Romeo & Juliet

1. Romeo & Juliet Lima 9H

2. Background: • Written by William Shakespeare in about 1591 • Based on Arthur Brooke's The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet

3. William Shakespeare Born in 1564 to John and Mary Arden Shakespeare 1582: Married to Anne 1583: Birth of Daughter Susanna 1585: Birth of twins: Judith and Hamnet 1587-1592: Established in London as actor/playwright; first work Comedy of Errors

4. Shakespeare’s Works • Poetry • The Sonnets • The Rape of Lucrece • Plays • Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth • Comedies: Much Ado About Nothing • Histories: Richard III, Henry

5. Three types of Shakespearean Plays • COMEDY- end in marriage • HISTORY- tells fictionalized account of a true story • TRAGEDY- end in death

6. Romeo & Juliet is a …..

7. The Tragic Hero • Qualities of a Tragic Hero: • Possesses high importance or rank • Exhibits extraordinary talents • Displays a tragic flaw—an error in judgment or defect in character—that leads to downfall • Faces downfall with courage and dignity

8. Romeo & Juliet • Romeo and Juliet was written by Shakespeare in 1594 or 1595. • Romeo and Juliet was an experimental stage piece, featuring several radical departures from long-standing conventions. • Motifs to observe throughout the play include: • the antithesis between love and hate • the use of a light/dark polarity • the use of time • The use/role of Fate in the dreams, omens and forebodings that foreshadow the play’s tragic conclusion.

9. Romeo & Juliet – Act I • Shakespeare establishes an on-going feud between two families, the Montagues and Capulets. • Juliet’s father decides that even though Juliet is only 13 it is time to find her a husband. • Romeo (a Montague) and Juliet ( A Capulet) meet and fall in love.

10. Romeo & Juliet– Act II • One of the Capulets challenges Romeo to a duel. Romeo’s friends fear for his safety. • Friar Laurence conspires with Romeo to arrange a secret marriage. • By the end of Act II, Romeo and Juliet are married.

11. Romeo & Juliet – Act III • The duel between Romeo and Tybalt takes place after all, and Romeo kills Tybalt. • The Prince spares Romeo’s life, but banishes him from Verona. • Juliet’s father announces that she shall wed Paris in 3 days. • Juliet makes plans to seek the advice of Friar Laurence where unbeknownst to her Romeo is hiding.

12. Romeo & Juliet – Act IV • Juliet threatens to commit suicide rather than marry Paris. • Friar Laurence convinces her to fake her death in order to be with Romeo. • Juliet follows the Friar’s plan, and her corpselike body is discovered by her nurse.

13. Romeo & Juliet – Act V • Romeo receives word that Juliet is dead. • He buys a fast-acting poison and travels to Juliet’s tomb so that he may die beside her. • Paris is also at the tomb. He and Romeo fight, and Paris is killed. • Romeo drinks the poison. Juliet awakens and stabs herself to death with Romeo’s dagger. • The feuding families end their feud and erect golden statues to the lovers.

14. Terms to Know . . . • Puns • Allusions • Metaphor • Personification • Oxymorons • Paradoxes • Foreshadowing • Alliteration • Soliloquy • Aside • Couplet • Foil Character

15. Pun • A pun is a humorous play on words. • Mercutio – “Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance.” • Romeo – • “Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes/ With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead…” (Act I Sc. 4)

16. Allusion • An allusion is a reference to a well known work of art, music, literature, or history. • “At lovers’ perjuries, they say Jove laughs.” (Act II, Sc. 2) • Jove is another name for Jupiter, the Roman King of the Gods.

17. Metaphor • A metaphor is a direct comparison between two unlike things. • Romeo – “But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” (Act II Sc. 2)

18. Personification • Personification occurs when an inanimate object or concept is given the qualities of a person or animal. • Juliet— “For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night / Whiter than new snow on a raven’s back. / Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow’d night” (Act III Sc. 2)

19. Oxymoron • An oxymoron describes when two juxtaposed words have opposing or very diverse meanings. • Juliet – “Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical!” (Act III Sc.2)

20. Paradox • A paradox is statement or situation with seemingly contradictory or incompatible components. • Juliet – “O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!” (Act III Sc. 2)

21. Foreshadowing • Foreshadowing is a reference to something that will happen later in the story. • Juliet – “Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,Take him and cut him out in little stars,And he will make the face of heaven so fineThat all the world will be in love with nightAnd pay no worship to the garish sun.” (Act III Sc

22. Blank Verse • Written like poetry • But tells a story • More free-flowing rules • doesn’t have a rhyme scheme or set number of lines, etc. • Written in Iambic Pentameter • Lines that have five unstressed syllables each followed by a stressed syllable • Ex. Romeo … but soft. What light through yonder window breaks?

23. Soliloquy, Aside and Couplet • Soliloquy - Long speech given by a character while alone on stage to reveal his or her private thoughts or intentions • Aside - Character’s quiet remark to the audience or another character that no one else on stage is supposed to hear • Couplet- a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse; usually rhymed

24. Also… • Foil-- A character with qualities that are in sharp contrast to another character, thus emphasizing the qualities of each • Ex. How is Mercutio a foil to Romeo?

25. Motifs to look for . . . • Light and dark • Time • Fat **motif= recurrent element or pattern (of imagery) in a work

26. Light and Dark • Look for references to light and dark: • References to “light” words, such as “torches,” “the sun,” adjectives that describe light (“bright”) • References to “dark” words, such as “night” and “gloom” • who/what are they associated with?

27. Time • Look for references to time: • References to “time” words, such as “hours” • References to the passage of time, especially if it seems “rushed”

28. Fate • Look for references to fate: • Look for instances where events are blamed on “fate,” “destiny,” or “the stars”

29. Themes Developed • Themes are developed around the following ideas/concepts: • Family • Youth • Love • Hate • Mortality • Fate/Free will • Pay attention to how Shakespeare develops these ideas and concepts throughout the play.