding?

Scene 3

1.Explain Romeo's statement:

"Tis torture, and not mercy." (Line 29)

2.Which solution to his despair is Romeo contemplating? Quote the lines which support your answer.

20

3.The Friar proposes to give Romeo "Adversity's sweet milk" (Line 55). What is it? But Romeo does not want to listen. The Friar makes the statement that ... (Line 61) Romeo reports that ... (line 62)

4."A pack of blessings light upon thy back;" (Line 141) List the 3 blessings.

Scene 4

1.Explain what is decided in this short scene.

Scene 5 1.Explain the line: "I must be gone and live, or stay and die." (Line 11)

2.In Greek mythology what is "Cynthia"?

3.Explain the meaning of "affray".

4.Juliet has a vision. Who does she see and what does she see?

5.What does Lady Capulet mean in the following:

"Some grief shows much of love; But much of grief shows still some want of wit." (Lines 73-74)

6.What is Lady Capulet actually wishing in the line:

"I would the fool were married to her grave!? (Line 141)

7.What is a "hurdle"? (Line 156)

8.What are Capulet's feelings towards his daughter when she refuses to take Paris for a husband? Quote the lines which support your answer.

9.What is Capulet's threat in lines 190-196?

10.Is Lady Capulet willing to intercede (to speak in favor of Juliet)? Quote.

11.At the end of Act III, Scene 5, where does Juliet go?

12.If the Friar is not able to help, what does she plan to do? Quote lines in support.

Act IV 21

Scene 1

1.How does Paris explain the hasty marriage to the Friar?

2.Explain what Juliet is preparing to do in order to escape marriage to Paris.

3.Explain what the Friar propose to Juliet.

Scene 2

1.Capulet calls his own daughter: " peevish self-willed harlotry" (Line 14). This means what?

2.Capulet says: "I'll have this knot knit up tomorrow morning." (Line 24). What day is Juliet to get married? What day had originally been chosen?

3.Explain Capulet's state of mind in the following lines:

"My heart is wondrous light, Since this same wayward girl is so reclaimed." (Line 46-47)

Scene 3

1.In this scene what does Juliet do?

2.Which lines show Juliet's apprehension before carrying out the Friar's plan?

3.Which four things does Juliet fear? Quote the lines which support your answers.

4.Quote the line which shows Juliet's devotion to Romeo.

Scene 4

1.Explain the term "cot-queen" (Line 6) Who is called thus, and by whom?

2.In one sentence, summarize this scene.

Scene 5

1.Who first finds Juliet? Describe Juliet's condition.

2.What does Capulet mean in lines 38-39?

"Death is my son-in-law, death is my heir; My daughter he hath wedded."

3.What does Lady Capulet grieve over in the lines:

"But one, poor one, one poor and loving child, But one thing to rejoice and solace in, And cruel Death hath catched it from my sight." (Lines 46-48) 22

4. How does the Friar try to comfort Juliet's parents? Summarize briefly his arguments in lines 65-83.

5.What does the Friar mean in lines 94-95?

"The heavens do low'r upon you for some ill; Move them no more by crossing their high will."

6.At the end of Act IV what event takes place?

Act V

Scene 1 1.Who is Balthasar?

2.Which news does Romeo expect?

3.Which news does Balthasar bring?

4.Explain the term "apothecary."

5.Was there a law in Mantua which controlled the sale of certain drugs? Quote the line which is proof.

6.What does Romeo mean in lines 80-81?

"There is thy gold, worse poison to men's souls, Doing more murder in this loathsome world, Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not sell."

Scene 2

1.Why was Friar John detained? Quote the line which supports your answer.

2.Did Friar John deliver the letter to Romeo?

3.Which two things will Friar Laurence do?

Scene 3

1.Define the words:

a.obsequies (line 16) b.inauspicious stars (line 111) c.discern (line 126) d.sepulchre (line 140)

23 2. Explain:

"A greater power than we can contradict Hath thwarted our intents. Come, come away. Thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead; And Paris too. Come, I'll dispose of thee Among a sisterhood of holy nuns." (Lines 153-157)

3.List in point form all the events which take place in Scene 3.

4.Explain:

"We see the ground whereon these woes do lie, But the true ground of all these piteous woes We cannot without circumstance descry." (Lines 179-181)

5.Explain:

"Till we can clear these ambiguities And know their spring, their lead, their true descent;" (Lines 217-218)

6.What is Friar Laurence proposing in lines 266-269?

"...and if aught in this

Miscarried by my fault, let my old life Be sacrificed, some hour before his time, Unto the rigor of severest law."

7.What does the Prince mean?

"...Capulet, Montague, See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love." (Lines 291-293)

8.What does Capulet realize when he says: "Poor sacrifices of our enmity." (Line 304)

Romeo and Juliet Class Lessons 24

Begin this lesson by having students turn to the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet at the Capulet ball, in Act I, Scene 5 (lines 95-112 in the Signet edition).

