Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum
Study Guide: Spring School Days 2016
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare Adapted by Ellen Geer
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Office 310-455-2322 * www.theatricum.com Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum’s production of Romeo and Juliet is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a national © 2016 The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum theater initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest.
School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Table of Contents
Preface – how to use this study guide ...... 3 Program Overview ...... 4-5 Romeo and Juliet (includes some Content Cross-over: Social Science) Historical and Cultural Context ...... 6-12 Romeo and Juliet...... 6 Israel (includes map of the region) ...... 7-8 Palestine ...... 9-10 Arab-Israeli Wars and Modern Conflict ...... 10-12 Ancient and Modern timelines ...... 12 Character Breakdown (traditional and Theatricum production) ...... 13 Synopsis (includes original text and adaptation) ...... 13-19 Writing Activities...... 20 Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions ...... 20 SUGGESTED Performance Activity – Seven Snapshots ...... 21 Content Cross-over: Social Science – The Elizabethan Age The Elizabethan Age ...... 22-23 Critical Thinking ...... 22 Pictures ...... 23 Writing Activity ...... 23 William Shakespeare – a brief biography ...... 24 A chronology of Shakespeare’s writing ...... 25 Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions – William Shakespeare ...... 25 Suggested Writing Activity – Shakespeare’s obituary ...... 25 Content Cross-Over: Language Arts An Introduction to Shakespeare’s Language ...... 26 Iambic Pentameter and Scansion ...... 27 SUGGESTED ACTIVITY – An introduction to Scanning ...... 28 Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions: Language ...... 29 Suggested Language Arts Activities ...... 29 VOCABULARY – Shakespeare & Romeo and Juliet ...... 29 Content Cross-Over: Performing Arts The Elizabethan Stage – The Globe...... 30-31 Images of The Globe Theatre ...... 31 Suggested Visual Arts Activity ...... 31 Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions: Elizabethan Theatre ...... 32 Suggested Activities...... 32 SUGGESTED ACTIVITY – Text excerpts from Romeo and Juliet ...... 33-34 Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions – Characters ...... 34 Reference List ...... 35 Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 2 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet
Preface This Study Guide is intended to help you find ways to enrich your students’ experience of Theatricum’s School Days Field Trip program. As such, it includes logistical information about the field trip itself and how to schedule the workshops included for you and your students. In addition, we have included information, lesson ideas, handouts and images designed to enrich a full unit of study on William Shakespeare. Because our production of Romeo and Juliet is set in modern-day Israel, we have also included some Social Science materials to help introduce your students to the history of that region. However, we have also included information on the Elizabethan Renaissance, as we know that your classroom study of Romeo and Juliet may be linked to such a Social Science unit. Finally, there is information about the play itself (both the original and adapted version) that we hope you will find helpful in preparing your students. If you have not already, we encourage you to use this study guide to help you find one or two easy ways to integrate Shakespeare, this specific play, or both, into your overall curriculum. Please feel free to give us feedback on what works (and what doesn’t) in this packet, as we are eager to find ways to improve our support of your in-class enrichment! And thank you for your participation in School Days!
Elizabeth Tobias, Christine Breihan, Education Director School Programs Manager [email protected] [email protected]
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 3 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet School Days - Program Overview Welcome to Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum’s School Days Program for spring 2016. We are happy to have you joining us whether it is for the first or 50th time! School Days is a very special enrichment program that has been serving Southern California students for over 35 years. Below is a brief overview of the various facets of the program for you to review so that you can be prepared to experience School Days fully! Thank you for being a part of this very special program. Preparing the students This study guide has been designed to help you prepare your students for their visit to Theatricum Botanicum. We have included: - Historical and cultural context specific to our production - character and plot information - suggested activities - basic background information about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Age - an introduction to Shakespeare’s language - a list of resources
ATTEND Professional Development Educators are invited, at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE, to work with artist-educators on professional development – teaching techniques and ideas related to presenting Shakespeare, and this text in particular, to your students. This is a WONDERFUL opportunity to increase your knowledge, share ideas, and be inspired! Don’t miss out! The Professional Development workshops for spring 2016 will be held at Theatricum Botanicum on Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 10am-2pm. Contact Christine Breihan for more information or to reserve your spot. ([email protected])
SCHEDULE School Visit - ASAP A Theatricum artist/educator will visit your classroom to prepare your students for their visit to our theatre. (S)He will cover: - the details of the field trip - the basic plot of the play - historical information about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Age (time permitting) Schedule your School Visit TODAY by contacting Christine Breihan at [email protected]
Your School Days Field Trip When you arrive at the Theatricum, your bus will be greeted by a Theatricum artist/educator who will help get your students to the theatre. Students should dress warmly and in layers as it is cold in the morning and usually very warm by afternoon. They MUST wear close-toed shoes. They should bring a sack lunch and WATER. Students should wear sunscreen and bug-repellent if they are at all sensitive. Once in the theatre, students will participate in some improvisations until all buses have arrived; at which point they will enjoy an interactive Living History performance featuring Queen Elizabeth and William Shakespeare. They will be given information about both figures’ lives and the time in which they lived.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 4 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet School Days - Program Overview (cont.)
Your School Days Field Trip (cont.) Next, the students will be divided into smaller groups. Each group will take two performance technique workshops (ex. improvisation, stage combat, scansion, ensemble building, comedia dell’arte, Elizabethan music, dance, juggling, etc.). Several students from each school will remain in the theatre and be incorporated into the play. After the workshops, we break for lunch. Students will have ½ hour to enjoy their sack lunches on our beautiful grounds. We ask that you help us keep our grounds clean and reinforce your students’ appreciation of this special pastoral setting by making certain that they throw away all trash. We have clearly marked recycling bins and a compost bin. Please help your students dispose of waste in the correct place so that we can keep the land healthy for the future. Finally, students will return to the theatre and watch Romeo and Juliet. If you are attending only the performance portion of the day, you will join the rest of the attendees at this point. No food or drink will be allowed in the theatre except water. This is for your own protection as any food or beverage (aside from water) will attract bees. The performance will be followed by a Q&A with the actors after which you will return to your buses to take you back to your schools.
Schedule Overview (times are approximate) Full Day Schedule Play Only Schedule 9:00-9:30 Students Arrive 11:00-11:30 Students arrive during Lunch – Improv in Theatre until all schools 11:30 Play Begins/Q&A after have arrived 1:45 Students Depart 9:50 Living History Begins 10:20 Technique Workshop #1 * If School arrives before Lunch has begun, 10:40 Technique Workshop #2 students will be held in upper tier of Main Stage 11:00 Lunch until Lunch begins. 11:30 Play Begins/Q&A after 1:45 Students Depart ***If you have been given a special schedule for your field trip date by Christine Breihan, please adhere to that * If School arrives late (after Living History has begun), schedule.*** all students will be held in S. Mark Taper Foundation Youth Pavilion and dispersed to groups from there. WARNINGS AND REMINDERS DRESS WARMLY AND IN LAYERS BRING WATER & A SACK LUNCH CLOSE TOED SHOES ONLY SUNSCREEN/BUG-REPELLENT NO FOOD IN THE THEATRE (BEES!!) STAY ON THE PATHS (SNAKES!!) DO NOT PICK PLANTS OR FLOWERS RESPECT THE BEAUTY OF THE OUTDOORS, PICK UP YOUR TRASH, AND PLEASE USE OUR RECYLCING AND COMPOSTE BINS!
