Romeo and Juliet Study Guide Compiled by Laura Cole, Director of Education and Training [email protected] for the Atlanta Shakespeare Company
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Romeo and Juliet Study Guide Compiled by Laura Cole, Director of Education and Training [email protected] For The Atlanta Shakespeare Company at The New American Shakespeare Tavern 499 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30308 Phone: 404-874-5299 Tybalt: The “Prince of Cats.” Juliet’s cousin, www.shakespearetavern.com temperamental and an excellent swordsman. Capulet: Father of Juliet, a rich merchant. Wants only the best for his daughter. Original Practice and Playing Capulet’s Wife: She had Juliet when she was a Shakespeare teenager Montague: Romeo’s father, very rich also. The Shakespeare Tavern on Peachtree Street Montague’s Lady: Romeo’s mother. She dies of is an Original Practice Playhouse. Original grief after her son is banished from Verona. Practice is the active exploration and implementation of Elizabethan stagecraft Prince Escalus: The ruler of Verona, and very and acting techniques. “moved” over the continued brawling of the families. For the Atlanta Shakespeare Company (ASC) at The New American Shakespeare Romeo: A lovesick young man, who spouts some of Tavern this means every ASC production the most glorious love poetry of all time! features hand-made period costumes, live, Paris: In love with Juliet. He is “a man of wax” and actor-generated sound effects, and live “Verona’s summer hath not a flower.” A good period music performed on period catch. instruments in our Elizabethan playhouse. Peter: Gullible servant to the Capulets, who cannot Our casts are trained to speak directly to the read. audience instead of ignoring the audience through the modern convention of acting Juliet: An only child and 14 years old. Romeo says with a “4 th wall.” “she doth teach the torches to burn bright.” You will experience all of this and more Juliet’s Nurse: Widowed nursemaid to Juliet. Juliet when you see ASC’s Romeo and Juliet is her “lady, sweetheart, lamb.” Mercutio: Close friend of Romeo. He has a way with words and likes to party. Who’s Who in R&J Friar Lawrence: He marries Romeo and Juliet, Sampson and Gregory: Servants of the Capulet hoping “this alliance may so happy prove to household. Biting your thumb is a vulgar turn your households’ rancor to pure love.” gesture. Friar John: Sent to Mantua with a letter. Abraham and Balthazar: These young men just The Watch: The night guard in Verona. happen to be on the wrong street at the wrong time! Balthazar goes to Mantua with Romeo. Page to Paris: He is left on guard at the Capulet tomb. Benvolio: Friend to Romeo, steady and true. Guards, Servants, Citizens, Musicians R & J Study Guide page 2 wondering why Romeo has to be a Montague. As she continues to talk about her love for him, The Story he waits till the best moment to announce his “Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair love- “I take thee at thy word! Call me but love Verona, where we lay our scene.” Servants of and I’ll be new baptized.” Nothing will do but the houses of Montague and Capulet pick a fight, that they must be married! later broken up by Benvolio. Tybalt shows up The next day Friar Lawrence is meditating on the and starts the fight again, proclaiming, “I hate power of flowers and herbs for good or ill, when the word (peace) as I hate hell, all Montagues, Romeo shows up, wanting to get married. Friar and thee!” This time the fight breaks up only Lawrence eventually agrees, hoping to heal the after the Prince arrives and threatens to execute rift between the families. the next men to brawl in the street. He summons Capulet and Montague to his house, separately, Later in the day, Mercutio and Benvolio finally to hear his further displeasure. find Romeo. All 3 young men engage in some high-spirited antics and ribald word play. It Romeo’s parents haven’t seen him for a while becomes even bawdier when the Nurse shows up and Benvolio covers for him. When Romeo does with Peter. Romeo sets the time and location for appear, we find out he is in love with Rosaline, his secret marriage to Juliet. who couldn’t care less. Benvolio tries to cheer him up, but Romeo won’t play along. When Juliet hears the news she flies to Friar Lawrence cell for a quick marriage, for “you Next we meet Capulet and Paris, discussing shall not stay alone, till Holy Church incorporate Paris’ proposal of marriage to Juliet. Capulet is two in one.” hesitating because she is so young, but finally agrees, saying, “Woo her, gentle Paris, get her Out on the street, it is hot and