Point out to students that these lines make up a sonnet, followed by a sonnet quatrain. Review briefly the distinction between a Shakespearean or English sonnet, which divides its 14 lines into three quatrains and a couplet, with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg; and a Petrarchan sonnet, which divides its 14 lines into an eight line octave and a six line sestet, with the rhyme scheme abbaabbacdecde. Remind students that the sonnet form was developed by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch, who established the custom of presenting a problem, situation, or incident in the octave, followed by are solution in the sestet. In Petrarch's work, these were usually problems, situations, and incidents arising from his love for the unattainable Laura, and when English poets began imitating Petrarch's sonnets in the early 16th century, they continued this thematic focus on the pleasures and frustrations of love. But English poets eventually developed a more flexible sonnet form which could be divided into octave and sestet, in the manner of Petrarch, or into three quatrain-length variations on a theme followed by an epigrammatic couplet. Ask students why a sonnet is an appropriate poetic form with which to bring the two lovers together in Shakespeare's play? What did poets typically use sonnets for at the time when Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet, in the early 1590s? Provide students with a sample of Elizabethan sonnet writing to help them recognize the significance of Shakespeare's use of this poetic form -- for example, "Sonnet I" in Samuel Daniel's sonnet sequence, Delia, which was published in 1592. Call attention to Daniel's use of "conceit" in this sonnet. A conceit is an extended metaphoric comparison that establishes parallels between two seemingly dissimilar things or situations. Petrarch established the practice of including conceits in sonnets by using elaborate comparisons to praise his lady's beauty and portray his own suffering. In "Sonnet I," Daniel continues this tradition by describing himself first as a river drawn to the ocean of his lady's beauty and later as a business ledger in which his lady may see how much emotion he has invested in her. Finally, call students' attention to the name Daniel has chosen for his lady, "Delia," which is an anagram of "Ideal." Like most ladies in Elizabethan love sonnets, she is indeed a distant ideal, more inspirational than attainable, ennobling his verse with her virtue and beauty. Now have students look at what Shakespeare has made of these conventions in his play. First ask students to explain Romeo's conceit of pilgrimage: what is a pilgrimage? who is the pilgrim here? who is the holy saint? How does the conceit characterize the relationship between the two soon-to-be-lovers? How does the wittiness and word-play with which they develop the conceit play off against their metaphoric roles? To what extent is Romeo really the unworthy suitor of the sonnet tradition? To what extent is Juliet really the idealized paragon of virtue? Call students' attention to the balanced division of lines between them in their sonnet. How does this contrast with the poetic tradition of a lover addressing his unresponsive lady? Whose sonnet is this, in the end? Look finally at the "extra" quatrain that follows Romeo and Juliet's sonnet. How does the playful exchange of "sins" here look forward to the tragic outcome of the play? How does Juliet's closing, "You kiss by the book," reflect back on this little episode? What does she mean? that Romeo is following the sonneteers' recipe for courtship too diligently? that he is taking her words too literally? that his kisses are somehow make-believe, like sonnet conceits? How does her stepping out of their conceit with this line characterize her role in their relationship? How does it look forward to her actions later in the play?

As usual, Shakespeare's poetic artistry in this passage is only half the story. To explore the drama he has built into these lines, have two student volunteers act this episode, taking direction from members of the class. 25 Ask students what actions fit these words? For example, what is Romeo doing as he speaks his first four lines? Perhaps more importantly, what is Juliet doing -- how does he catch and hold her attention? how does she react? what is the exchange of gestures in this first moment of their relationship? Have students experiment to find a way of playing Romeo's first lines that sets the stage for Juliet to enter into the conceit and extend it with her answering quatrain. Proceed in this detailed way through the remaining fourteen lines of the episode, encouraging students to draw from Shakespeare's verse the implicit stage directions for this key moment of his drama. How does he bring the relationship written into the imagery and word-play of his poetry to life on the stage? Are the lovers caught up in their conceit, or do they speak with a tone of self-awareness, using the conceit as a way of signaling their intentions to one another? Focus especially on the dynamics of the two kisses in the episode, the first marked by stillness ("Then move not"), the second by impulse ("Give me my sin again"). How far has the relationship moved between these two moments? How does this "extra" kiss reflect back on the elaborate build-up to the first one? How does it look forward to the impulsiveness that will lead to tragedy later in the play? Acting this episode brings out the importance of Juliet's closing line, "You kiss by the book." In the text, this can seem a throwaway; on stage, it is clearly the clincher. Have students experiment with a variety of ways Juliet might deliver the line, in order to notice how it characterizes her relationship with and attitude toward Romeo. (Her tone and manner might be anything from a dreamy "You really know how to kiss!" to a sarcastic "You've got a lot to learn about kissing.") Help students notice, too, that by giving her this last line, Shakespeare has effectively given her control over the episode, made her step out of their charade and comment on it. What does this suggest about her character as compared to Romeo's? What does it suggest about the tone and manner in which she should speak the line?

To gauge the full dramatic effect of the sonnet Shakespeare created for the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet, it is necessary to see it in the context of the action surrounding it at the Capulet ball. Have student volunteers take the roles of Capulet, Tybalt, Romeo, Juliet, and the Nurse, and read the scene from Capulet's "Go to, go to!" through Romeo's couplet, "Is she a Capulet?/O dear account! My life is my foe's debt" (Act I, Scene 5, lines 84-120). Call attention to the fact that, while all these characters speak in verse, each speaks in a distinctive poetic style. Have students describe each style and explain how Shakespeare achieves it. What makes Capulet's speech seem naturalistic and near to prose? What makes Tybalt's pair of couplets seem exceptionally formal, almost posed, like a stage villain's aside? What gives the Nurse's short speech a prosy, talkative tone? As your student volunteers read through the scene, ask the class to note the effect of the shifts in tone that Shakespeare has built into it. How do the formal verse forms of Tybalt and the lovers stand off against the more naturalistic verse of Capulet and the Nurse? How do the verse forms of these younger characters in the scene stand off against one another? In what sense are the characters who speak in formal poetry spotlighted by their words? To what degree does the extended formality of Romeo and Juliet's meeting -- and their action within that formality --deepen the poetic lighting of their moment together? Divide the class into study groups and have each develop a stage interpretation of this short passage in Romeo and Juliet, based on the dramatic effects Shakespeare creates through poetic style and verse form. Encourage students to imagine in detail how this stretch of action might be performed, to play out various scenarios in their discussions. When they have finished, have each group share its staging, and then debate as a class which ideas seem to capture best what Shakespeare aimed to achieve on the Elizabethan stage.  Conclude this lesson by having students work individually or in groups tofind other moments in Romeo and Juliet where Shakespeare spotlights the action through poetic form and language. Students might look at the balcony scene (Act II, Scene 2), the bedroom scene (Act III, Scene 5, which is modeled on the aubade, a lyric of dawn-parting), the tomb scene (Act V, Scene 3), etc.