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 5 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Historical & Cultural Context
ROMEO AND JULIET Perhaps more than any of Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet has been reinterpreted, adapted, updated and placed in a variety of historical and cultural contexts. It is a testament to the story’s effective look at how young love is uniquely poised to expose the tragic results of old hatred; as well as, sadly, a testament to the endurance of a tendency towards hatred in mankind. It is fitting that Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet should be reinterpreted so many times as it is, itself, a reinterpretation – as are many of Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare rarely made up the storylines of his plays. They are usually based upon myths, legends, or even popular plays which he took and adapted to fit his own artistic goals. Romeo and Juliet’s plot is largely taken from a poem by Arthur Brooks. It is also, of course, an adaptation of the Greek myth of Pyramus and Thisbe (which Shakespeare includes in his A Midsummer Night’s Dream) as told by the poet Ovid in his Metamorphosis. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been adapted into opera (Charles Gounod, 1867); ballet (Prokofiev c1935); American musical theatre (West Side Story, 1957, book Laurentis; music Bernstein; lyrics Sondheim); and multiple movies (Zefferelli, 1968; Luhrmann, 1996). Perhaps most interesting is the fact that the identity of the lovers, and therefore their rival “clans” has served as a pathway for artists to explore extreme cases of hatred, nationalism, and bigotry throughout civilization with productions exploring the Capulets and Montagues as Black and White; Latino and African American; Irish and English; Native American and Caucasian; Jewish and Nazi; Gypsy clans; Jewish and Christian; rich and poor; Hindi and Tamil; Israeli and Palestinian; and the list continues. Theatricum’s 2016 production is set in modern-day Israel with the Capulets a Jewish, Israeli family and the Montagues a Palestinian family. Our goal is to once again explore an ongoing conflict through the lens of Shakespeare’s beautiful poetry. To help prepare your students, we have included some background information on Israel, Palestine, and the current events that have shaped this conflict.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 6 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Historical & Cultural Context (cont.)
ISRAEL
GEOGRAPHY Israel is a Middle Eastern country on the Mediterranean Sea that shares borders with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the Palestinian territories comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Egypt. Israel’s financial center is Tel Aviv, while Jerusalem is both its self-designated capital and its most populous city.
HISTORY For thousands of years, the Jewish people were discriminated against, tortured and killed throughout Europe and the Middle East. As a response to this oppression, Zionism emerged in the late 19th century in central and eastern Europe as a movement to re-establish Jewish sovereignty in the Palestinian region and liberate Jews from the anti- Semitic persecution that occurred in their diaspora. In 1905, spurred by the failure of the Russian Revolution and the wave of pogroms that followed, large numbers of Eastern European Jews began to immigrate to the Middle East as pioneer settlers. During World War I (1914-1918), Great Britain led a campaign against the Ottoman Empire (then in control of the region) and secured Jerusalem in 1917. In the same year, Zionists obtained the Balfour Declaration from Great Britain, which promised British support for the creation of a Jewish national home in the region of Palestine. Britain was formally awarded a mandate to govern the region in 1922, and in the following years the Zionists built many Jewish urban and rural settlements in what was then known as Mandate Palestine. Concerned that Mandate Palestine would eventually become a Jewish state, the Arab population bitterly resisted Zionism and the British policy supporting it. British forces struggled to maintain order in the face of a series of Arab uprisings, including the bloody Arab Revolt of 1936-1939. Hundreds of Jews and many thousands of Arabs were killed in the conflict. As Hitler rose to power in Germany, the large-scale extermination of European Jews by the Nazis incited popular global support of Zionism. After World War II, hundreds of thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors and refugees sought a new life far from their destroyed communities in Europe., leading Britain to submit the Palestine problem to the United Nations. Seeking a solution to both the needs of a disaffected population it had sworn to support, and the recurring conflicts in the region resulting from its policies, Britain submitted “the Palestine problem” to the United Nations. In 1947, the UN proposed partition of the country into separate Arab and Jewish states and the internationalization of Jerusalem. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal, but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it. The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 triggered an invasion by the neighboring Arab countries that was soundly defeated by the Israeli army. Armistice agreements were signed in 1949 leaving Israel with more land than had been allotted to it under the UN partition plan. Over 700,000 Arabs had also fled or been expelled from the area that became Israel. Thus, Zionism achieved its aim of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine, but at the same time, it became surrounded by hostile Arab nations, and Palestinian organizations engaged in terrorism both inside and outside of Israel.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 7 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Historical & Cultural Context (cont.) ISRAEL (cont.)
Map of Israel and surrounding region
POPULATION/RELIGION Israel's population is an estimated 8.4 million people. It is the world's only Jewish-majority state, with about 75% of Israelis being designated as Jewish. Arabs comprised 20% of the population, of whom the great majority are Sunni Muslims. Non-Arab Christians and people who have no religion listed in the civil registry make up the remaining 5%.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 8 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Historical & Cultural Context (cont.) PALESTINE
GEOGRAPHY Palestine is a region in Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The boundaries of the region have changed throughout its long history. Today, the region comprises the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Situated at a strategic location between Egypt, Syria, and Arabia, and considered the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region has a long and tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, and politics.
HISTORY The Palestinian region was among the earliest in the world to see human habitation, agricultural communities and civilization. For much of its ancient history, the region was a collection of semi-nomadic tribes and independent city-states. One tribe of note was the Israelites, a community of Hebrew people who possessed a strong centralizing force in their monotheistic faith and gained power over the region when Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged in the Early Iron Age (c. 1000 BCE). In 586 BCE, the Israelites were conquered and enslaved by the Babylonian Empire, but retained their religion and language. Their triumphs and struggles as a people form much of the Old Testament and are at the root of modern Judaism. Many different kingdoms went on to exchange control of the Palestinian region, until it was conquered by the ever-expanding Roman Empire in 63 BCE. It would remain under Roman control for hundreds of years. During this time, Jesus, a religious teacher believed by Christians to be the Son of God, was executed in Jerusalem c. 30 CE. The Christian religion would grow in popularity after this event, but was illegal until the victory of Roman Christian Emperor Constantine. This brought in the Christianization of the Roman Empire, and by 326 CE Palestine (and especially Jerusalem) had become a center of Christianity, attracting many monks and religious scholars. In the year 570 CE, in the city of Mecca, in what is today Saudi Arabia, Mohammed was born. He would become the founder of Islam, a monotheistic religion that quickly swept the region. Muslim leaders who are considered religious successors to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, are known as Caliphs, and their kingdoms are referred to as Caliphates. In 636 CE, the Muslim Arab army of the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the region, marking the start of Islamic dominance over the area. The Dome of the Rock was constructed in Jerusalem in 691, and was the world’s first great work of Islamic architecture. The Caliphate also constructed the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which is considered to be the third holiest site for Sunni Muslims. The Palestinian region continued to change hands between Egypt, the Crusaders, and various Islamic Caliphates until the Ottomans captured Gaza in 1516 and the territory became a part of the Ottoman Empire. The region would remain under Ottoman control until the Empire’s collapse during World War 1.
The Dome of the Rock Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 9 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet
Historical & Cultural Context (cont.) PALESTINE (cont.)
POPULATION Palestinians are an ethnic group comprising the modern descendants of the peoples who have lived in Palestine over the centuries, and who today are largely culturally and linguistically Arab due to Arabization of the region. Because of their diaspora after 1947, it is difficult to accurately estimate their global population. The Palestinian population in the territories off the West Bank and Gaza Strip is about 4.7 million. 93% of Palestinians identify as Muslim, with the remaining 7% identifying as Christian, Samaritan or Druze. Their chief language is Arabic, though many Palestinians speak Hebrew and English as well.
THE ARAB-ISRAELI WARS AND MODERN CONFLICT
The 1948 Arab-Israeli War (Israeli War of Independence) marked the beginning of the State of Israel, and in 1949 the new country signed peace agreements with its neighboring countries of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Israel's new borders, later known as the Green Line, were established. The war saw more than 700,000 Arabs fleeing the territory, becoming refugees under Israeli, Egyptian, or Jordanian rule. These refugees became an important catalyst for the escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict into the 1950s and beyond.