boring. Mercutio heart. My will to her consent is but a part.” He is itching for a fight and soon enough he gets his is throwing a party that night, and Paris can see wish. Tybalt shows up and immediately taunts her then. Capulet sends Peter out to invite the Mercutio. As the word play heats up, Romeo guests. appears. Tybalt’s fight is with Romeo and he attempts to anger him with insults. Romeo says Romeo and Benvolio are loitering about the to Tybalt “The reason I have to love thee doth streets when they meet Peter with his list. He much excuse the appertaining rage to such a cannot read and asks Benvolio to read the names. greeting.” Romeo will not fight with his new They resolve to crash the party when they see kinsman, but Mercutio has no such Rosaline’s name on the list. compunctions. Tybalt and Mercutio fight and in Juliet’s mother and her nurse are preparing her the melee, Tybalt gets a rapier thrust into for the big party, and inform her that she will Mercutio, under Romeo’s restraining arm. meet Paris, a possible suitor, that night. Juliet Mercutio dies and Tybalt comes back, looking agrees, saying “I’ll look to like, if looking liking for Romeo. Romeo cannot restrain himself and move.” fights furiously with Tybalt. Tybalt is slain and Romeo becomes “fortunes fool!” Romeo is Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio are on their way banished by the Prince. to the Capulet’s ball, when they stop for some poetical word play on dreams, Queen Mab (she Juliet is impatiently waiting for night to fall so of the Fairies) and Romeo’s inability to have fun. her new husband can secretly visit her chamber Once at the party the three try to blend in, since and consummate their marriage. Instead, the they are at the enemy’s house, but Tybalt Nurse appears to tell her of her cousin Tybalt’s recognizes Romeo as a Montague. Tybalt wants death at her husband’s hands. Worst of all, to fight, but Capulet looses his temper and Romeo has been banished. She asks the Nurse to demands Tybalt behave himself. take a ring to Romeo as token of their love. The Nurse says she will make sure Romeo visits Romeo sees Juliet for the first time. They fall in Juliet one last time before he must leave Verona love at first sight. Too late they each realize who forever. the other is. Our scene shifts to the street outside Juliet’s home. Romeo is hiding from Benvolio Romeo is hiding in Friar Lawrence cell, weeping and Mercutio. Eventually they depart, and and wailing. The Friar and the Nurse convince Romeo seeks out what he imagines is Juliet’s him to grow up, go to Juliet and comfort her. window. Juliet appears on her balcony, R&J Study Guide page 3 monuments to their dead children and the play ends. Meanwhile, Capulet and Paris decide that Tybalt’s death notwithstanding, Juliet should be married soon, to cheer her up. Before a Performance, Think Romeo and Juliet spend one glorious night About This: together and he flees to Mantua. That immortal poetry: The next morning, Juliet’s parents tell her about her speedy marriage to Paris. Juliet refuses and her father reacts angrily. In the end, he demands In your opinion, what has made this she obey. Even the Nurse thinks that Paris is a particular play so enduring, even among the better man than Romeo, and tells Juliet to forget rest of Shakespeare’s plays? Is it special to him. Juliet rushes to Friar Lawrence’s cell, you or not? What made it so? Think of your desperate for remedy. He gives her a sleeping favorite/least favorite line and put it in your potion to drink the night before her 2nd own words. marriage. She will fall into a deathlike coma and her parents will place her body in the family Physical Actions Revealed: tomb. Friar Lawrence will get word to Romeo in Mantua that she is not really dead. Suit the deed to the word, the word to the Everything goes according to plan: Juliet returns deed. Where are there examples of the text to her parents and tells them she will marry itself telling the reader what the physical Paris. She sleeps alone that night and amid action on stage should be? Example: horrible fantasies of entombment with the bodies “She speaks, yet she says nothing” Act II, of her ancestors, she drinks the sleeping potion. The next morning the Nurse finds her, apparently sc. ii, or “Hold, daughter” Act IV, sc i. dead. The whole household is turned upside Theatergoing Then and Now: down with mourning. Find out what the typical Elizabethan We now move to Mantua. Romeo finds out from audience was like and imagine what a Balthazar that Juliet “sleeps in Capel’s performance might have been like back monument.” Romeo resolves to join her in death.