26 Have students prepare production notes for their chosen scene, explaining how they would direct the action, with special attention to how they would have their actors perform the richly poetic language Shakespeare gives them. Should the characters seem exalted by this language? Should they seem always to not quite measure up to their high-flown words? Should they seem, like Juliet leaving Romeo at the ball, somehow independent of this poetic language, as if endowed with a life of their own? Study Guide for Franco Zeffirelli Film & Play 27

Romeo and Juliet are often considered the archetypal lovers, and at one time "a romeo"--meaning a lover--was a common noun. Several operas and ballets have been based on the story. The play also contains some of Shakespeare's most-quoted lines, and some of the most beautiful.

Although Shakespeare's dialogue often reads beautifully enough on the page, please keep in mind that he never intended his words to be read. This is a script for performance, and our study of it will prepare us for a version of the real thing: the film version directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Like all productions, it is an interpretation, leaving some things out, putting others in, placing emphases differently than other productions. Your goal in this assignment should be to familiarize (or refamiliarize) yourself with exactly what Shakespeare wrote so that you can observe what it is Zeffirelli has done with it.

Shakespeare wrote almost no original plots. (Sorry, Shakespeare in Love is pure fiction.) He used an English poetic retelling of an old Italian tale: Arthur Brooke's The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet. Despite its Italian setting, the language, attitudes, and customs are generally English. In one respect, Shakespeare altered the story in a way which is shocking to modern audiences: he lowered Juliet's age from sixteen to just under fourteen. There are several reasons he might have done so. Boys played the female roles in Shakespeare's theater, and they might have been more convincing as young girls than as more mature women (though audiences presumably found a boy playing Cleopatra or Lady Macbeth satisfactory). Shakespeare emphasizes the over-hastiness and premature nature of this love affair and probably felt he was underlining this theme at a time when marriage at fifteen was considered by no means shocking, though marriage at eighteen or twenty was in fact much more common. Shakespeare was notoriously inept at depicting children in his plays and he may not have had a really clear idea of what a fourteen-year-old girl would be like. Finally, the fact that the story is Italian may have fitted in with Northern European prejudices about hot-blooded early-maturing Southerners. However we imagine her, Juliet is given some of the most brilliant and memorable lines in the play, and is notable for her courage and wit.

Italian cities were infamous for their long-lasting, deadly feuds between prominent families. Elizabeth, like most absolute monarchs, abhorred dueling and feuding and tried to suppress it. Shakespeare's play is in part his contribution to her "just say no" campaign against such conflicts.

Prologue

Modern taste prefers not to be told right at the beginning of a play how it will end; but many in Shakespeare's audience already knew the story and were looking to enjoy how well it was told, not seeking to be surprised by original plot turns.

Act I: Scene 1

The Elizabethans delighted in word-play, especially puns. Much of this seems labored and dull to modern readers, but imagine it as a game in which actors are flinging out their lines at a smart pace with the audience scrambling to follow and untangle the word-play in a sort of contest between playwright and audience. The slow delivery and heavy emphasis which many modern actors bring to these lines is utterly alien to their original spirit. This early scene between the servants of the Capulets and Montagues illustrates the foolishness of the quarrel between the two families. The sexual punning begins in ll. 25-35 and continues throughout the play. The love of

28 Romeo and Juliet, although idealized, is rooted in passionate sexuality. The Victorian ideal of "pure," non-sexual romantic love has not yet evolved. In this play there are crude allusions to sex and exalted ones, but the erotic is never very far under the surface.

"Benvolio" means "good will," and he is obviously more congenial (or "benevolent") than the irascible Tybalt. Note how Lady Capulet mocks her husband's eagerness to join the combat at l. 83 and Lady Montague similarly tries to hold her husband back. Although Zeffirelli does not use these lines, he does build upon the attitudes hinted at in a few spots to create tension between the Capulets. Elizabethan audiences loved elaborate sword-play, and a stage direction like they fight conveys little of what might have been very prolonged and complex stage action. Why do you suppose the Prince is so strongly opposed to this sort of feuding?

Montague's description of Romeo's melancholy fits exactly contemporary ideas of lovesickness. Thus far, Shakespeare is following tradition. His original contribution will come in contrasting Romeo's mooning over Rosaline with the fresh, spontaneous passion which Juliet will inspire in him. It is much more difficult for modern audiences to detect the contrast between these two moods, but it is important to be aware that Shakespeare intends a contrast, and a sharp one. The many oxymorons in Romeo's speech are clichés, meant to evoke his callow, stereotypical attitude toward love. The sexual metaphor at l. 193 is a good example of how far Shakespeare will go to insert erotic allusions into the most unlikely places. The theme (ll. 234-236) that it is a shame for a beautiful young person not to reproduce is worked out at great length in the famous and controversial "procreation sonnets." What are the most extreme and extravagant things that Romeo has to say about Rosaline?

Act I: Scene 2

Note that Capulet is perfectly aware of what modern medicine has confirmed: early teenaged pregnancies are dangerous to the mother. This fact may have been somewhat obscured in Shakespeare's time by the fact that a great many women of more mature ages died in childbirth; in fact, this may have been the main cause of death in women. The fact that all of Capulet's other children have died is also a sad reminder of the extremely high infant mortality rates of the day. As we shall see, Juliet's own mother gave birth at this age, and is therefore now less than thirty, though she thinks of herself as old (her husband is much older). Life was short and people aged rapidly then, facts which make the urgency expressed in this play more understandable. What image in Capulet's speech to Paris suggests the delight that older men such as they feel in observing attractive young girls? In Elizabethan society, the insane were often imprisoned, chained and beaten in hopes of driving out the devils that possessed them (ll. 55-57), notoriously at London's Bethlehem Hospital (shortened familiarly to "Bedlam") where people often went to observe and laugh at the antics of the insane. Inmates could even be rented as entertainment for parties, so there is a consistent connection made between "madness" and humor. What is Benvolio's motivation in encouraging Romeo to crash the Capulets' party?