The 1967 Six Day War, also known as the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, was fought over six days in June between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Relations between Israel and its neighbors had never fully normalized following the 1948 War and the creation of the State of Israel, and in the period leading up to June 1967, tensions became dangerously heightened. Egyptian forces mobilized along the Israeli border on the Sinai Peninsula and Israel responded with a series of airstrikes, destroying nearly the entire Egyptian air force. Syria and Jordan responded by joining with Egypt to attack Israel, but were quickly defeated by the Israeli army. By the time a ceasefire was signed on June 11, Israel had control over the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula, the Jordanian- controlled West Bank, the Syrian region known as Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem. 300,000 Palestinians fled the West Bank and about 100,000 Syrians left the Golan to become refugees. Israel’s stunning victory in the Six-Day War left the Jewish nation in control of territory four times its previous size. On October 6, 1973, hoping to win back territory lost to Israel in 1967, Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, and the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. This conflict was later known as the Yom Kippur War. Taking the Israeli Defense Forces by surprise, Egyptian troops swept into the Sinai Peninsula, while Syria struggled to throw occupying Israeli troops out of the Golan Heights. Israel counterattacked and recaptured the Golan Heights. A cease-fire went into effect on October 25, 1973.
The Camp David Accords in 1978 were the result of 14 months of diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Israel, and the United States that focused on a resolution of disputes between Israel and the Arab countries, gradually evolving into a search for a bilateral agreement between Israel and Egypt. Israel and Egypt agreed to sign the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in 1979, and Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, but retained control over the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights. The Camp David Accords were significant for causing the disintegration of a united Arab front in opposition to Israel; Egypt was a powerful leader in the Arab world, and by realigning themselves with Israel and creating a peaceful border on the Sinai Peninsula, they greatly diminished the possibility of taking Israel by force. In response, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Jordan suspended Egypt from the Arab League. The assassination of then Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad was also in response to the negotiation of the Camp David Accords.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 10 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Historical & Cultural Context (cont.)
THE ARAB-ISRAELI WARS AND MODERN CONFLICT (cont.)
The Palestinian Liberation Organization, or PLO, was founded in 1964 with the purpose of the "liberation of Palestine" through armed struggle. The basic idea in the PLO's ideology is that Zionists had unjustly expelled the Palestinians from Palestine and established a Jewish state in place under the pretext of having historic and Jewish ties with Palestine. They demanded that Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return to their homes, and used guerrilla tactics to attack Israel from their bases in the West Bank, Lebanon, Gaza Strip, and Syria. The PLO was responsible for many massacres, hijackings, and acts of terrorism against Israeli citizens. The PLO was granted observer status at the UN in 1974, but was considered by the United States and Israel to be a terrorist organization until the Madrid Conference in 1991. In 1993, the PLO recognized Israel's right to exist in peace and rejected violence and terrorism; in response, Israel officially recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people.
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising in response to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Beginning in 1987 and concluding in the early 1990s, The First Intifada resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and over a thousand Palestinians. The terrorist organization Hamas was founded during this time, with the goal of creating an Islamic state in Palestine in place of Israel and the Palestinian territories through violent jihad.
Increasing violence between Israelis and Palestinians led to The Oslo Accords, a set of agreements between the government of Israel and the PLO signed in 1993 and 1995. The Oslo Accords created the Palestinian Authority, whose functions are the limited self-governance over parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and, it acknowledged that the PLO is now Israel's partner in permanent status negotiations about the remaining issues. The Oslo Accords, however, did not create a Palestinian state, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip remain Israeli- occupied territories.
The Second Intifada was the second Palestinian uprising against Israel and brought in another period of intensified Israeli-Palestinian violence. It started in 2000, when Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount (also known as Haram al Sharif to Muslims). The Temple Mount complex contains Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, sacred shrines of Islam, and is also revered by Jews as the holy site of the First and Second Temples. Besides being a holy site to two different religious groups, The Temple Mount is in East Jerusalem, where tension had been growing between Palestinians and Israelis since its capture by Israel in 1967. While Sharon insisted he was visiting the site with a message of peace, many Muslim Palestinians saw the visit as a provocative Jewish claim to the city of Jerusalem and its holy sites. This resulted in angry demonstrations and violent riots with many deaths on both sides.
Both parties caused high numbers of casualties among civilians as well as combatants: the Palestinians by numerous suicide bombing and gunfire; the Israelis by tank, gunfire, and air attacks. At least 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis died in the conflict. The Second Intifada concluded in 2005, when Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared a truce at Sharm el-Sheik. During this period of unrest, Sharon began construction on the Israeli West Bank Barrier, a huge wall separating Israel Proper from the West Bank. The barrier, still under construction, is expected to reach at least 403 miles in length.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 11 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Historical & Cultural Context (cont.)
THE ARAB-ISRAELI WARS AND MODERN CONFLICT (cont.)
In 2006, Hamas won the majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council away from the more secular Fatah party. This led to a freeze on all international aid to the Palestinian territories and created a large divide in the Palestinian Authority. The fighting between factions resulted in the Battle of Gaza, in which Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. On Dec. 19th 2008, Hamas began a campaign of rocket launches against Israel, and Israel responded with a series of deadly air strikes. These weeks of fighting became known as the Gaza War. Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire on January 17, 2009. Fighting broke out again between Israel and Hamas in 2014, causing more than 2,00 deaths of soldiers, militants, and civilians.
TIMELINES
Ancient Timeline
Modern Timeline Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 12 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Romeo & Juliet- Characters
CAPULETS (Israeli) Lord Capulet, Juliet’s father – feuding with Lord Montague- becomes Rabbi Capulet Lady Capulet, Juliet’s mother & wife to Capulet – becomes Geveret Capulet – same relationship Juliet, daughter to Capulet – same name and relationship Tybalt, nephew to Lady Capulet – same name and relationship Nurse Juliet’s confidant and servant - same name and relationship Peter, servant to Juliet's nurse – becomes Mendel who works for the Capulets Paris, a young nobleman – Capulet’s choice to marry his daughter – becomes Peretz, suitor to Juliet Sampson, servant to Capulets – becomes Abraham, Israeli soldier Gregory, servants to Capulet – becomes Gideon, Israeli soldier
MONTAGUES (Arab) Montague, Romeo’s father – feuding with Lord Capulet – same name and relationship Lady Montague – Romeo’s mother – becomes Assayidah Montague – same relationship Romeo, son to Montague – same name and relationship Mercutio, kinsman to the prince, and friend to Romeo – same name and relationship Benvolio, nephew to Montague/friend to Romeo – becomes Mohammad Al-Loh – same relationship Balthasar, servant to Romeo – becomes Jamal, friend to the house of Montague Abraham, servant to Montague – becomes Ziad, friend to the house of Montague
Escalus, PRINCE of Verona – becomes Prime Minister Gili Berger Friar Laurence, Franciscans – becomes Mufti Zaman An Apothecary
Citizens, Party-goers, Soldiers, and Attendants
Romeo & Juliet - Synopsis This is a synopsis of Shakespeare’s original play, scene by scene. The performance you will see is edited for length and has been adapted to be set in modern-day Israel. The character list above provides both the original character names and their adjustment in our production. When studying this in class, note that the adaptation includes most of the characters and story points of the original. Because of its importance in the pantheon of literature and theatre, we recommend that students become familiar with the full original story and we suggest that you use this as a teaching moment to introduce the ideas of editing, abridging, adapting, and updating, to your students.
Act I, Prologue The play opens with a prologue spoken by a Chorus in the form of a fourteen-line sonnet. In this concise manner, we are told from the start that the play's setting is the Italian city of Verona, that a blood feud between two families (Montagues and Capulets) is the context in which the star-cross'd lovers (Romeo and Juliet) will fall in love, and that only with their deaths will this conflict come to an end.
