The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare

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The Tragedy of Romeo and JulietWilliam
Shakespeare

• Introduction to the worlds most famous
  star-crossed lovers!

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William Shakespeare

• We know little about his life!
• What we do know
• Born in Stratford-upon-Avon
• in Warwickshire in 1563
• His father was a glovemaker
• and wool merchant and his mother,
• Mary Arden, the daughter of a well-to-do local
  landowner.
• He married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, daughter of
  a farmer.
• The couple had a daughter seven months later and
  twins in 1585. (Suzanna, Judith, and Hamnet)

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William Shakespeare

• Began in theater as an actor
• for Lord Chamberlains Men
• Was also a stockholder in the company
• Later, he began to write poetry, creating around
  154 sonnets.
• He also wrote 37 plays, with his first one
  appearing in 1594. He produced roughly two a year
  until around 1611.

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Review

• Shakespeare was born in
• A London
• B France
• C Verona
• D Stratford-on-Avon

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Review

• How many children did Shakespeare have?
• A 1
• B 2
• C 3
• D 4
• E 5

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Review

• Shakespeares father was an important Politician.
• A True
• B False

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Review

• Shakespeare began his career as a(n)
• A Playwright
• B Actor
• C Poet
• D Novelist
• E Glove-maker

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The Globe Theater

• Built in 1599, most of Shakespeares plays were
  performed here.
• Plays produced for the general public
• Roofless open air
• No artificial lighting
• Courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of galleries

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The Globe Theatre

• The Globe burned down twice
• Once in 1613, and again in 1644
• A replica was built in 1997 and is currently in
  London on the South bank of the Thames river.

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The Globe Theater

• Wealthy got benches
• Groundlings poorer people stood and watched
  from the courtyard- Paid 1 to get in.
• All but wealthy were
• uneducated/illiterate
• Much more
• interaction than today
• Yelling, throwing things!

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Differences from Today

• No scenery
• Settings references in dialogue
• Elaborate costumes
• Plenty of props
• Fast-paced, colorful
• 2 hours!

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Actorsno actresses

• Only men and boys
• Young boys whose voices had not changed play
  womens roles
• Would have been considered indecent for a woman
  to appear on stage

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Review

• Plays at the Globe were produced for
• A Kings and Queens
• B Very wealthy people
• C Common people
• D Only educated people

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Review

• The Globe has no roof over most of it.
• A True
• B False

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Review

• You can see the original Globe theatre in London
  today!
• A True
• B False

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Review

• What happened to the Globe theatre?
• A It burned down
• B It was torn down by the conservatives who took
  over in the 1600s
• C Nothing. It is still standing today.
• D It was abandoned so it eventually fell into
  disrepair and had to be torn down

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Review

• What were the common people who paid a penny to
  get in and stand called?
• A Standers
• B Peasants
• C Groundlings
• D Commoners
• E Pennypayers

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Review

• What were the audiences at the Globe Theatre
  like?
• A Rowdy and Loud
• B Calm and Quiet
• C Mostly Bored
• D Respectful of the Actors

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Review

• Who played women in Shakespeares plays?
• A Unmarried Women
• B Married Women
• C Adolescent Boys
• D Older Men

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Shakespeares Plays

• Three different kinds
• Comedies
• Tragedies
• Histories
• Written around 1595, Romeo and Juliet is
  considered a tragedy.

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Tragedy (Shakespearean)

• Drama where the central character(s) suffer
  disaster/great misfortune
• In many tragedies, downfall results from
• Fate
• Character flaw/Fatal flaw
• Combination of the two
• Butthere is also some comedy in the play.

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Why include comedy in a tragedy?

• It heightens the contrast
• It gives the audience an emotional break
• It diminishes the tension evoked in the tragic
  scenes
• It delights the audience
• It adds variety
• When integrated with the plot, it can
  counterpoint enhance the serious significance

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What is it called?

• Comic relief!
• the introduction of comic characters, speeches,
  or scenes in a serious or tragic work, especially
  in dramas. Comic relief was universal in
  Elizabethan tragedies.
• M.H.
  Abrams
• Provides relief from seriousness or sadness
• Provides contrast from the seriousness throw
  into relief

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Wheres the comedy?

• Two renowned comic characters in Romeo and Juliet
  are
• Mercutio
• The nurse

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What makes us laugh?

