Romeo & Juliet Informational Packet Questions to Consider Who is to blame for what happened to Romeo and Juliet? What motivates the characters actions? What are the themes of this play? How do the themes relate to the characters? How can you relate the story of Romeo and Juliet to modern day? What I Want You To Learn Romeo and Juliet is a timeless story. Romeo and Juliet is filled with many universal themes: hastiness, revenge, stereotypes, fear, love, hate, selfishness, infatuation, loyalty, authority, obedience, fate, destiny, deceit. It is important to examine character motivation and sincerity when reading. Readers can come to appreciate Shakespeare s use of poetic style and language. Oral interpretation of literature is a crucial component of studying a Shakespearean play. How We Will Get There Reading and performing the play Class discussion Working on study guides and other group assignments Watching the play in movie form Journaling Rehearsing and reading passages aloud Final test
Historical Background of Shakespeare Important Dates 1558-1603 Elizabethan Age April 23, 1564 April 26, 1564 Shakespeare born Shakespeare baptized 1582 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway 1583 Susanna born 1585 Judith and Hamnet born 1592-1594 Shakespeare begins sonnets due to the plague 1596 Hamnet died 1597 Name on a printed play for the first time; Romeo and Juliet probably written sometime in here, he left for London not returning until right before his death 1598 Named the best playwright for both comedy and tragedy 1599 The Globe Theater built 1609 Sonnets first in print 1612 Retired back to Stratford 1613 The Globe burnt down The Globe Theatre Originally built in 1599 Burnt down in 1613 during a performance of King Henry VIII Rebuilt right away with roof tiles instead of hay Torn down for housing (1644) and rebuilt over 300 years later in a new spot Still hosting performances today April 23, 1616 Shakespeare died 1623 First Folio published 1670 Last direct heir died (Elizabeth Hall his granddaughter) The Stage Facts about The Globe Built like a stadium Three stories high Octagon shaped with open court Total capacity of 2,000 The upper tiers of seats had roofs For the middle/upper class people Often went to be seen rather than to see the play The Pit Groundlings would pay 1 cent to enter No seats Often very involved in the action of the play Not uncommon to be drinking and hanging on stage Shakespeare catered to this by opening his plays with violence or supernatural beings Men and boys played all female roles If the place and time mattered, it would be included in the lines of the script Very scarce scenery No front curtain; the back curtain was the dressing room; ghosts often came from the heavens or hell Theaters were owned by acting troupe Rarely written scripts
Capulets and Friends Character Chart Montagues and Friends Juliet Capulet Romeo Montague Lady Capulet Juliet s Mother Lord Capulet Juliet s Father Tybalt Juliet s Cousin Lord Montague Romeo s Father Lady Montague Romeo s Mother Benvolio Romeo s Cousin Nurse Juliet s Primary Caretaker Peter Nurse s Servant Sampson & Gregory Capulet s Servants Neutral Characters Rosaline Romeo s Love Interest at the beginning Balthasar Romeo s Servant Abraham Montague s Servant Prince Escalus Count Paris Wants to marry Juliet Mercutio Romeo s Friend Friar Lawrence Friar John Apothecary
Early Modern English & Grammar What s with the thee and thou? Second Person Pronouns ( you ) Modern English has dropped a set of pronouns and verbs called the familiar or thee and thou forms once used among close friends and family and to children, inferiors, animals, and inanimate objects. These old forms survived into Elizabethan England and appear frequently in Shakespeare. [They correspond roughly to the tu forms of the Romance languages, the ty forms of the Slavic languages, the su forms of Greek, and the kimi forms of Japanese.] Modern English Early Modern English Subject You are beautiful. Thou are beautiful Subject in a question Why are you here? Why are thou here? Object They will murder you. They will murder thee. Possessive Deny your father. Deny thy father. Possessive* To your own self be true. To thine own self be true. Possessive/reflexive To yourself be true. To thyself be true. *use if the next word starts with a vowel The second person familiar verb inflections ( you + a verb) Regular verbs add any of these endings: -est you know thou knowest -st you did thou didst - st you overheard thou overheard st Irregular verbs have no specific pattern you are you were you will you shall you have The negative is formed by adding the word not after the verb. you aren t you can t you couldn t thou art thou wert thou wilt thou shalt thou hast thou art not thou canst not thou couldst not The third person singular verb inflections ( he, she, or it + a verb) Often uses th or eth instead of the s she gives she giveth it rains it raineth
Literary/Drama Terms to Know Term: Definition: Example (all from Romeo and Juliet they will make sense later): Foil two characters who are clear contrasts to one another Benvolio and Tybalt Innuendo something with hidden meaning to show the bawdiness of the times My naked weapon is out Foreshadowing a hint at something to come Romeo s dream Pun a play on words That dreamers often lie ( In bed asleep ) Comic Relief a funny scene used to relieve dramatic tension The servants preparing for the party Soliloquy Extended Metaphor Wit a dramatic speech in which a character reveals his/her private thoughts to the audience a metaphor which is drawn out and detailed clever humor Both Romeo and Juliet at the start of scene ii Juliet compares Romeo to a pet bird Romeo and Mercutio in scene iv Dramatic Irony when the readers know more than one or more of the characters Romeo s love for Juliet Verbal Irony saying the opposite of one means Romeo, whom you know I hate Situational Irony something unexpected occurs The whole plan! Malapropism a humorous misuse of a word confidence/conference Epithet a short, descriptive phrase for a character Prince of Cats Personification giving non-human things human characteristics Death is my heir Understatement stating something as less than it actually is Just a scratch Hyperbole stating something as more than it actually is (an exaggeration) Worms meat Oxymoron two contradicting words or phrases combined to make a single phrase Beautiful tyrant Inner conflict another phrase for man vs. himself Juliet before taking the potion Tragedy drama ending in disaster due to fate and character weaknesses This play
Issues and Themes in the Play Directions: Consider the following social offenses. Rank each in the order of seriousness, with 1 being the most serious and 14 being the least serious. Planning to trick someone Lying to parents Killing someone for revenge Advising someone to marry for money Two families having a feud Selling poison Killing someone by mistake while fighting Cursing Killing someone in self-defense Suicide Crashing a party Marrying against parents wishes Giving the finger Picking a fight Guess what? These all happen in the play!
Words to Know as You Read Consult this as we read the play. You will also need this for completing some of your journal assignments. Alfore before Nay no Alack expression of sorrow, regret Ne er never Alas expression of unhappiness Anon at once, immediately O er over An t if it Oft often Art are Ay, aye yes Perchance perhaps Pray invite Bawdy indecent Beseech beg Saucy rude Betimes at times, occasionally Scurvy disgusting Bid ask Shalt you shall By my troth truly Shrift confession of sins Sirrah sir (implying inferiority) Coz relative Soft wait Spake said Dost you do Stay stop Doth he, she, it does Straight at once Sup to eat E en even E er ever Thee, thou you Enow enough Thence from that time (or place) on Ere before Thine yours Exeunt theater term meaning Thither there; to that place everyone leaves the stage Thrice three times Thy your Fain willingly tis it is Fay faith tut, tush mild expression of disapproval Fie O twixt between Foresworn denied Wast, wert were Hadst you had Whence where (from that place) Hap perhaps Wherefore why Hark you listen Whither where (to that place) Hence away from this place Wilt will, must Hie hurry Writ written Humor mood Humour liquid Ye you Yea yes Is t is it Yon, yond that Knave rascal Late recently Marry Mine I swear my