The Tragedy of Romeo and
Juliet
By: William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s Time
Elizabethan England
1564- 1616
Elizabeth I was 25 years old
when she became the Queen
of England in 1558
Reigned for 45 years until her
death in 1603
 During this time, England
emerged as a political power
and made many cultural
achievements
 Last half of the century
became known as the
“Elizabethan Era”


Society
Very class conscious
 Believed in the ‘Great Chain of Being”

 God
 Monarch
 Aristocracy
– land owners
 Professional – priests, lawyers etc.
 Merchants – shop owners
 Trades men – blacksmiths
 Peasants
Women
Formal education of
girls was not
encouraged
 Those who were
educated focused on
chastity and the skills
of housewifery
 Would assume the
social class of her
husband

Women
Women must obey
their fathers and then
their husbands
 Rarely left their
homes, except to go
to church

Marriage


With parental permission,
boys are legal to marry at
14, girls at 12
Marriage contracts were
usually provided



Includes brides dowry and
settlement of cash and/or
property by husbands
family
It was generally
considered foolish to
marry for love
Wives are the property of
their husbands
‘Billy’ and his Theatre
Born in 1564 in
Stratford-upon-Avon
 Was well established
in the theatre by the
time that he was 20
 Became famous as an
actor and author
 Became part owner of
the Globe Theatre in
1599

The Globe Theatre
Where Shakespeare’s
plays were performed
 Plays performed
during the day
because there was
not lighting
 No scenery on the
stage except for a
balcony

The Globe Theatre
Plays were always about the rich and
included a ‘party scene’
 Poor people sat in the front in the ‘pit’, rich
people had seats around the side
 People brought their own food

 Favorite

food was Hazelnuts
Women were not allowed to perform on
stage; female roles were played by men
The Play
Terms
Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic
pentameter, used when nobles speak
 Rhyming Verse: used when something
emotional or highly important is
happening
 Prose: everyday language used when the
commoners are speaking

The Play
Terms
Aside: Character talks directly to the
audience while the cast ‘doesn’t’ hear it
 Dramatic Foil: A character that is
present to bring out the characteristics of
another character

 Benvolio
– Brings out Tybalt’s anger
 Nurse – is ‘dirty’, brings out Juliet’s innocence
The Play
Terms
Dramatic Irony: When the audience
knows more than the characters
 Soliloquy: When the character is alone
on stage talking to the audience
 Monologue: A long speech given from
one character to another

Terms
Fatal Flaw- Main
characters in all of
Shakespeare’s
tragedies have one—
The big character flaw
that causes the
character’s downfall
 R&J’s flaw:
Impulsiveness—acting
without thinking

The Play

Scene: Verona and Mantua, cities in
northern Italy

Based around a feud between two families
that has lasted for generations
The Play
Characters

THE MONTAGUES
 Lord
Montague
 Lady Montague
 Romeo – Son of Montague
 Benvolio – nephew of Montague and friend of
Romeo
 Balthasar – Servant of Romeo
 Abram – servant of Montague
The Play
Characters

THE CAPULETS
 Lord
Capulet
 Lady Capulet
 Juliet – daughter of Capulet
 Tybalt – nephew of Lady Capulet
 Nurse – to Juliet
 Peter – servant to the Nurse
 Sampson and Gregory – servants of Capulet
The Play
Characters

THE OTHERS
 Prince
Escalus – ruler of Verona
 Mercutio – relative of the Prince and friend of
Romeo
 Friar Laurence – a Franciscan priest
 Friar John – a Franciscan priest
 Count Paris – young nobleman, relative of the
Prince
Act I

The Prologue:


Chorus: a tradition
from Greek Theater,
would come out in
each act and preview
the act and make sure
everyone got the
lesson.
Shakespeare uses it in
only two acts
Act I cont…





The Houses of Montague
and Capulet have been
feuding for years.
The employees of the
House of Capulet pick a
fight w/ employees of the
House of Montague.
It turns into a Brawl
The Prince is furious
The next time there is a
fight, the participants will
be put to death
Act I
Romeo is depressed
 He is in love with
Rosaline—who has
vowed to live chaste
(no sex)
 Juliet’s father is
considering the
request for Juliet’s
hand in Marriage from
Paris

Act I cont…
Lord Capulet is giving
a party
 Juliet is to meet Paris
there
 Romeo’s friends take
him to the party to
cheer him up
 Tybalt sees Romeo at
the party and
becomes enraged

Act I cont…




Tybalt vows to get Romeo
later
Romeo and Juliet fall in
love immediately
They, then, realize that
they have fallen for their
parents “great enemy”
Poetic term: Oxymoron—
a statement that
contradicts itself. Ex:
Loving hate, sick health
Act II
Romeo climbs into
Juliet’s orchard
 He overhears her on
the balcony
(extremely famous
scene)
 She finds out he is
there
 They talk and agree
to marry

Act II cont…
Romeo goes to his
priest, Friar Lawrence,
and asks him to
perform the ceremony
 The Friar agrees
 Tybalt has challenged
Romeo to a fight
 Romeo and Juliet
marry

Act III
Mercutio and Benvolio
meet Tybalt in the
street and a fight
begins
 Romeo shows up and
Tybalt tries to fight
Romeo—Romeo
refuses.
 Mercutio fights and is
killed

Act III
Romeo becomes
enraged and kills
Tybalt
 The Prince banishes
Romeo
 Juliet is crushed by
Tybalt’s death and
Romeo’s banishment

Act III
The Friar arranges for
Romeo and Juliet to
have their wedding
night
 Romeo goes to live in
Mantua until the Friar
can work something
out
 The lovers have their
wedding night

Act III
Romeo leaves for
Mantua
 Lord Capulet agrees
to have Paris marry
Juliet
 Juliet begs her
parents to change
their minds—they
refuse

Act IV
Juliet goes to the
Friar and tells him she
will commit suicide
before she will marry
Paris
 The Friar gives Juliet
a potion that will put
her into such a deep
sleep that she will
appear to be dead

Act IV
The friar will send for
Romeo to come and
get Juliet in the tomb
 Juliet takes the potion
 Her parents find her
“dead” and they bury
her.

Act V
Balthasar tells Romeo
that Juliet is dead
 The messenger the
Friar sent is unable to
deliver the message
 Romeo buys poison
and rushes to Juliet’s
tomb
 He meets Paris in the
graveyard

Act V
Paris tries to arrest
Romeo
 Romeo kills him
 Romeo goes into the
tomb and kisses Juliet
goodbye and drinks
the poison
 The Friar shows up at
the tomb

Act V






Juliet wakes up
The police come
The Friar tries to get
Juliet to leave the
tomb with him
She refuses
He leaves
She stabs herself
Act V
The Prince shows up
and asks for an
explanation
 The Capulets and
Lord Montague show
up
 Lady Montague has
died of a broken heart
 The friar tells the
whole story

Act V
The Montagues and
Capulets make up
 Capulet will have
Romeo buried next to
Juliet
 Montaque will build a
statue of Juliet in
pure gold

The End

“Never has there been a story of such woe/ As
that of Juliet and her Romeo” (V,iii,309-310).
Theme

“Shakespeare’s The
Tragedy of Romeo
and Juliet
demonstrates how
dangerous acting
impulsively is.
Theme

Shakespeare
poignantly illustrates
how destructive
prejudice can be in
his play The Tragedy
of Romeo and Juliet.
Movie Comparison:
Which do you Prefer?
The Modern Version’s First Fight
Musical Balcony Scene
Modern Balcony Scene