The adaptation begins with a similar prologue which sets the play in Jerusalem, where the referenced “ancient grudge” takes on a deeper and more specific context.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 13 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Romeo & Juliet – Synopsis (cont.) Act I, Scene 1 In Verona’s street, we meet two servants of the Capulets. Two servants of the Montague household enter and the boys begin to fight. Benvolio, a Montague and a cousin to Romeo, appears stops the bustle reminding his kinsmen of the Prince’s warning about fighting in the streets. Tybalt (a Capulet cousin), bursts in, and begins to duel with Benvolio. Soon all of Verona is in the street fighting including the fathers of this feud - Capulet and his wife, Montague and his wife. The Prince of Verona, arrives and commands the brawl – a broach of law – stop on pain of death. All depart to their homes. Lord and Lady Montague inquire of Benvolio where their son, Romeo, is. He enters, appearing down-cast and distracted. His parents leave and he explains to Benvolio that he is madly in love with Rosalind. Benvolio encourages Romeo to forget about the maiden.
The adaptation has the same brawl, begun by the racist slurs thrown by two Israeli’s and two Arabs. It is set at a checkpoint and the weapons are knives, clubs, rocks, and eventually the gunfire of the soldiers. A young child is killed in the melee. The Prime Minister and the Mufti stop the brawl. The Montagues have the same conversation with Mohammad Al-Loh about their son who is in the same state – in love with Rebecca, whom his cousin encourages him to forget.
Act I, Scene 2 County Paris, speaks with Capulet about his desire to marry Capulet's daughter, Juliet. Capulet initially objects to this proposal, saying that Juliet is too young (not yet fourteen), but he then says that he will consent to the marriage if Paris can win his daughter's love. Capulet instructs Peter to deliver invitations to a banquet that he is planning, and leaves the stage in the company of Paris. Left alone, Peter admits a dilemma: he is illiterate and cannot read the list of guests. Just then, Romeo and Benvolio pass by, and Romeo agrees to read the list. After he finds the name of Rosalind among the invited guests, Romeo plans to attend the banquet.
The adaptation has the same discussion, between Capulet and Peretz. The servant Mendel is given the list and Romeo reads it discovering Rebecca among the guests. Mohammad Al-Loh encourages Romeo to forget Rebecca in favor of an Arab girl.
Act I, Scene 3 At the house of the Capulets, Lady Capulet sounds her daughter out about her willingness to marry, and Juliet says that she has not considered it. Juliet’s Nurse is part of the conversation and their relationship is clearly closer than that of the mother and her daughter. Lady Capulet tells her daughter that Paris will be at the banquet that night and directs her to find if she can love him.
The adaptation has the same interchange with Geveret Capulet encouraging Juliet to see if she can love Peretz. Mendel interrupts as the party is ready to begin!
Act I, Scene 4 Romeo, Benvolio and, Mercutio (a relative of the Prince as well as a friend to Romeo) approach the festivities at the Capulet’s. Mercutio picks on Romeo for being a lover and sullen and speaks of Queen Mab who preys on dreamers. They mask and enter the party.
The adaptation has the same interchange with Romeo, Mohammad Al-Loh and Mercutio who is cousin to the Prime Minister. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 14 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Romeo & Juliet – Synopsis (cont.) Act I, Scene 5 Guests arrive and are greeted by Capulet and his wife. Romeo enters with his crew and falls instantaneously in love with Juliet. Tybalt, a cousin of the Capulets, recognizes Romeo, son of the Montagues, and will fight with him. Capulet makes Tybalt leave him alone. Tybalt obeys reluctantly. Romeo and Juliet speak to and dance with one other face-to-face. In a series of exchanges, the lovers jointly complete a fourteen-line sonnet and then kiss. When Juliet departs, Romeo asks the Nurse who the young woman is and learns that she is the daughter of the Capulets; Juliet then asks about the identity of the young man and is told that he is the son of Montague.
The adaptation has the same scene. The Prime Minister is also at the party.
Act II, Prologue The Chorus reappears intoning another sonnet in which they say that while Romeo may be barred from access to Juliet, "passion lends them power, time means, to meet”
This is cut in our adaptation.
Act II, Scene 1 In the orchard of the Capulet house, Romeo lingers where his heart (Juliet) is. Benvolio and Mercutio enter looking for Romeo, but he hides from them and his two friends leave.
The adaptation has the same scene with Mercutio and Mohammad Al-Loh searching for him.
Act II, Scene 2 This is the famous balcony scene of the play, set in the garden of the Capulet manor. Romeo sees Juliet who, unaware that her love stands in the shadows below, expresses her love for him. Romeo reveals himself and the two profess their mutual love. She is called away from Romeo by the Nurse, but reappears and the two agree to marry. She exits again, but appears yet a third time, as the two make plans to communicate with each other before exchanging fond farewells.
The adaptation has the same scene.
Act II, Scene 3 Romeo enters the cell of Friar Laurence as he is gathering medicinal herbs. He tells the good friar about his love for Juliet. Laurence chastises Romeo for having so quickly forgotten his former love, Rosalind. But he agrees to help the lovers, hoping to also heal the feud between the families.
The adaptation has the same scene, it taking place between Romeo and his Mufti Zaman.
Act II, Scene 4 On the city's streets, Benvolio tells Mercutio that Tybalt seeks Romeo for a duel. Romeo arrives and the three youths exchange jests. Juliet's nurse enters. Mercutio and the boys make fun of her. When they leave, she says she is seeking word from Romeo for her mistress. He says that Juliet should meet him at Friar Laurence's cell that afternoon where they will be secretly married.
The adaptation has the same scene with the Nurse and Mendel happening upon Mercutio, Mohammad Al-Loh and Romeo. After the boys leave, Romeo tells the Nurse to have Juliet meet her at Mufti Zaman’s to be married.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 15 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Romeo & Juliet – Synopsis (cont.)
Act II, Scene 5 Juliet impatiently awaits the return of her Nurse with word from Romeo in the orchard of the Capulet house. The Nurse arrives but first teases her mistress before conveying Romeo's message about marrying secretly that afternoon.
The adaptation has the same scene.
Act II, Scene 6 At his cell, Friar Laurence and Romeo await the arrival of Juliet. Juliet enters, Romeo compares her to a blazing light, and Friar Laurence unites the two in holy matrimony.
The adaptation has the same scene at Mufti Zaman’s cell.
Act III, Scene 1 It is a hot day in Verona. Mercutio and Benvolio are present. Benvolio says that they should lay low. Mercutio defies the Capulets to attack. Tybalt and other Capulet boys arrive and test Mercutio's temper. Romeo enters, and Tybalt challenges him to a duel. But Romeo refuses to fight: even after Tybalt calls him a villain, Romeo wishes him well. Mercutio is rankled by his friend's "dishonorable, vile submission!" He draws his sword and duels with Tybalt. Romeo intervenes, but this gives Tybalt the chance to stab Mercutio under Romeo's arm. Tybalt runs away. Mercutio is mortally wounded. Benvolio carries him offstage and then returns with the news that Mercutio is dead. When Tybalt returns, Romeo, enraged, attacks and Tybalt is slain. Benvolio encourages Romeo to flee from punishment. Along with Montague and Capulet, the Prince follows a group of citizens to the cite of the mayhem. Benvolio recounts what has occurred. Recognizing that Tybalt was the instigator of the fray, the Prince spares Romeo from a death penalty, but banishes him from Verona (and Juliet) on pain of death.
The adaptation has the same scene with the Prime Minister pronouncing banishment upon Romeo.
Act III, Scene 2 At the Capulet house, Juliet waits news of Romeo, unaware of what has transpired. The Nurse arrives and explains that Tybalt is dead, Romeo has killed him, and for this offence, he is banished. Juliet is distraught at both the loss of her cousin and the loss of her husband. The Nurse tries to console her, promising to seek Romeo out.
The adaptation has the same scene.
Act III, Scene 3 In hiding at Friar Lawrence's cell, Romeo learns that the Prince has banished him and would rather die than be separated from Juliet. The Nurse arrives. Romeo goes to stab himself, but Friar Laurence tells stops him directing him to travel to Mantua and await developments there.
The adaptation has the same scene in Mufti Zaman’s cell. He instructs Romeo to go to Cyprus and wait for news.