Act I: Scene 3

The nurse is one of Shakespeare's most memorable characters. The bawdy old lady who revels in sex and sympathizes with young lovers is an old stereotype, dating back at least to the Middle Ages. In many tales, she is a professional bawd, a go-between who facilitates the illicit meetings of young lovers, sells love potions, surgically repairs maidenheads, and provides young brides with the means of faking virginity on their wedding night. Though she is no professional, the character of the nurse would have been a recognizable type to Shakespeare's audience. Note that her very first words are about sex, referring to the fact that the last time she was a virgin she was 29 twelve. The mixture of high tragedy and comedy, of noble characters and common ones like the nurse, is a distinguishing characteristic of Elizabethan drama, much objected to in the 17th and 18th centuries by classical critics. Such blendings were to be allowed in comedy, but not in tragedy. Today they satisfy our preference for life to be portrayed complexly, as a mixture of incongruities.

The first long speech by the nurse illustrates her propensity to run on and on in response to the simplest of questions. Susan (l. 18) is the child the nurse bore and lost the same year that Juliet was born. Nurses often nursed their charges literally. A woman who had lost her own baby was an ideal source of milk for an upper-class infant whose mother preferred not to be troubled with doing her own nursing. Babies were weaned by having a foul-tasting salve smeared on the nipple (l. 30). The bodily intimacy between Juliet and the nurse helps to explain the insistent physicality of the latter's speeches. Zeffirelli leaves out some of the more obscure references, particularly those alluding to the earthquake. Today a man who would joke about a toddler's future sexual attitudes would be viewed as distinctly weird, but in the Renaissance such a joke would have been commonplace, intended to connect the married couple with each other over the child's head. The nurse's late husband was not sexualizing the child, but reminding his wife how she differs from Juliet in her enthusiasm for sex. Juliet's reply to her mother at l. 66 is one of Shakespeare's often-quoted lines, remarkable in its diplomacy for a young teenager. It is at ll. 71-73 that we learn that Lady Capulet cannot be older than 28. By what process does Lady Capulet seem to expect Juliet to come to love Paris? How is the imagery of her speech reflected in Juliet's reply? Note that the nurse's final line also suggests that the main joy of marriage is to be found in lovemaking.

Act I: Scene 4

Most of the opening exchange between Romeo and Mercutio is omitted in the film version. What is the consistent theme of Romeo's speeches in it? The famous "Queen Mab" speech of Mercutio has been discussed endlessly. It has been criticized because of its seeming irrelevance and extraordinary length. Such criticisms inevitably lead to defenses which declare the speech to express the essence of the play. It certainly illustrates the "mercurial" Mercutio's character: whimsical, impulsive, and satirical. It has also been a great influence on our modern image of fairies, who were physically indistinguishable from normal humans in most Medieval traditions, though Shakespeare's fairies, like the older ones, are primarily mischief-makers. Zeffirelli, rather than cutting or omitting the speech as some directors have done, uses it to give an unusual interpretation to the character of Mercutio. See whether you can figure out what he is trying to achieve and how whether you think he has succeeded. What is the mood expressed in Romeo's final speech?

Act I: Scene 5:

Note how Capulet urges the ladies on to dance even as he excuses himself. He would seem by the following conversation with "Second Capulet" to be in his fifties or sixties. Romeo bursts into some of Shakespeare's finest poetry upon seeing Juliet for the first time. Men often married much later than women, when they had built sufficient fortunes to earn them a beautiful and noble wife. The modern reader may at first find his musings on Rosaline and his raptures over Juliet equally artificial; but the former are simply a flat recitation of clichés, whereas he makes commonplaces new by the richness of their expression. Paleness of skin was so prized at this time that women painted their skin with lead compounds that rendered them as white as clowns. With the growing importation of African slaves, many painters seized on the contrast between 30 dark-skinned servants and their pale mistresses to "set off" European beauty. The contrast was undoubtedly racist, but based more on esthetic preferences than racial hatred.

Look for a dark-haired woman meant to be Rosaline early in the film's ball scene and note how Juliet comes into view. What about his initial praise of her foreshadows her early death? Romeo anticipates the line of approach he will take during the dance by saying that her touch will "bless" his hand. It is crucial to remember that it was universally believed at this time that true love always struck at first sight; love that grew gradually was no love at all. Take note of Capulet's rebuke to Tybalt in ll. 79-90 Zeffirelli makes one of his most daring moves in his use of this speech. Watch for it. What effect does it have on the subsequent love scene to place this encounter with Tybalt just before it?

The speeches that follow are far too artificial for modern taste, but read sympathetically they are revealing and even moving. However, the religious imagery used by the pair should not deceive you into thinking that this is a pious or even solemn exchange. This is a quick-witted bout of flirtation in which both sides are equally smitten, as is made clear by what follows, but in which Juliet plays the proper young girl's role of dissecting Romeo's "lines" as fast as he can think them up. The religious language is more blasphemous than pious. The following modern rewording may convey (feebly) the meaning of the exchange more clearly so that you can go back and enjoy Shakespeare's beautiful language as he intended it.

Romeo (holding her hand as they dance): "You are like a shrine enclosing a holy relic, and I would be unforgivably uncouth to touch it with my unworthy hand except that I am ready to "kiss away" the damage I have done." (In other words: "I love holding your hand; may I kiss it?")

Juliet (probably amused, but cautious, teases him): "There's nothing wrong with your hand (I like it!), and handholding while we dance is quite legitimate; but you're being a little too bold in wanting to kiss me. If you're really a pilgrim, you should greet me only with your hand, as 'palmers' do."

Romeo: "Hey, even holy pilgrims are human: they've got lips. Please let me kiss you."

Juliet: "Pilgrims use their lips for praying, not kissing."

Romeo: "Fine, so I'm praying to you to let me kiss you. If my prayer isn't answered I may lose my religious faith."

Juliet: "Well, if I were a statue of a saint you were praying to, I might just grant your prayer although I'd remain motionless." (In other words, "I won't kiss you; but yes, you can kiss me.")

Romeo: "Stand still while I kiss you." (He kisses her lips.) "Just as a pilgrim might kiss the statue of a saint in hopes of receiving forgiveness for sins, so your acceptance of my kiss undoes any sin I committed by holding your hand."

