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Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
By William Shakespeare
Dramatic Terminology
Tragedies may involve comedic moments, but tend towards more serious,
dramatic plots with an ending that involves the death of main characters.
The main features of a Shakespearean Tragedy are that:
Characters become isolated or there is social breakdown
Ends in death
There is a sense that events are inevitable or inescapable
There is usually a central figure who is noble but with a character flaw
which leads them towards their eventual downfall
Romeo and Juliet Plot Structure
The time period of the setting of Romeo and Juliet is important to the
reader in understanding the relationships among the aristocratic families in
Verona, Italy, male and female roles, interpersonal relationships within
families, the role of the Church, marriage customs, celebrations,
friendships, and feuds.
In fourteenth century Italy, young males were allowed to move freely
about, but the females were quite sheltered. With such freedom, when
tempers flared, swords were often pulled, especially with the enmity
between the two feuding families of the Capulets and the Montagues.
Social Setting
In aristocratic families, the daughters, like Juliet, led sheltered lives and had
their marriages arranged for them at young ages. Thus, such an action as
Juliet's secretly marrying Romeo, and his being an enemy would be
outrageous. This is why Juliet exclaims upon learning of Romeo:
My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown and know too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me
That I must love a loathed enemy. (1.5)
Role of Women
Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 16th century, at a time when
the role of the woman was to be subservient to men and act as a wife to
their husband and a mother to their children.
Women were expected to conform to the expectations of society, and
were seen as possessions by their fathers and husbands. Fathers arranged
their daughters’ marriages, usually for financial or social gain for the family.
In Romeo and Juliet, the unfair treatment of women is conveyed through
characters such as Juliet, a young girl who is growing up within the
expectations of society, and Lady Capulet, who represents a traditional
side of love, and values social position rather than men themselves.
Comedy and Tragedy
Romeo and Juliet begins as a comedy but ends as a
tragedy
Elements of a tragedy
Elements of a comedy
•Must have a tragic hero/heroine
•A struggle of young lovers to
•Ends in the death of many of the main
overcome difficulty that is often
characters
presented by elders
•Separation and unification
•Heightened tensions, often
within a family
Hate
•Hate as a forced emotion
Fate
•The inevitability of fate
Interesting…
The Italian city of Verona, where
Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about
1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every
Valentine's Day.
“Star-crossed lovers” refers to two
people who are in love but have
conflicting astrological signs. In
Shakespeare’s times, people believed
the course of their lives was
determined by the exact second they
were born.
The Feud
Romeo’s family, the
Montagues, have a long
standing feud with
Juliet’s family, the
Capulets. While the
audience never learns
about the source of the
ancient quarrel, we do
learn that it has recently
grown stronger.
ACTIVITY
Research 25 Facts and great a fun fact chart on the play Romeo and Juliet
Research the lives of men and women within the Elizabethan Era, their
beliefs and practices
read The Prologue and answer the questions.
Highlight 5 words that stand out in the prologue create a flowchart of
simial terms