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Act III, Scene 4 At the Capulet house, Capulet worries over his daughter's distress, believing that Juliet is grieving excessively over the death of her cousin, Tybalt. Capulet’s solution is to marry Juliet to Paris in three days’ time.
The adaptation has the same scene between Capulet and Peretz.
Act III, Scene 5 Romeo and Juliet have a night together as husband and wife before he leaves for Mantua. After he leaves, Lady Capulet enters informs Juliet that she will be married to Paris on Thursday, Juliet is taken aback, complains that it is too hasty, and refuses to wed her father's choice of son-in-law. Capulet enters and is enraged by Juliet's disobedience. After her parents leave, Juliet asks the Nurse for guidance since she knows the full details of her plight. The Nurse suggests that Juliet forget Romeo and marry Paris. When the Nurse leaves, Juliet says that she will go to Friar Laurence for advice.
The adaptation has the same scene with Juliet heading to Mufti Zaman’s for counsel.
Act IV, Scene 1 At Friar Laurence's cell, Paris arranges for the clergyman to preside over his wedding with Juliet. Juliet appears in person, Paris calls her his wife and then departs.
The adaptation has this scene on the street, a chance encounter between Juliet, Peretz and the Prime Minister from which Juliet runs away. It is cut from the School version for time.
Act IV, Scene 1 (cont.) Now alone, Juliet and Friar Laurence talk about the obstacles that stand in the way of her reunion with Romeo. When she threatens to kill herself, Friar Laurence spies a hope. He will give Juliet a potion that will make her seem to be dead for forty-two hours. After her family finds her in this death-like state, they will inter her in the family tomb. Friar Laurence will send word of this ruse to Romeo in Mantua and when she awakes she will find Romeo there and the two can then return to Mantua together.
The adaptation has the same scene at Mufti Zaman’s mosque.
Act IV, Scene 2 At the Capulet house, Juliet's parents and the household staff prepare for the wedding celebration. Juliet appears and says that she has changed her mind; she now wishes to marry Paris. Capulet is elated by his daughter's change of heart and obedience.
The adaptation has the same scene.
Act IV, Scene 3 In her chamber, after the Nurse and her mother exit, Juliet considers the dangers of taking the potion that Friar Laurence has given to her. But she drinks the vial, toasting to Romeo.
The adaptation has the same scene.
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Act IV, Scene 4 In a very brief scene, Capulet sends the Nurse to awaken Juliet on the morning of the wedding.
The adaptation has the same scene.
Act IV, Scene 5 In Juliet's bedroom, the Nurse tries to awaken a slumbering Juliet, but finds her dead (she seems so because of the potion). The Nurse wails, the household grieves just as Friar Laurence and a group of musicians arrive, expecting to take part in the wedding. Capulet informs that there will be on wedding, only a funeral.
The adaptation has the same scene with a Rabbi arriving.
Act V, Scene 1 On a street in the city of Mantua, a Montague servant delivers word to Romeo that Juliet lies dead in the Capulet family's mausoleum. Romeo seeks out an apothecary to provide him with poison. He plans to go to the tomb in which Juliet lies and die alongside her.
The adaptation has the same scene on the streets of Cyprus.
Act V, Scene 2 Back at Friar Laurence's cell in Verona, Friar John arrives with bad news: he was blocked from leaving Verona because of an outbreak of plague and therefore could not deliver Father's Laurence's letter to Romeo. Friar Laurence rushes to the Capulet family tomb before Juliet wakes.
The adaptation has the same scene between Mufti Zaman and a Mufti John. John was blocked from leaving Gaza by Israeli officers and so was not able to inform Romeo.
Act V, Scene 3 At the churchyard in Verona, Paris has come to Juliet's tomb to say goodbye to Juliet. He instructs a servant to stand watch and enters with a torch into the Capulet mausoleum. Romeo and Balthasar enter. Romeo instructs his man to leave the scene. Balthasar is leery and fears that Romeo may attempt suicide; he decides to hide nearby. Romeo and Paris encounter each other. Romeo warns Paris not to interfere. Paris defies him, they fight, and Paris is slain by Romeo. Romeo takes Paris' body further into the tomb and lays it alongside the "corpse" of his beloved Juliet. He stands over Juliet's body, saying that not even death can conquer her beauty. He kisses Juliet, takes the apothecary's swiftly acting poison and dies. Friar Laurence appears, too late to save Romeo from his rash (and misguided) suicide. He enters the tomb just as Juliet wakes from her slumber. Friar Laurence tells Juliet that Romeo is dead. She will not leave with him, so he goes as the noise of guards begins. Juliet takes Romeo's dagger from its sheath and stabs herself to death. The Prince, the Capulets, and the Montagues enter. Friar Laurence tells the Prince and the others about the failed plan to bring Romeo and Juliet together and of their tragic, mistaken suicides. The Prince chastises the heads of the warring families, declaring that it is their fault that this catastrophe has occurred. Montague and Capulet join hands; the feud is over, and they agree to erect golden statutes of Romeo and Juliet.
The adaptation has the same scene ending in shared Jewish and Muslim prayers for the dead and a wish for peace in Israel.
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Writing Activity: Exploration of Blind Hatred
Romeo and Juliet provides an excellent opportunity for you and your students to honestly explore their own experiences with blind hatred. - Have them write a letter to someone who, they believe, hated them for their race, ethnicity, socio- economic status, size, shape, etc. Encourage them to express how it made them feel to be hated for something over which they have no control. - Next, have them explore their own bigotry. Is there a person and/or group whom they have found themselves hating? Can they write a letter explaining their feelings and asking forgiveness?
Writing Activity: Tragedy to Comedy
The definition of a Shakespearean Tragedy is that it ends in death. A Shakespearean comedy ends in a
wedding. Have your students rewrite Act V of Romeo and Juliet so that it is becomes the latter.
Romeo and Juliet – Critical Thinking Name the family members of the Capulets in the play. Name their servants. Name the family members of the Montagues. Name their servants. Who does Romeo love at the beginning of the play? Why is Lord Capulet so angry that his daughter wishes not to marry Paris? What is the Nurse’s role in the Capulet household? Who is Mercutio to Romeo? To the Prince? What is a Friar? What is a Mufti? How are they similar? Different? Why are the Capulets and Montagues feuding in the original play? What are the Capulets and Montagues feuding in Theatricum’s adaptation? Why does Capulet let Romeo and his friends stay at the party instead of letting Tybalt throw them out?
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Suggested Activities – Plot and Characters Appropriate for all grade levels
Series of 7 Snapshots Objective: The learner will become familiar with the plot of each Act of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Break your class into 5 groups and assign each group one Act. Give each group a copy of the short synopsis provided in this study guide. They can refer to it as they prepare their “snapshots” Each group will be responsible for acting out 7 frozen images (“snapshots”) that, when presented in order, tell the story of their assigned Act. o Input . What is a snapshot? Have students discuss what makes a photo exciting. Heightened emotion, character, story, etc. As they create the snapshots that tell the story of their Act, remind them to think about these dramatic elements. A snapshot does not move, but that does not mean it is not DYNAMIC! . There are MANY elements that make up an expressive snapshot – not just characters! Actors can also portray important parts of the LANDSCAPE that help to tell the story. As the groups prepare their images, they should write them down AND rehearse them physically. When the class comes back together, each group will present their images to the class. One member of the group will be the narrator. They will call out “Eyes closed” (and the class will oblige as the group gets into position #1). When the group is in position, the narrator will call out eyes open and describe the frozen image taken by the group. This will be repeated 7 times until all 7 snapshots have been acted out.
