Romeo and juliet by William Shakespeare

LEAD IN

All over the world, the names Romeo and Juliet are synonymous with romantic love. Here are two definitions of love taken directly from the play:

Love is ...

'a smoke made with the fume of sighs.'

'a madness most discreet, a choking gall and a preserving sweet.'

Now try to write your own definition of love.

Love is...

INTRODUCTION ◊ Romeo and Juliet has always been one of Shakespeare's best-loved plays. It is an impassioned cry in favour of love over hate, peace over war. It is simply one of the most gripping love stories ever told.

CHARACTERS

The house of Capulet:

• Juliet

• Capulet, her father

• Lady Capulet, her mother

• Tybalt, her cousin

The house of Montague:

• Romeo

• Montague, his father

• Lady Montague, his mother

• Paris, suitor to Juliet

• Friar Lawrence

THE STORY

The Montagues and the Capulets are the two chief families of Verona, and for years they have been enemies in a bitter feud. Romeo, a Montague, and Juliet, a Capulet, fall madly in love but they realise that their families will try to stand in their way.

Everything starts to go wrong for the two lovers. In a fight, Romeo kills Tybalt and as a punishment, he is banished from Verona to Mantua. Juliet finds out that Romeo has to leave Verona and so the two lovers decide to get married in secret. They are married by Friar Lawrence.

Juliet is very sad and depressed when Romeo goes away. Her father insists that the best way to cheer her up is to have her marry Paris, an old friend, but Juliet refuses. In desperation she asks Friar Lawrence to help her get out of the marriage with Paris and reunite her with Romeo.

Friar Lawrence devises an ingenious plan to help Juliet. He tells her to drink a magic potion which will make her lose consciousness and everyone will think she is dead. However, she will wake up after forty-two hours, and when she does, Romeo will be there to take her to Mantua, Juliet does as Friar Lawrence has instructed and everybody thinks she is dead.

Friar Lawrence sends Romeo a letter telling him about the plan but Romeo does not receive it. He only hears that Juliet is dead. He rushes back to Verona and, when he gets to the graveyard, he finds her seemingly lifeless body. Overcome by grief, he kills himself. When the effect of potion wears off, Juliet wakes up. She sees Romeo's dead body and commits suicide. The two families realise that their feud has led to the deaths of the two lovers and promise never to fight again.

What's in a Name?

It is night time and Juliet is on her bedroom balcony. She is talking out loud to herself but does not realise that Romeo has climbed over the wall into her garden and is listening to her.

Act 2, Scene 1: Capulets' orchard

juliet: O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore¹ art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;

Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love²,

And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

romeo [Aside]: Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this? 5 juliet: ′Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

What's Montague? It is nor hand nor foot,

Nor arm nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O be some other name! 10

What's in a name?

That which we call a rose

By any other word would smell as sweet;

So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,

Retain³ that dear perfection which he owes⁴

Without that title⁵. Romeo, doff⁶ thy name, 15

And for thy name which is no part of thee,

Take all myself.

romeo: I take thee at thy word:

Call me but love and I'll be new baptised;

Henceforth⁷I never will be Romeo. 20

juliet: What man art thou that thus bescreened⁸ in night

So stumblest on my counsel⁹?

romeo: By a name¹⁰

I know not how to tell thee who I am.

My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, 25

Because it is an enemy to thee;

Had I it written, I would tear the word.

juliet: My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words

Of thy tongue's uttering¹¹, yet I know the sound.

Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague? 30

romeo: Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike¹².

juliet: How cam'st thou hither¹³, tell me and wherefore?

The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,

And the place death, considering who thou art,

If any of my kinsmen¹⁴ find thee here. 35

romeo: With love's light wings did I o'er perch¹⁵ these walls,

For stony limits cannot hold love out,

And what love can do, that dares love attempt¹⁶:

Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me.