• Aside- Words spoken, usually in an undertone not
  intended to be heard by all characters
• Contrasts
• Exaggeration
• Poking fun
• Puns- Humorous use of a word with
• two meanings. Sometimes they are
• missed by the reader because of
• Elizabethan language.
• Word play

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Review

• Which is NOT a type of play that Shakespeare
  wrote?
• A Comedy
• B History
• C Suspense
• D Tragedy

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Review

• ____________ is a form of drama where the central
  character(s) suffer disaster/great misfortune.
• A Comedy
• B Tragedy
• C Suspense
• D History

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Review

• The downfall of characters in a tragedy often
  results from
• A Fate
• B Character Flaw
• C Neither
• D Both

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Review

• Comic _________ is built in to the play in order
  to diminish tension, delight the audience, and
  provide variety.
• A Delight
• B Scene
• C Relief
• D Contrast

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Review

• Which shows an example of an aside?
• A A character performs an action on the far left
  side of the stage
• B A member of the audience stands up and yells
  at the actors on stage
• C A minor character comes forward and says a
  line
• D A main character makes a sarcastic comment
  under his breath about another character on stage

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Blank Verse

• Much of R J is written in
• unrhymed verse
• iambic (unstressed syllable, stressed syllable)
• pentameter( 5 feet to a line)
• ends up to be 10 syllable lines
• This is the same form as Shakespeares sonnets.

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Prose

• Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or
  song
• Only characters in the lower social classes speak
  this way in Shakespeares plays
• Why do you suppose that is?
• NowRomeo and Juliet

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Review

• Prose is made up of verse (poetry) that has
  iambic pentameter.
• A True
• B False

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Review

• The upper class characters in the play will be
  more likely to speak in
• A Blank Verse
• B Prose

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Setting of Romeo and Juliet

• Verona, Italy
• Mantua
• 13th 14th Century
• Rich and Elegant

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Romeo Our Tragic Hero

• Romeo Montague
• 16 years old
• Only child
• In love with Rosaline
• Impulsive
• Eventually Exiled

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Juliet The Beautifully Tragic Heroine

• Juliet Capulet
• 13 years old
• Only child
• Innocent
• Independent

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Other Characters

• Mercutio (Montague)
• Tybalt (Capulet)
• Nurse (Juliets Nurse)
• Paris
• Friar Lawrence
• Montague and Lady Montague
• Capulet and Lady Capulet

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Minor Characters

• Escalus, Prince of Verona
• Samson Gregory
• Benvolio
• Friar John
• Balthasar
• Abraham

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Different Types of Characters (Review from short
story unit)

• Round Characters Characters who have many
  personality traits, like real people.
• Flat Characters One-dimensional, embodying only
  a single trait
• Shakespeare often uses them to provide
  comic relief even in a tragedy

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Different Types of Characters (Review from short
story unit)

• Static Characters Characters within a story who
  remain the same. They do not change. They do
  not change their minds, opinions or character.
• Dynamic Characters Characters that change
  somehow during the course of the plot. They
  generally change for the better.

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Monologues/Soliloquies

• MonologueOne person speaking on stage. There may
  be other characters on stage too
• ex . the Prince of Verona commanding the Capulets
  and Montagues to cease feuding
• Soliloquy Long speech expressing the thoughts of
  a character alone on stage.

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Review

• Which of these is not a setting of Romeo and
  Juliet?
• A Mantua
• B London
• C Verona
• D 13th/14th Century

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Review

• What were Juliet and Romeos ages?
• A 13 and 16
• B 16 and 19
• C 13 and 25
• D 15 and 18

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Review

• This type of character changes as a play or story
  progresses
• A Round Character
• B Dynamic Character
• C Flat Character
• D Static Character

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Review

• A soliloquy happens when a character is alone on
  stage, revealing his/her inner thoughts
• A True
• B False

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As we read, look for these!

• Contrasts. These contrasts include
• Light and dark
• Night and day
• Young and old
• Love and hate
• And

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As we read, look for these!

• Contrasts (cont)
• Tragedy and comedy
• Think also about the contrasts between illusion
  and reality
• And between the characters
• Romeo and Mercutio
• The nurse and Lady Capulet
• The nurse and Mercutio

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As we read, look for these! Themes

• A theme is a central idea or insight about life
  
• (which, in a tragedy, explains the downfall of
  characters)
• Look carefully for the following themes in Romeo
  and Juliet

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As we read, look for these themes!

• LOVE causes pleasure and pain.
• Lustful love, for pleasure
• Infatuation
• Pure Love

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As we read, look for these themes!

• HATE causes people to do irrational and hurtful
  things.
• Between Montagues Capulets
• FATE leads or directs lives.
• If stars cross couple is doomed
• Letter never reaches Romeo
• Fate is against Romeo Juliet

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Review

• Which of these is not a theme to look out for in
  Romeo and Juliet?
• A Friendship
• B Love
• C Hate
• D Fate

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Foreshadowing(use of symbols to show what
will happen in the future)

• Prologue tells Romeo Juliet are star-crossed
  lovers
• Clues that confirm Romeo and Juliet will have an
  unhappy end

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As we read, look for Symbols

• POISON
• -Good/ Evil
• -Natural substance made lethal by humans
• -Human society poisons good things
• -Romeo Juliets love is poisoned

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Symbols

• THUMB-BITING
• -Flicking the thumbnail (insult)
• -Foolishness of feud between families

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Mood

• Love between Romeo Juliet Happy
• Verona Ugly, harsh, cruel b/c of feud
• End of Romeo
• Juliet Tragedy

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Whew!

• Now were ready to read!!
• Any Questions??