Romeo and Juliet all revision

Prologue general notes

Prologue general notes

Written as a sonnet, indicates love yet talks of hate, indicating the R+J's love is unlikely. There are both lexical sets of love, but also of violence and hate, and the latter outnumbers the former

Prologue - civil

“Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” suggests that the idea of civility has been warped by the hatred of the Montgues and Capulets.

Prologue - Love and death - star

“Star-cross'd lovers take their lives” prepares the audience for the inevitable end, suggesting that their end is also inevitable. The use of antithesis furthers that R+J’s love is unlikely

Prologue- love and death- mark'd

“Death-mark'd love” juxtaposition of death and love shows again, the unlikelihood of R+J's situation

Prologue- 4th wall break

“The 2 hours traffic of our stage” grounds the audience by reminding then that this is fiction

Act 1 Scene 1- overview

Depicts a fight between the servants of the Montagues and Capulets fighting one another. Depicts aggressive masculine behaviours between these servants. After this, the people of the family begin to join the fighting, suggesting that the dispute permeates all layers of life for these groups

Act 1 Scene 1- setting stage directions

“A public place” bitter dispute that cannot be solved in private, and boils into the society of Verona

Sampson and Gregory

Servants of the Capulets

Abram and Balthasar

Servants of the Montagues

Benvolio

The cousin and friend of Romeo, a peacemaker. Bene, from where his name is derived means “good will” appears to be a moral voice from the start. He doesn't judge Romeo's melodramatic romance

Tybalt

Juliet's cousin, who is quite cocky and overconfident. His name means “tomcat”, suggesting this unfaltering boldness

Capulet

Enters ready to fight against the Montagues. Pointlessly spiteful.

Montague

Enters ready to fight with Capulet. Does not understand his son, and asks Benvolio to help him understand Romeo

Lady Capulet and Lady Montague

Only mentioned with their husbands thus far, likely to play a passive role due to gender stereotypes of the time

Prince Escalus

Powerful, and sick of the Montague/Capulet dispute. Threatens to offer punishment to any who continues it. Escalus means power or strength in Latin

Romeo (act 1 scene 1)

Young, naive and overly, dramatically heartbroken. He us supposed to feel naive, young, but also tender and sweet in a way, at the time of Shakespeare would be considered weak, but now is seen as romantic

Act 1 Scene 1, plot overview

• Sampson and Gregory, Servants of the Capulets, begin a fight with Abram and Balthasar, servants of the Montagues

• Benvolio trys to stop the fight, but is goaded into continuing by Tybalt. Officers then stop the fight

• R+J's parents enter and heckle one another

• The Prince enters, delivering a speech about the pointlessness of their violence and foreshadowing pain on the next person to perpetuate the violence.

• Romeo enters, is melodramatically upset about the loss of a lover and is comforted by Benvolio

Act 1, Scene 1, stage and setting directions

“A public place” suggests that the disputes are so violent that they boil over into the society of Verona

Act 1 Scene 1 comedy and romance

“I am a pretty piece of flesh” the vulgar and phallic imagery in this scene provides some comedic relief, but also suggest that Romeo and Juliet's love is unique for the time in it’s tenderness and affection

Act 1 Scene 1 masculinity and violence

“Do you bite your thumb at us sir?” Firstly, the fight takes place first between the servants, showing that the hatred permeates all layers of the families. Second of all, the levels of stereotypical masculinity Shakespeare presents in this scene are almost scornful, but also emphasise how different Romeo really is

Act 1 scene 1, stage direction, violence

“They fight” aside from not wishing to describe a fight scene, Shakespeare has dome this to indicate that the violence is so commonplace, it need not be described anymore