Act I--Romeo and Juliet Sampson: Gregory: Abram: Benvolio: Tybalt: Officer: Lady Capulet: Lord Capulet: Prince: Mercutio: Lord Montague: Romeo: Paris: Juliet: servant: Nurse: 1st servingman: 2nd servingman:
The Prologue to Romeo and Juliet *The play is set in Verona, Italy *There are two feuding families in this town who hate each other (Montagues and the Capulets) *The offspring of each of these families are described as "star-crossed lovers." *This "star-crossed" couple end up taking their own lives. *Their deaths mend the two feuding families' relationships--it resolves their feud.
Act I, scene i *The servants of each household get into both a verbal and a physical altercation on the streets of Verona, Italy (Gregory and Sampson--Capulets; Abram and Balthsaar--Montagues) *The nephews of each household also get involved--(benvolio--montagues; Tybalt--Capulets)--foils of each other *The Lords and Ladies of each household also show up... *The officer and Prince Escalus enter and break up the brawl. The prince threatens them that if this happens again, death will be their punishment. *Benvolio and Lord and Lady Montague discuss that Romeo has not been himself lately--he has been very sad and depressed. *Romeo enters and only Benvolio remains to speak with him privately...
scene i (cont.) *Benvolio learns that Romeo is lovesick over a girl who doesn't return his love. Benvolio tells Romeo to just forget about this girl, but Romeo says it would be impossible to not think because when he thinks, he thinks only of her... *Who is this girl? NOT Juliet (yet)--her name is Rosaline... Rising action....
Act I, scene ii *Paris has asked Lord Capulet for Juliet's hand in marriage. *At first, Lord Capulet says she just too young--perhaps in two years... *Then, Lord Capulet said to "woo" Juliet and win her heart, and if he is able to do that, then he will give his consent for Paris to marry his daughter. *Lord Capulet gives his servant his guest list for his "feast" this evening. He wants his servant to deliver the invitations.
scene ii (cont.) *The servant's problem is that he can't read, so he happens upon Benvolio and Romeo, and Romeo reads the list for the servant. He realizes his "love" Rosaline is on the list, so he is automatically interested. Benvolio challenges Romeo to go to the party and objectively compare Rosaline to the other women to see that she's not as beautiful as Romeo thinks. *They decide to crash the Capulet bash.
Act I, scene iii *Lady Capulet informs Juliet that Count Paris wants to marry her. *At first, Juliet isn't interested in marriage but tells her mother that she will meet Paris and see how it goes... *The dinner party is about to begin... *It is important to note here that early on in the play Juliet seems intelligent and obedient to her parents as opposed to how she may seem later in the play.
Act I, scene iv *Romeo, Benvolio, Mercutio and others are headed to the Capulet party. *Romeo is still in a sad, depressed mood while the others are just joking (especially Mercutio). *Romeo mentions that he had a dream and Mercutio goes into his Queen Mab monologue where he makes light of the seriousness of dreams. *Romeo and Mercutio can be seen as foils--how so? *However, Romeo senses that something big is about to happen which may result in his own untimely death.--ex. of foreshadowing and building suspense, a foreboding tone... *They are still headed to the Capulet party at the end of this scene.
Act I, scene v *The party begins! *Romeo quickly notices Juliet and inquires about her... *He very poetically describes her beauty compared to all the others. *Tybalt (Juliet's hot-tempered cousin) overhears the Montague's voice, and he immediately wants to kill him, but Lord Capulet advises him to leave it alone. --He doesn't want to, but he does so begrudgingly... *Romeo approaches Juliet, and they discuss how pilgrims (holy palmers) used to kiss. Then, he actually kisses her. *The nurse interrupts them and only then do they realize each other's true identity.
Review for Act I Quiz Review such literary terms associated with the play as aside, monologue, and foils. What are archaic words exactly? Think of some examples in the play. Think about how there seems to develop sense of foreboding or building of suspense throughout this first act.