Juliet (thrilled and amused at the same time): "So you claim to have gotten rid of your sin by kissing my lips. Now I've got the sin. What are you going to do about that?"

Romeo: "You want me to kiss you again? Great!" (Kisses her again.)

Juliet: "You don't really need all this artificial argumentation to justify kissing me, you know. Let's get serious." Who would you say is more in charge of the course of events here? Why? 31

Zeffirelli seems to give the word "chinks" in l. 118 a bawdy meaning even though scholars generally agree that the nurse is for a change speaking of Juliet's wealth rather than her body. At l. 120, Romeo puts his predicament into bookkeeping language. As the notes say, Juliet is now his life; but more ominously, his continued existence is now in danger because her relatives may well kill him for courting her. Why do you think Juliet asks the nurse about several other people first before mentioning Romeo? Note the foreshadowing in ll. 136-137. The speech that begins on l. 140 is evidently muttered to herself, only half-heard by the nurse. In what sense could it be called a rhyme that she learned from Romeo?

Act II: Prologue

What is it that the Chorus says gives the couple the power to overcome the obstacles which separate them? Act II: Scene 1

Why do Mercutio's teasing speeches not bother Romeo? As the notes suggest, ll. 23-30 are a series of sexual puns comparing magic conjuration with sexual intercourse.

Act II: Scene 2

This is the famous "Balcony Scene," one of the most renowned in all of Shakespeare. But because of its romantic associations it is often misunderstood. Romeo's passion for Juliet is unambiguously erotic. To Elizabethans sexual desire was not antithetical to romance; it was the essence of romance. In calling for the triumph of the sun over the moon, Romeo is hoping she will not remain a virgin much longer. Women who prolonged their virginity excessively were thought to suffer from "green-sickness," a malady which could only be cured by healthy lovemaking. Thus the entire opening to this scene is devoted to Romeo's fevered desire that she will make love with him. Despite his passion, he is shy enough, and polite enough, not to simply burst in upon her. It is the tension between his overwhelming desire and his reticence that shows how much he truly loves her.

The comparison of a woman's eyes to bright stars was a commonplace, but Shakespeare makes it new by elaborating it in a dazzling series of lines dwelling on the luminosity of Juliet's beauty. In what way does he say her eyes are brighter than stars? Note the physically intimate image of ll. 24-25. Any poet could call his lady angelic; Shakespeare composes a mini-poem on the theme in ll. 26-32. Pay particular attention to the note on l. 33, which is consistently misinterpreted and even misquoted by people unfamiliar with Elizabethan usage. Note that it is Juliet who is thinking through the consequences of their love more systematically and practically than is Romeo. Does this make her less romantic than he? Explain your answer. Note that it is a series of coincidences which moves this affair along so quickly without Juliet being portrayed as shameless. How does Juliet's speech at ll. 58-60 reveal both her love and her fear? Note that she almost immediately speaks of the death that threatens him. From the beginning their discourse is threaded with allusions to death. When he says he is in more danger of being slain by her eye, he is using conventional courtly language which goes back centuries. In l. 82 "pilot" is used in the original sense of one who expertly guides a ship through hazardous waters.

Juliet's long speech starting at l. 85 makes clear that she is still a virtuous young woman who wishes her love had not been so promptly revealed; but now that it has been, she does not intend to look backward. Note how she alludes to Ovid's famous statement that Jove laughs at the oaths 32 of lovers. Much of the rest of her speech examines a paradox in traditional European attitudes toward love as they concerned women: a woman should fall instantly in love upon first seeing her beloved, but it was highly improper for her to reveal her feelings. Instead, she should insist on a prolonged courtship during which the lover would earn her love. Her rejection of this centuries-old stereotype is thrilling, but also highly dangerous. Note throughout the rest of the play the many references to haste. Haste obviously has its hazards; but what justification does Juliet have for acting quickly?

Just as Romeo had scorned the moon for its virginity, Juliet rejects it as too variable. Again Juliet allows herself to flirt with blasphemy in calling Romeo her god. Romeo's statement at l. 125 is obviously startling to Juliet, but he quickly recovers by insisting that he will love her faithfully. Having once proclaimed her love, the font of Juliet's eloquence is unstopped, and she becomes the dominant figure in the rest of the scene. A secret marriage involving an underage girl would certainly not have been valid in England, but Italy is a sort of fantasy-land to the Elizabethan audience: anything is possible. Like "by and by" "anon" meant "immediately;" but it was used so often by people trying to put off demands for immediate action that both expressions eventually came to mean "after a while." Here it retains its original meaning. In l. 156, "want" means "lack."

One of the most charming touches in this scene is Juliet being so overwhelmed by Romeo's presence that she cannot remember why she called him back. The following exchange foreshadows their parallel debate before their parting at dawn the day after their wedding. The first two lines of Romeo's final speech make clear that lovemaking is still very much on his mind. It is put most romantically, but the sense of his words is "I wish I were lying on top of you." Zeffirelli picks up on these consistent references to sex to justify having his young lovers all over each other during the scene, spicing things up by dwelling on Olivia Hussey's considerable cleavage. Despite the fact that no Elizabethan production would have been so physical, Zeffirelli is being true to the message that would have been conveyed by the words to the original audience. Remember that this young pair knows very little about each other except that they are extremely attractive and witty.

Act II: Scene 3

Friar Laurence is sometimes played as a bit of a fool; but Zeffirelli gives him a good bit of dignity. His speech on the healing and harmful properties of plants is another bit of foreshadowing. Just as healing herbs can kill, so love can also lead to death. Note also the image of death in a grave at ll. 83-84. What justification does Laurence offer for agreeing to this highly improper marriage?