Follow-up Questions/Activities Were there any major occurrences in the play that you feel were left out? In which Act do they occur? What snapshot do you remember the most clearly? Why? Bring groups back together again and have them draw and/or title each snapshot that they have just acted out. FOR OLDER GROUPS – go to a text of the play and find passages that express each of the images your group chose to represent.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 20 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet The Elizabethan Era – a brief introduction The Elizabethan Era, so named for Queen Elizabeth I, is also known as the English Renaissance. A Renaissance is a period of cultural re-birth; an explosion of art, exploration, education, and prosperity; a realignment of a society’s focus to include the broader, grander subjects. Queen Elizabeth I affected this change over England during her reign from 1558-1603. After years of religious wars and inner-turmoil, Elizabeth finally brought some peace to the country. Under her, England experienced a new time of prosperity. Shakespeare (1564-1616), being an artist and a favorite of both Queen Elizabeth and her successor King James, reaped the benefits of the English Renaissance. During Elizabeth’s reign, England was a nation of great exploration. The Queen sent explorers east along the Silk Road and west to the New World. The result, aside from an increase of England’s colonial power and prosperity, was an expansion of the culinary and textile experience of her citizens. Spices, dyes, cloth, animals, plants, gems, stones, and even indigenous peoples returned with the explorers and were integrated into the culture of the Elizabethan English. The clothing style of the era differed greatly from the Medieval period that preceded it. New fabrics and dyes enabled an increase in color and texture and the wealth of the period is reflected in the clothing of the upper classes, which is ornate to say the least. Clothing was a sign of social status and significance. The more ornate the clothing, the more money the person had. Ruffled collars of lace; bodices dripping with jewels and gemstones; tunics of deep blacks, purples, blues and reds; caps with the feathers and furs of rare birds and animals; these were expressions, by the upper and growing merchant classes, of their increasing wealth and prosperity. Another integral part of the Elizabethan Renaissance was the introduction of printed material. Pamphlets, plays and other written material were more widely available to the citizens of England than ever before. It was not uncommon for an Elizabethan gentleman to carry a hand-sized version of Shakespeare’s sonnets with him – a great boon for a poet and writer. However, the spoken word was still the most common form of communication. Instead of newspapers, information was shared by word of mouth; parents would share with their children stories that had been passed down from generation to generation. Grammar schools taught ancient as well as English history, along with many other subjects, in an oratorical style. This was a society used to storytelling and versed in its own history. A culture primed for a poet and playwright like William Shakespeare whose plays are full of creative language and steeped in the myths and legends of history. Although a period of cultural growth, Elizabethan society was one of strict structure, class, and order. One was born into a social class from which it was impossible to rise. Peasants, servants, nobility and royalty kept their place and married within their circles. The increase in trade and exploration created a growing merchant class, which found its status decidedly below the nobility. Queen Elizabeth was a singular monarch who brought growth, prosperity and change to England. She was known as “the Virgin Queen” because she never married. Some say this choice was to prevent the possibility of having to share the power that she held so carefully for over 40 years. Some say it was to keep the possibility of marriage as a political card that could be played during the never-ending negotiations for peace with surrounding countries (France, Spain, Scotland, etc.). Regardless, this decision left her without an heir and so James I came to the throne after her death.
1. Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions 1. How do we share information now? 2. How do modern fashions reflect a person’s social status? Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 3. Is keeping order still important? How and why? 21 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet
Queen Elizabeth I An Elizabethan nobleman
Elizabethan dress of a lady from under to overskirt.
Writing Activities 1. In groups, ask your students to create a front-page of a modern newspaper. They should work on three or four headlines on these topics: communication, fashion and wealth. Have the groups share their work, and discuss how these issues are the same or different from Shakespeare’s time.
2. Ask your students to look at the pictures of the Elizabethans below, and write stories about them. What do they do? What is their family like? How do they communicate with their neighbors? Where do they get their information?
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Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England to a glove maker, in April of 1564, William Shakespeare was one of four siblings. Being a child in the Elizabethan Age meant that Shakespeare would have attended a grammar school studying subjects such as Greek, Latin, mathematics, ancient mythology, the catechism, the English language, etc. for up to 9 hours a day. At 18 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was then 26. Their first child, daughter Susanna, was born in March, 1583. She was followed by twins Hamnet and Judith in February, 1585. The family remained in Stratford (one can still visit Shakespeare’s home today) as Shakespeare spent most of his time in London building his reputation as a great writer of plays.
It is generally believed that Shakespeare arrived in London in the late 1580’s. The first written account of his presence there is in the form of a scathing “review” written by a Robert Greene in 1592. The pamphlet attacks Shakespeare as “an upstart Crow” criticizing not only his talent, but his common status. London writer Thomas Nashe also writes of Shakespeare in 1592, noting the uncommon success of his play, Henry VI. Records of early publications also appear at this time including the long form poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. In 1594 Shakespeare joined Richard Burbage and six other men in forming a new acting company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. There are records of performances at court as well as indications that they performed at The Theatre (one of the first indoor, established Elizabethan theatre). Within a few years they became the most successful theatre troupe in England. Through parish documents, we know that Shakespeare’s son Hamnet passed away at a young age and was buried in 1596. That same year, his father John was made a gentleman. This raising of social status was extremely important during the Elizabethan age and effected the status of the entire family. Even though Shakespeare’s mother Mary Arden had been “gentle” by birth, the lack of status in his father effected Shakespeare’s status. Now, William Shakespeare was, by class, a gentleman. Shakespeare’s father did not pass away until 1601. It is believed that Shakespeare’s company built The Globe theatre in 1598-99 (which burned and was rebuilt). He is quite lauded during this period for his poetic and tragic abilities and it is known that his plays were performed frequently before her majesty Queen Elizabeth I. In 1603, his company was granted the honor of being renamed The King’s Men after then King James I. Throughout the company’s history, Shakespeare was shareholder & part owner as well as a playwright, actor and director. The company’s successes were his and his growing popularity as a playwright and poet fed the company’s success. Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, several epic poems and his wildly popular collection of Sonnets. Shakespeare’s plays include tragedies, comedies and history plays – all forms including elements of the other, a testament to his skill and knowledge of an audience’s tastes. After a very successful career, Shakespeare died in April of 1616 of unknown causes. He is buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, where thousands of tourists visit his grave every year. His gravestone reads: Good Friend for Jesus Sake Forbear; To Dig the Dust Enclosed Here: Bleste Be Ye Man Yet Spare These Stones, And Curst Be He Yet Moves My Bones. At his death he was a father, grandfather, published poet, celebrated playwright, actor and a gentleman.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 23 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet A chronology of Shakespeare’s Writing
Henry VI, Part One 1589-1590 Henry V 1599 Henry VI, Part Two 1590-1591 Julius Caesar 1599 Henry VI, Part Three 1590-1591 As You Like It 1599 Richard III 1592-1593 The Phoenix and the Turtle 1601 The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1592-1593 Twelfth Night 1601-1602 Hamlet 1589-1593 then 1600-1601 Troilus and Cressida 1601-1602 Venus and Adonis 1592-1593 All’s Well That Ends Well 1602-1603 The Comedy of Errors 1593 Measure for Measure 1604 Sonnets 1593-1609 Othello 1604 The Rape of Lucrece 1593-1594 King Lear 1605 Titus Andronicus 1593-1594 Macbeth 1606 The Taming of the Shrew 1593-1594 Antony and Cleopatra 1606 Love’s Labour’s Lost 1594-1595 Coriolanus 1607-1608 King John 1594-1596 Timon of Athens 1607-1608 Richard II 1595 Pericles 1607-1608 Romeo and Juliet 1595-1596 Cymbeline 1609-1610 A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1595-1596 The Winter’s Tale 1610-1611 The Merchant of Venice 1596-1597 The Tempest 1611 Henry IV, Part One 1596-1597 A Funeral Elegy 1612 The Merry Wives of Windsor 1597 Henry VIII 1612-1613 Henry IV, Part Two 1598-1599 The Two Noble Kinsmen 1613 Much Ado About Nothing 1598-1599
Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions: 1. What do you know about Shakespeare? 2. Have you seen/read one of his plays? If so, what did you think of it? 3. Why do you think that Shakespeare is so well regarded today?
