Romeo And Juliet is one of the most famous love stories of all time. It takes Verona place in the city of Verona, Italy.
Where is Verona? Verona is a rich and beautiful city in Italy. Map of Italy Copy A Family Feud In Romeo And Juliet, there are two wealthy families, the Capulets and the Montagues. The Capulets and the Montagues are not on good terms. If you are a Capulet, it is your duty to dislike Montagues. If you are a Montague, you will be a disgrace to your family if you are friends with a Capulet.
Imagine meeting the person you dislike most! Sampson and Gregory work for the Capulets, while Abraham and Balthasar work for the Montagues. How do you think the men feel when they bump into each other on the streets of Verona?
Well, Sampson decides to insult the Montagues. An insult is something rude that people do or say to others.
In those days, it was very rude to bite your thumb at someone, and that is whatEvaluation Sampson did when he saw Abraham and Balthasar!
83 Romeo And Juliet I A Quarrel Read the following script aloud. Then act out the story.
Characters Sampson Abraham (from the house of Capulet) (from the house of Capulet) Balthasar Gregory (from the house of Montague) (from the house of Montague) Benvolio (a Montague) Tybalt (a Capulet) Other members of the Citizens two families Setting Copy Verona SAMPSON I will bite my thumb at them. That’s a great insult! ABRAHAM (noticing SAMPSON) Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? SAMPSON I do bite my thumb, sir. ABRAHAM Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? SAMPSON (to GREGORY) Is what I did lawful? GREGORY No. SAMPSON No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir. GREGORY (to ABRAHAM) Are you picking a fight with us, sir? EvaluationABRAHAM Quarrel, sir! No, sir! SAMPSON If you want to quarrel, I will do just that. My master is as good as yours.
84 Shakespeare On Stage ABRAHAM No, my master is better. SAMPSON Okay. GREGORY (to SAMPSON) Say ‘better‘. SAMPSON My master is better, sir. ABRAHAM Nonsense! SAMPSON Draw your sword if you are a man. Copy They fight. Enter BENVOLIO, a Montague. BENVOLIO Fools! Stop it! BENVOLIO beats down their swords. Enter TYBALT, a Capulet. TYBALT Benvolio, why are you holding a sword? Are you bullying our servants? You are going to die! BENVOLIO Hey, I’m trying to stop them from fighting. Help me! TYBALT How can you talk about peace when you are holding a sword? I hate the word ‘peace‘ as much as I hate hell, all Montagues, and YOU! Die, coward! They fight. Enter OTHER MEMBERS OF THE TWO FAMILIES who join the Evaluationfight; then enter CITIZENS, with clubs. FIRST CITIZEN What’s wrong with these Capulets and Montagues? They are always fighting. Let’s beat them up!
85 Romeo And Juliet I Let's Think About It do It!
Think about these questions: Student Dialogue What do you think of Sampson? Have you ever disliked someone Why do you think the servants simply because your friend keep using the word ‘sir‘? dislikes that person? Share your What do you think it is like if you experience with your friend. are a citizen living in Verona? Copy Let's Bite Your Thumb do It!
Today, biting your thumb would be a strange way to insult someone. Most people insult someone using words. Shakespeare is great with using words to insult people. Here are some of examples of Shakespearean insults:
An artless dizzy-eyed dewberry A bootless elf-skinned canker-blossom A earth-vexing pigeon-egg Very few people understand what these insults mean today. They sound funny now but back then, these words may get you killed! Thou* luxurious Evaluationmountain-goat!
* ’Thou’ means ‘you’.
86 Shakespeare On Stage Thou bottled spider!
Copy
Thou stale old mouse-eaten dry cheese!
Now,Evaluation have fun making up your own insults, Shakespeare-style! Fill in the blanks with the craziest things you can think of! It can be funny made-up words like ’curryish’ or random words like ’spaghetti’.
87 Romeo And Juliet I Use adjectives and nouns for your insults. An adjective is a word that describes things (like ‘stale’, ‘old’, and ‘bottled’). Nouns are names for things, like ‘goat’, ‘spider’, and ‘cheese’.
Adjective 1 Adjective 2 Noun
Example Thou mashed yurty peas!
Insult 1
Insult 2 Insult 3 Copy
Now form two groups with your classmates – the Capulets and the Montagues. Take turns to try out your insults on each other.
Thou mashed Thou sticky yurty peas! ragged toothbrush!
Evaluation
Teacher’s Note Moderate ’Bite Your Thumb’ and make sure that the students appreciate the humor of the situation.
88 Shakespeare On Stage The Power Of Love Even though their families hate each other, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall in love with each other. Their love causes the two families to stop fighting in the end.
Let's Let’s Make Up! do It!
Since the story ends with the Montagues and the Capulets becoming friends, change your insults into compliments. Compliments are nice things people say to another person. Copy
Adjective 1 Adjective 2 Noun
Example Thou mashed yurty peas ! lovely silver-sweet jewel
Compliment 1
Compliment 2
Compliment 3
Get into your groups again. Pretend to be the Montagues and Capulets, Student Dialogue who have become friends. Smile! Have you ever quarreled, then Pat Evaluationeach other on the back! Laugh, made up with someone? What hug, and compliment each other! happened? Share your story with your friends.
89 Romeo And Juliet I