Act II: Scene 4

Zeffirelli puts Mercutio's speech beginning at l. 29 to more aggressive use in his film version. The film's Mercutio makes the obscene meaning of ll. 95-96 unmistakable. When Mercutio suggests that the nurse is a bawd, he is alluding to the stereotype discussed above. In her speech beginning on l. 159, the nurse expresses her outrage at Mercutio in language intended to expresses her intention to thrash him; but she unintentionally uses a series of terms with double meanings which describe sex instead. So while her intended message is "I'll beat any many who bothers me" what the audience hears is "I'll have sex with any man that approaches me." The original audience probably found this hysterically funny; it is a challenge for the modern actress to convey the ambiguity while keeping the nurse apparently unaware of the double meaning of

33 her speech. Note how Zeffirelli solves this problem.

Act II: Scene 5

The classic comic exchange between Juliet and the nurse illustrates the contrast between old and young which Juliet had outlined in her introductory speech. Note l. 65, in which Nurse is impressed by how "hot" (eager) Juliet is. Zeffirelli takes his cue from this line to direct Olivia Hussey to be extremely agitated, which fits her age and state of mind.

Act II: Scene 6

Watch how Zeffirelli directs this scene to emphasize the "violence" of the young peoples' passion and trims the dialogue to concentrate the scene. The Friar's last speech provides plenty of justification for Zeffirelli's staging. Lots of foreshadowing here. Act III,: Scene 1

Italians normally take a nap after lunch during the heat of the day. In the height of summer the heat is supposed to create madness. Shakespeare may have moved the action from spring to summer for just this reason. Despite all the laws against it, everyone was intimately familiar with the rules of dueling: to decline a challenge is to declare one's loss of manhood and nobility. To call someone a villain was a very strong form of challenge. Romeo is here making a tremendous sacrifice for his love, but it looks to the bystanders like cowardice. What does l. 94, usually quoted as "A plague on both your houses," mean in this context? Note that Mercutio does not die on stage, but is led off. When people do die on stage, Shakespeare has their bodies dragged off, for the simple reason that his stage lacked a curtain, and there was no other way to get the "dead" actors off. Modern directors are not so limited, of course. Why would this be a stronger scene if we were to witness Mercutio's death? Romeo's desire for vengeance triumphs over his love for Juliet. Can you make out an argument that this does not necessarily make him an unworthy lover? How is the theme of fatal speed illustrated by this scene? Capital punishment was routine for a wide variety of offenses in the Renaissance (a fact which seems to have done remarkably little to deter crime), as were mutilation, fines, and exile. Imprisonment was rarer, because it was expensive.

Act III: Scene 2

Under the flowery language, Juliet knows exactly what she wants: to make love with Romeo. She seeks to overcome her maidenly modesty and enjoy the legitimate pleasures of marital sex. In classical mythology, many heroes such as Orion were turned into constellations. In imagining such a fate for Romeo she unwittingly foreshadows his imminent end. Juliet's reaction to the death of Tybalt is one of the pivotal points of the play, and one of the most difficult to stage convincingly. She must be seized by grief but still end by loving Romeo. What mood changes does she go through in this scene, and what causes these changes of mood? Note that Juliet's rashness in changing moods mirrors that of Romeo in the previous scene. The theme of a young woman marrying death is an ancient one, featured prominently, for instance, in Sophocles' Antigone.

34 Act III: Scene 3

Just as Juliet has said she is likely to be wedded to death, so Friar Laurence says Romeo is wedded to calamity. Willfully seeking death--committing suicide--was a mortal sin to both Catholics and Anglicans, a fact that is conveniently ignored by Shakespeare much of the time, but alluded to by the Friar at l. 24. Note how Romeo rebukes him for being old, just as Juliet at rebuked her nurse in Act II: Scene 5. One can understand why this play has always been popular with young people. What reasons does the Friar offer that Romeo should consider himself blessed? Mantua is the nearest city to Verona, roughly 25 miles distant.

Act III: Scene 4

The theme of undue haste continues. What earlier rash act causes Capulet's rash decision to hurry the marriage of Paris and Juliet? Modern audiences may be prone to blame Paris for not courting Juliet directly, but he is behaving in a much more proper fashion than Romeo. Private courting between young people, though often romanticized, was officially disapproved of. Marriages were supposed to be negotiated by parents. However, widespread resentment against this pattern is reflected in countless stories from the Middle Ages through the 19th Century, when Europeans finally abandoned the custom.

Act III: Scene 5

Shakespeare opens this scene with a variation on the aubade, or "dawn song" tradition of the Middle Ages. Lovers who have spent the night together listen to the morning song of the birds with some alarm as they realize they must part. Again, what makes the scene fresh is not the theme itself but the elaborate and original treatment Shakespeare gives it. Zeffirelli underlines the physicality of the couple's love in a way that would have been impossible for Shakespeare, by showing quite a bit of their flesh. See whether you think this works. Note how the threat of death runs through their dialogue. Every time we have seen Romeo and Juliet together there has been some form of pressure enforcing haste. Can you recall what these pressures have been? Note the foreshadowing in l. 56.

Juliet indulges in one of Shakespeare's most clever word-games at ll. 60-65. It is worth puzzling out, and admiring the Elizabethan audience for having been able to pick up on it quickly. When at l. 85 Juliet says she wishes no one but she would avenge her cousin's death what is the ambiguity in her speech? She continues to equivocate in her next speech where her mother hears her saying she hopes to behold Romeo dead while she is actually saying she will never be satisfied until she beholds him, and that her heart is dead. Her desire to "wreak her love" on Romeo's body is even more obviously ambiguous: she wants to make love with him again. Why does Juliet ask her mother to find someone to carry a poison to Romeo: isn't she placing his life in danger? Some viewers react negatively to the way Zeffirelli has directed Olivia Hussey to react to the news of her impending marriage to Paris; but it is important to keep in mind that she is very young, as the director emphasized the very first time we saw her in the film. She is having a typical fourteen-year-old tantrum. Her language is so often sophisticated we may be in danger of forgetting how immature she really is. Shakespeare's audience expected such language from all manner of characters, and would not have seen an incongruity here. Note that her parents are as rash as she. Their overreaction may seem incredible, but in fact the choice "marry your designated husband or die" was a cliché. Many of us can remember otherwise sane adults banishing their male offspring from their homes when they returned from college with long hair in the sixties, and many parents claimed following the Kent State shootings that they would have wanted their own children to be shot to death by the National Guard had they been involved in 35 antiwar protests. One of the major themes of this play is the foolishness of the older generation, whose passions are even more destructive than those of the younger generation. We have seen before that the nurse lacks scruples; but thus far her lax morals have benefited Juliet. Now she urges Juliet to commit bigamy, which was both illegal and a grievous sin. Juliet reacts quickly, cutting off the nurse from all further confidences. Note how in the final line Juliet is contemplating suicide, though she sensibly seeks Friar Laurence's advice first.