Writing Activity Read or copy the biographical information about
Shakespeare for your students, then ask them to write his obituary. They should include information about his family, his work, and his reputation. They should also feel free to make up details about him, such as his favorite color and any special messages
he might have had for his family.
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We use language to communicate hopes, desires, disappointments, anger, confusion, love, etc. Characters in plays do the same thing when they speak – share what is on their minds. Although Shakespeare’s characters speak in Elizabethan English, they are communicating their thoughts to each other, and to the audience. Shakespeare uses language to clearly define and develop each of his characters – what they say tells an audience who they are. Shakespeare’s plays, though studied as literature today, were written to be performed: to be spoken and heard. Whether read or acted, one is struck by the richness and density of Shakespeare’s language - the images and metaphors he uses to capture the qualities of each of his characters. Like all of Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet combines poetry and prose. The poetic form Shakespeare used most often is iambic pentameter. It is a structure of poetry in which a line contains 10 syllables. The rhythm of iambic pentameter is closest to the rhythm of natural speech and imitates the beating of the heart. Passages that are written in this form contain clues to the actor on inflection, pronunciation, meaning, and emotional state. Aside from poetry and prose, Shakespeare used a host of other rhetorical forms to heighten the language of his plays and deepen the expressive ability of his characters. Many of Shakespeare’s characters use metaphor, simile, wordplay, puns, onomatopoeia, or new words to help communicate the depth of their feelings and experience. Shakespeare’s plays are rich with language the way a symphony is rich with music, but this language is accessible due to the humanity of his character’s experiences. Shakespeare often uses Metaphor and Simile. These are rhetorical devices where two things, perhaps thought to be different, are compared to make a deeper point. Shakespeare uses these literary forms most often. In a simile, one idea, feeling or item is compared to another using “like” or “as” whereas a metaphor is an indirect comparison. Often times, to express a character’s feeling or thought in the rhythm set by the form of iambic pentameter, Shakespeare would simply invent new words that sounded like what he was trying to express (onomatopoeia) and fit the desired rhythm (iambic pentameter); combinations of words that brought 2 or 3 syllables down to one (contractions) or simply original, slang words (invented language) – some of which are still commonly used today! To satisfy audiences of the educated/upper classes, Shakespeare also employed a great deal of pun and wordplay. These literary devices involve a word or phrase meaning two or more things at once and can make an audience feel included on a joke – sometimes at the expense of other characters in the play.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 25 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Iambic Pentameter & Scansion The poetic form most often used in Shakespeare’s plays is iambic pentameter. For words to be poetry, they must adhere to a defined set of rules that may or may NOT include rhyming! Iambic pentameter requires 10 syllables per line and a rhythm of inflection that is often compared to the heartbeat (da DUM da DUM). Of course, once the rules of a form of poetry are set up, there are times when the writer will bend those rules to help make a point, get an idea across, or express an emotion. Scansion is the word for decoding the rhythm and inflection of a passage written in iambic pentameter. An actor will break down each beat of the line to find the messages Shakespeare has left there. Just like reading the notes, rests and phrases in sheet music, scansion helps an actor know HOW to speak a speech. Each line of iambic pentameter has 10 syllables. Each line of iambic pentameter has 5 feet. Therefore, a foot has 2 syllables. Each foot has an inflection – which syllable is STRESSED. Scanning a line means defining the feet and then discovering the inflection of each foot. Some names for different types of feet are:
Name Description of inflection Example Line which contains de stroy´ unstressed stressed gi raffe´ iamb weak strong But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? un just´ da dum´
po´ em stressed unstressed cer´ tain trochee strong weak Holy Saint Francis! What a change is here! run´ ning dum´ da
unstressed unstressed stressed in ter fere´ anapest weak weak strong af ter noon´ I had ra / ther be/ a dog / and bay/ the moon da da dum´
stressed stressed car´ crash´ spondee strong strong head´- start´ God’s bread! It makes me mad. Day, night, late, early. dum´ dum´
Some other things to look out for: Blank or rhyming verse? Does it rhyme? If not, then it can still be poetry! Non-rhyming phrases of iambic pentameter are called blank verse.
Feminine ending Shakespeare would often break the rules of strict iambic pentameter to make a line feel out of sorts, weaker, or more pliable. To do this, he would add an extra unstressed syllable to the end of a line. Here’s a very famous example: To be or not to be, that is the question.
Shared line: Sometimes 2 characters share one line of iambic pentameter. Can you imagine why?
Wordplay: a play on words to create multiple meanings.
Inversions: places verb before subject. For example, normally we say: “He goes.” Shakespeare would write: “Goes he.”
Delay of information: the main point comes after a lengthy, preliminary description.
Puns: a play on words that sound the same but have different meanings.
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Suggested Activity – Language Arts
An Introduction to Scanning Objective: The learner will break a line of iambic pentameter into feet and syllables.
Here is an example of a line of text from Romeo and Juliet broken into syllables and feet.
ROMEO But soft / what light / through yon / der win / dow breaks.
Here is the next line of iambic pentameter from Helena’s speech. Can you put a circle around each syllable?
ROMEO
It is the East and Juliet is the sun.
Good job! Now see if you can circle the syllables and put a slash after each foot (HINT: a FOOT contains two SYLLABLES!).
ROMEO
Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon
Who is already sick and pale with grief.
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Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions 1. Think about how you use language differently in different situations. How do you talk to your parents? Your teachers? Your friends? 2. Can you think of a contemporary example of ametaphor?
Suggested Language Arts Activities
1.Have your students write a conversation between themselves and a parent, asking for something from them. Share a few of these dialogues with the class. Then ask them to rewrite these scenes, this time asking a friend for the same favor. Read a few of these exchanges, and then discuss how they are different.
2.Have your students make a list of all the things that they associate with nature. Create metaphors using those phrases. Pair up your students and have them share the metaphors they have created. Have them choose some of their favorites and combine them into a song or poem. Have the groups perform their songs for the class.
3.There is a great deal of rhyming verse in Romeo and Juliet. Have students discover the patterns of these rhymes by identify rhyming pairs in First Fairy’s speech included in this packet. Search the text for other rhyming patterns (A/B A/B, AA/BB, etc.)
Vocabulary List: Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare and the Theatre
The Theatre Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet play poetry Friar script prose Mufti stage contrast shrift role aside bawd set galleries vile actor simile osier cage theatre onomatopoeia pilgrim director iambic pentameter learned character Elizabethan Age Phaeton plot Renaissance banished Act The Globe apothecary scene doublet distilled prop Chamberlain’s Men tomb proscenium King’s Men feud playwright Blackfriar’s mistempered
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 28 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet The Elizabethan Stage
Like today, going to the theatre in Shakespeare’s day was a social and entertainment event. However, in Shakespeare’s London it was an even more important gathering than now because people did not have television, movies, or even newspapers to provide them with daily stimulation. The theater was one of the few public events, and it attracted thousands of people. The theatres themselves were quite different from those we visit today. First of all, the public theatres had no roof over the stage or the pit (the area in front of the stage where the poorest audience members “the groundlings” stood to watch the play). Seating was in three levels of roofed galleries that surrounded the stage on 3 sides. This form of stage is called ¾ thrust (the stages we are used to today are proscenium stages with the audience all on one side). They also had no sophisticated lighting or sound systems like modern theaters; they had to rely on the sun to illuminate the stage and the actors’ ability to project. In order to take advantage of the necessary daylight, plays usually began around 2 p.m. The performances generally lasted about three hours and involved a great deal of music and dance including a jig at the conclusion of the play, performed by the actors in costume. The stage of Shakespeare’s time is considered a “bare stage” because props and scenery were extremely minimal. There were also no curtains or lighting effects to signify a change of scene. It was therefore customary to have all the actors exit at the end of one scene and have new actors or the same character re-enter for the next scene. Another method was to simply have a character state the location of the play at the beginning, and then allow the audience to use their imaginations to fill in the details. Though stage effects were minimal, the acting companies made great use of the space available to them. Actors would climb stairs at the back of the stage, use trap doors to escape into or appear from beneath the stage, or even descend onto the stage using winches and ropes. There was also a tiring house upstage where scenes such as Romeo and Juliet’s famous balcony scene took place. Inside the tiring house is where actors changed, prepared and waited for their entrances. Besides the play, there were many other things to entertain the audience. Food and drink was available to purchase and eat in the theater. Concessions probably included apples, gingerbread, nuts, beer, and water. Often as many as 2-3,000 spectators crowded the arena of the theater and pickpockets would take advantage of the cramped conditions and general activity. The fact that there was no roof over the stage and pit meant that when it rained the groundlings and the actors got wet. However, the wealthiest audience members in the highest galleries not only stayed dry, they enjoyed bench seats with cushions for an extra fee. Spectators freely talked with each other during the performance, often too much, causing riots to break out during the show. Not only did the audience talk to each other, but they also spoke back to the actors - often loudly. It was also common for there to be clapping and shouting between scenes, as well as hissing at unpopular characters or actors. If a character or an actor was particularly unpopular with the audience members (especially the groundlings standing in the pit) they might be hit with some of the concessions referred to in the above paragraph! Although women appeared on stage in England in the 13th and 14th century, they did not in Shakespeare’s time. Thus, boys and men played all roles, even of women. Though females couldn’t perform on stage, many did appear in the audience. English women were not allowed to perform again until 1660.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 29 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet
Visual Arts Activity Have students create a drawing or a diorama of The Old Globe.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 30 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet .
Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions
1. How is theater-going different today from Shakespeare’s London? 2. Think about your favorite TV show or movie and imagine that men played all the characters. How would this change the show? How would it change your perception of the show? Can you think of any shows that deal with the lines of gender in reversed roles (i.e. men playing women, women playing men?)
Activities
1. Working in groups of two, ask the students to write a short scene about two people who have just been to the theater in Shakespeare’s time. After this exercise might be a good time to ask the students to write/discuss how they should behave in a contemporary theater performance.
2. Have students research the dress/costuming of the period of Romeo and Juliet. Have them do renderings (drawings) of appropriate costumes for one character from each of the “worlds” in the play (the court, the mechanicals & the fairies).
3. Essay question: Why was live theatre important in Shakespeare’s time? Why is it important now?
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 31 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Text Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet The following pieces of text from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet are included for use in preparing your students and expanding their experience of the play they will be attending.
Activity Monologue Performance: Have the students break into groups and work on the monologues below breaking up and memorizing the lines of text and working together to define words, meaning and emotion.
MERCUTIO O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes JULIET In shape no bigger than an agate stone Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, On the forefinger of an alderman, Towards Phoebus’ lodging. Such a wagoner Drawn with a team of little atomi As Phaeton would whip you to the west Over men’s noses as they lie asleep. And bring in cloudy night immediately. Her wagon spokes made of long spinners’ legs, Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night, Her traces of the smallest spider web, That runaways’ eyes may wink, and Romeo Her whip of cricket’s bone, the lash of film, Leap to these arms, untalked of and unseen. Her chariot is an empty hazelnut, Lovers can see to do their amorous rites Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub, By their own beauties, or, if love be blind, Time out o’ mind the fairies’ coachmakers. It best agrees with night. Come, civil night, And in this state she gallops night by night Thou sober-suited matron all in black, Through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love; And learn me how to lose a winning match O’er lawyers’ fingers, who straight dream on fees; Played for a pair of stainless maidenhoods. O’er ladies’ lips, who straight on kisses dream, Hood my unmanned blood, bating in my cheeks, Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues With thy black mantle till strange love grow bold, Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are. Think true love acted simple modesty. Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck, Come, night. Come, Romeo. Come, thou day in night, And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats, For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes Whiter than new snow upon a raven’s back. And, being thus frighted, swears a prayer or two Come, gentle night; come, loving black-browed night, And sleeps again. This is that very Mab Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die, This is she— Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine ROMEO That all the world will be in love with night Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace. And pay no worship to the garish sun. Thou talk’st of nothing. O, I have bought the mansion of a love But not possessed it, and, though I am sold, MERCUTIO Not yet enjoyed. So tedious is this day True, I talk of dreams, As is the night before some festival Which are the children of an idle brain, To an impatient child that hath new robes Begot of nothing but vain fantasy, And may not wear them. O, here comes my nurse, Which is as thin of substance as the air And she brings news, and every tongue that speaks And more inconstant than the wind, who woos But Romeo’s name speaks heavenly eloquence.— Even now the frozen bosom of the north And, being angered, puffs away from thence, Turning his side to the dew-dropping south.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 32 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com School Days Spring 2016 Romeo and Juliet Activity: Scene Performance Split the class into groups of three and give each pair the scene below. Have them memorize the lines and work together to perform the scene for the class. While they work on the scene, have them focus on incorporating the lines and the scene into a dance of the period.
ROMEO, taking Juliet’s hand ROMEO If I profane with my unworthiest hand What is her mother? This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand NURSE To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. Marry, bachelor, Her mother is the lady of the house, JULIET And a good lady, and a wise and virtuous. Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, I nursed her daughter that you talked withal. Which mannerly devotion shows in this; I tell you, he that can lay hold of her For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, Shall have the chinks. [Nurse moves away.] And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss. ROMEO, aside ROMEO Is she a Capulet? Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt. [Exit.]
JULIET JULIET Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. Come hither, nurse. What is yond gentleman?
ROMEO NURSE O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. I know not. They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. JULIET JULIET Go ask his name. [The Nurse goes.] If he be married, Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake. My grave is like to be my wedding bed.
ROMEO NURSE, returning Then move not while my prayer’s effect I take. His name is Romeo, and a Montague, [He kisses her.] The only son of your great enemy. Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged. JULIET JULIET My only love sprung from my only hate! Then have my lips the sin that they have took. Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me ROMEO That I must love a loathèd enemy. Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again. [He kisses her.] NURSE What’s this? What’s this? JULIET You kiss by th’ book. JULIET A rhyme I learned even now NURSE Of one I danced withal. Madam, your mother craves a word with you. [Juliet moves toward her mother.] NURSE Anon, anon, Come, let’s away. The strangers all are gone. [They exit.] Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 33 P.O. Box 1222, Topanga CA 90290 Ph. 310-455-2322 * [email protected] * www.theatricum.com References for Additional Reading
The Folger or Arden texts of the play provide useful background and translation information.
Belsey, Catherine. Romeo and Juliet: Language and Writing Bloomsbury Publishing. Ebook. 2014
Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare The Invention of the Human. Riverhead Books, The Berkeley Publishing Groups, 1998. An in depth look at the writer and his particular works from one of the top Shakespeare specialists in the world.
Brooke, Nicholas. Shakespeare’s Early Tragedies Taylor & Francis, 1968
Crystal, David & Ben. Shakespeare’s Words: A Glossary & Language Companion. Penguin Books, London, 2002
McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare; An Introduction with Documents. Boston: Bedford, 1996. A great reference for general Shakespearean study. Discusses the writer, his times, and his plays.
Melver, Bruce and Ruth Stevenson. Teaching with Shakespeare: Critics in the Classroom. Newark: U of Delaware P, 1994. A series of essays discussing ways to make Shakespeare more accessible in the classroom.
Papp, Joseph & Elizabeth Kirkland. Shakespeare ALIVE!. New York, NY, 1988 by New York Shakespeare Festival, Bantam Books. A fun and easy read about Elizabethan times and how Shakespeare reflects upon those times in his plays.
Wells, Stanley. (Ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
www.Shakespeare-online.com www.absoluteshakespeare.com http://tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org This is the site for the NEA’s Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation project. This wonderful program has been helping to fund Shakespeare performance experiences and education for young people for many years and Theatricum is proud to be a part!