GLOSSARY

1. wherefore: why

2. be ... my love: swear you love me

3. Retain: keep

4. owes: owns

5. title: name

6. doff: get rid of

7. Henceforth: from now on

8.bescreened: hidden

9. stumblest on my counsel: overhears my thoughts

10. By a name: with a name

11. Of thy tongue's uttering: of what you are saying

12. if either thee dislike: if you do not like one or the other

13.cams't thou hither: did you come here

14. kinsmen: family relations

15. o'er perch: climb over

16. And what love ... attempt: a person who is in love has the courage to do anything

COMPREHENSION

1. In the opening lines (1-4) Juliet suggests how she and Romeo can solve their problem. Explain her proposals in your own words.

2. In line 18 Romeo speaks to Juliet. What gives him the confidence to reveal himself?

3. What does Romeo want Juliet to call him? (Line 19)

4. How does Juliet recognise Romeo?

5. Why does Juliet describe the orchard as 'death' for Romeo? (Line 34)

6. What helped Romeo climb the walls of the orchard and overcome his fear of death? (Lines 36-39)

ANALYSIS

1. Romeo's love for Juliet is almost religious in its intensity. Find two religious terms which Romeo uses when speaking to Juliet.

2. Focus on the language that Romeo uses. What adjective would you choose to describe it?

• Bold • Passionate

• Confident • Cautious

• Other:.........................................

Underline sentences in which Romeo says that his love for Juliet has made him brave in the face of death. How would you describe Romeo's personality?

3. Which of the two characters seems more aware and fearful of the dangers they are running? Quote from the text.

4. It has been suggested that Romeo and Juliet suffer a tragic fate because they are too impulsive. Find evidence of Romeo's impulsiveness in the text.

WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Dramatic tension. Dramatic irony ◊ One of the greatest tasks facing a playwright is capturing and maintaining the audience's attention. This is often done through dramatic tension or suspense. Suspense or tension is created when the audience is uncertain about what is going to happen. In the case of the scene you have read there are two sources of suspense:

• At the beginning of the scene Juliet does not know that Romeo is in the orchard listening to what she is saying. The audience is, however, aware of Romeo's presence. This is an example of dramatic irony. The audience knows something that one or more of the characters on stage do not know. Dramatic irony is often used to add humour or suspense to a scene. In this case, as Juliet speaks there is a danger that she may say thing which Romeo will misinterpret. Overheard conversations are often the source of misunderstandings in drama. The audience is kept in suspense until Romeo reveals self in line 18.

• The fact that Romeo may be discovered by Juliet's family also creates suspense. The tender atmosphere which the lovers create may at any moment be violated by the hatred and violence of Juliet's family. The presence of danger heightens the tension and makes the scene even more romantic.

Tasks

1. Explain how Romeo's aside in line 5 heightens the tension in the opening part of the scene.

2. Underline the sentences that remind the audience that Romeo is braving death in order to declare his love for Juliet. How do these sentences contribute to creating suspense?

Over to you ◊ In what kind of books and films is suspense the main feature? Think of a book you have or a film that you have seen that included elements of suspense. How did you feel as you read the book or watched the film? Do you enjoy the anxiety created by suspense? Have you ever felt that the feelings are too intense (in the case, for example, of horror stories or films)?

STAGING THE PLAY

Stage directions ◊ Deciding where the actors should stand and how they should move is extremely important in the staging of a play. Sometimes the playwright will make suggestions about the actors' movements in his stage directions. These are usually included in the script in italics. It is often, however, the director of the play who makes these decisions.

Over to you ◊ Imagine you are staging a production of the scene you have just read. Focus on the moment when Romeo reveals himself to Juliet. Try to imagine how you would deal with this moment. Does Juliet hear Romeo before she sees him? Where has Romeo been hiding? Does he emerge from the shadows, is he standing below balcony, does he step out from behind a tree? Does he appear very suddenly and startle Juliet or does he reveal himself slowly? Try to write stage directions for this key moment in the scene.

OUT

Romeo and Juliet belong to opposing factions in Verona during the Renaissance. In today's world there are many groups that regard each other as enemies. Make a list of opposing groups that you know. What would happen if a boy and girl from opposing groups fell in love?