Act IV: Scene 1

Paris seems to view marriage, as her father does, as a form of medical treatment for Juliet's sorrow. They think she is too young to know what's good for her. In what sense is Juliet's face no her own (l. 36)? Friar Laurence's plot may seem desperate, but remember that he is in big trouble. He has performed an illicit wedding and fervently wants to avoid colluding in bigamy. Juliet is threatening suicide, as had Romeo. Juliet's willingness to dwell in a tomb ("charnel house") is of course prophetic of her actual fate, and encourages the friar to unfold his plot to her. Well into the 19th century physicians were often unable to distinguish deep comas from death, leading to concern that people might sometimes be mistakenly buried alive. Such a story would not have been nearly so far-fetched in Shakespeare's day as it would be in ours.

Act IV: Scene 2

Now that Juliet is determined on her course of action she does not hesitate to lie outright to her parents.

Act IV: Scene 3

It was traditional for the nurse to sleep in the same room with her young charge until she was married, so Juliet has to find an excuse to be alone. Her terrors at taking the drug are well depicted; she is no dashing heroine to drink off the potion without hesitation, but a very human young girl. Her determination is all the more striking because she has to overcome these very understandable fears. Not only does she fear going mad in the tomb, she almost goes mad here, as she imagines she sees Tybalt's ghost seeking revenge on Romeo.

Act IV: Scene 4

Had Shakespeare been a woman he might have hesitated to describe an elaborate wedding banquet being planned and executed overnight. From now on Zeffirelli ruthlessly cuts dialogue from most scenes, omitting one important scene altogether. What effect do you think he is trying to achieve by thus abridging the ending of the play?

Act IV: Scene 5

Which character restates the theme of the bride wed to Death? On what grounds does Friar Laurence argue that Juliet is better off dead? What does l. 83 mean: "Yet nature's tears are reason's merriment"?

Act V: Scene 1

How does Romeo's first speech foreshadow his eventual fate? How is the theme of excessive 36 haste continued in this scene?

Act V: Scene 2

What has prevented Friar Laurence's message from reaching Romeo?

Act V: Scene 3

Note that Zeffirelli omits an important incident from this scene. Why do you think he does? Why does Romeo say he loves Paris better than himself (l. 64)? In what way is his speech to Tybalt's corpse parallel? Sometimes when Zeffirelli wants more dialogue than Shakespeare provides him, he simply has a line repeated. He rather overdoes this effect with l. 159. Again Juliet shows herself to be bold and resolute in action. Her suicide would of course have been viewed by the Church as a damnable act, but that did not keep the popular imagination from romanticizing it. The theater was considered a thoroughly wicked institution by pious folk and plays do not necessarily reflect the official morality of the day. After all, one of Shakespeare's few poems published during his lifetime was "The Rape of Lucrece" which idealized suicide. Given what you know of Elizabethan values, why is the Prince's role at the end of the play so important? Modern directors with different values are apt to prune his part severely or even omit him altogether from the conclusion. How do Montague and Capulet intend to symbolize their reconciliation?

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare: Essay

Writing situation: Because of their particular traits, characters often influence the plot as the drama unfolds. You are assigned to write about the influence that characters have on the plot of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

Writing Directions: For this essay, you have two options:

1. You may select one character from the play who because of his/her trait(s), influences the plot of the play. Discuss how the character influences the plot development. The composition should reflect your understanding of how the character's trait(s) and resulting actions help determine the plot.

2. You may choose three characters to write about in your essay. Each body paragraph will deal with a separate character, and provide evidence of how traits and resulting actions help determine the development of the plot.

Introduce your essay with an interesting opener. Follow your opener with the title of the play, author, setting, characters, and give a brief plot summary. The last sentences of this paragraph must be a thesis statement which names your character(s) and suggests that a character's action influence the plot. Develop your essay with three body paragraphs naming traits, giving examples of the actions of your character(s) that influence the plot, and illustrating how these actions advance the plot. These paragraphs must have clearly stated topic sentences.

Conclude your essay with a paragraph that restates or re-emphasizes your thesis and brings your thoughts to a close in an effective manner.

Romeo and Juliet: Characters Divided By Family Ties

House of Capulet

Juliet: daughter to Capulet, takes the lead in the romance, lyrical use of language, has premonitions but does not act on them, isolated, only one in the play to guess the outcome

Tybalt: Juliet's cousin, foil to Romeo, passionate, prideful, easily provoked, high-spirited, hot-blooded, fiery nature, inflexible, single set of absolutes

Nurse: Juliet's nurse, stereotypical, arrogant, garrulous, ignorant, bawdy, uncultivated, old and infirm, fickle, wants the "best for Juliet" (translated: wants Juliet married to anyone), looks at love as "animal lust", comic

Capulet: Juliet's father, impatient, loves Juliet but is misguided in his love, querulous, inflexible, old, looks at love as a good match

House of Montague

Romeo: son of Montague, isolated, passionate, idealistic, naive, has premonitions but does not act on them, helpless Mercutio: kinsman to Prince and friend of Romeo, witty, honorable, intelligent, loves word play, amiable, could be voice of reason but underestimates Romeo's passion, foil to Romeo, his death makes the tragedy inevitable

Benvolio: Montague nephew, friend of Romeo, peacemaker

Other important characters

Paris: a count, betrothed to Juliet, foil to Romeo

Friar Laurence: Romeo's counselor, loved and respected, attempts to do what is "right", marred reasoning, misplaced virtue

Romeo and Juliet Role Play

Role Play - Form small groups to develop a role play based upon one of the situations below. All have links to Romeo and Juliet. The aim is to get you thinking about some of the issues in the play. After your role play stay in role so that can answer questions put to you: Construct a drama based upon the following situations:

-A teenage boy thinks he's in love with a girl with whom he has been going out for some time. He's always telling his friends how in love he is. A new girl joins his class. She is beautiful. What happens?

