Engels shakespeare

1

Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

2

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.

3

The which, if you with patient ears attend,

What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

4

This has been Verona Daily News. Stay tuned — tragedy awaits.

(Fade out, dramatic sound or static effect.)

5

We chose to present the Prologue as a news broadcast because the Chorus acts like a reporter — giving the audience the key facts before the play starts.

6

The Prologue is written as a Shakespearean sonnet — 14 lines with a rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. That structure makes it formal and poetic, but we modernized it through the rhythm and tone of a breaking news story.

7

That’s what makes the Prologue so powerful — it reveals the ending, yet keeps the audience hooked on how the story unfolds. Thank you for listening.