-A teenage girl has just met a boy she considers to be wonderful. However, she knows that because of his background and the fact that he comes from a family they disapprove of, they would be violently horrified if they ever caught them together. She is in her bedroom at night, thinking out loud about this boy and the difficulties of his background when he taps on her window.

-Members of two families who have had a long standing dispute get together for a neighbourhood barbecue. After a few drinks some of the old causes of the dispute start to surface.

-Two teenagers, still at school, who have only known each other for a few days, decide they are so in love that they want to be together more than they care about the opinions of family and friends.They decide to move to another town so that they can be together.

-A group of teenage boys from a working class background gatecrash a party put on by a rich family. They sneak in and mingle and one of them sees a girl to whom he is attracted. What happens?

-A teenage girl has secretly fallen in love with a boy of a different race. Her parents are extremely strict and they have made it clear that not only will they have a big say in who she marries but that person will be from the same race. In fact they have arranged for her to meet a suitable boy of good standing and they have a clear expectation that this meeting will lead to marriage. What happens?

Preparing for Reading by Ripping Up a Text

To give students an overview of the plot and to help "de canonise" the text. The teacher gets an old and battered copy of the play, divides the number of pages by the number of students, and gives each student a page to read but avoid the final act for obvious reasons. (e.g. 180 pages divided by 30 students would mean that every third page was ripped out and given to a student). Students use their page to answer questions like:

-what is going on here? -who is involved? -what sort of person/people do they seem to be? -are there any interesting uses of language? -what questions do I have after reading this page?

Then in order of their page numbers students give brief responses to these questions. This exercise will provide them with a plot scaffold with which to approach the play along with some impressions, questions and most of all interest about characters. Romeo and Juliet : Study Questions

1.1

1.What information does the prologue give? 2.What is the difference between Benvolio and Tybalt? 3.What is Lady Capulet's comment to her husband? 4.What is your impression of the Prince's influence? 5.How would you describe Romeo at this stage?

1.2

1.What is Capulet's attitude to the marriage with Paris? 2.What is Romeo's attitude to Rosaline?

1.3

1.How old is Juliet and how do we know? 2.'I was your mother' - Explain lady Capulets' comment' 3.What is Juliet's reaction to the suggestion of marriage?

1.4 1.What are the ideas of love discussed at the beginning of the scene? 2.What has Queen Mab to do with love?

1.5

1.How is Capulets age brought out? 2.how does Romeo react to the sight of Juliet? 3.What does Tybalt do? 4.What does Juliet think about her love? 5.What are the major difficulties in staging this scene?

2.1 & 2.2

1.What do Mercutio and Benvolio think of Romeo's love? Do they realise his new love for Juliet? 2.Discuss Romeo's comments of Juliet at her appearance. What images of lightness and darkness can be seen? 3.What type of questions does Juliet ask? 4.Why does she regret saying so much? 5.Describe their final lengthy goodbye?

2.3

1.What is Friar Laurence doing? 2.Why does he mention Rosaline? 3.Why does he approve of this marriage? 2.4

1.Summarise Mercutio's description of Tybalt? 2.In this scene what impressions do you get of Mercutio's character? 3.What is the function of the witty interchanges between Mercutio and Romeo? 4.What does the nurse plan with Romeo? What glimpses do you get of her character?

2.5

1.Why doesn't the nurse tell Juliet of the arrangements right away?

2.6

1.'These violent delights have violent ends'. What other notes of foreboding have there been?

3.1

1.Why does Benvolio try to restrain Mercutio? 2.Why does Tybalt seek to quarrel with Romeo? 3.'Whose name I tender as dearly as my own". Explain. 4."A plague on both your houses'. Explain Mercutio's words. 5.'I am fortunes fool'. Why does Romeo say this? 6.This is the second appearance of the prince. is he effective? 3.2

1.Comment on the language of Juliet's first speech. 2.Why is the nurse's news doubly distressing? 3.'Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?' Comment on Juliet's speeches on Pgs 156 and 157.

3.3

1.How does Romeo react to the banishment? 2.What advice does the Friar have? 3.What news does the nurse bring?

3.4

1.What arrangements are made for the wedding?

3.5

1.What images mark the speeches of Romeo and Juliet as they wake? 2.Discuss the double talk by Juliet about Romeo to her mother. 3.How does Juliet react to the suggestion of the wedding? 4.Why is Tybalt mentioned again? 5.What advice has the nurse? What does Juliet think of it?

4.1

1.What is Paris's explanation for Capulet's wanting to hasten the marriage? 2.What threat does Juliet make and what does the Friar do? 3.What is the Friar's plan?

4.2 & 4.3

1.'Henceforward I am ever ruled by you'. Explain. 2.The wedding is advanced from Thursday to Wednesday. What is Lady Capulet's main concern? 3.What thoughts are on Juliet's mind as she prepares to take the drug?

4.4

1.'And with my child my joys are buried'. Explain. 2.Read the last few lines of this scene? What is their purpose?

5.1

1.What are Romeo's thoughts as the scene begins? 2.'Then I defy you stars' Explain. 3.What does Romeo say about the apothecary?

5.2

1.Why did Friar John not take the message to Romeo? 5.3

1.Does Paris really love Juliet? Evidence? 2.Why does Romeo threaten Balthasar? 3.'And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars?' Explain. 4.'We still have known thee for a holy man'. What does this and 5.'Some shall be pardoned, some punished'. Who for example?

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