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Romeo & Juliet. Ernest Cheng and Jeremy Ng. Prologue. Summary. The prologue introduces the narrative of the play. The first quatrain (four lines) addresses the long-standing feud between the families. The second quatrain foreshadows the healing of this feud through the death of the lovers.
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Romeo & Juliet Ernest Cheng and Jeremy Ng
Summary • The prologue introduces the narrative of the play. • The first quatrain (four lines) addresses the long-standing feud between the families. • The second quatrain foreshadows the healing of this feud through the death of the lovers. • The final two lines tell the audience to enjoy the play.
Significance • “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny” • The long-standing feud is renewed • “Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife” • Their deaths bring peace to Verona. • “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their lives” • Their love was ill-fated from the beginning. • The use of stars as a symbol of fate is evident from the beginning. • The alignment of stars is a symbol of good luck, thus “star-crossed” symbolizes their misfortune.
Commentary • The prologue is written in sonnet form, and emphasizes the tragic nature of the play. • It brings tragic irony to the audience, as they are aware of the lover’s impending demise but they themselves are not. • Prologue introduces the societal view towards the feud. • The last two lines asking the audience to watch patiently while the actors try to please them connote that no one can truly reenact the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
Summary • Benvolio, a Montague attempts to stop the fight between a Montague and a Capulet. As the two families fight, both the Lord and Lady of both families arrive. • The Prince of Verona, Escales, arrives and commands peace and decrees that any further fighting between the two families will be punished by death. • Later, Benvolio explains to Montague how the fight began. They then speak of Romeo’s depressed state. • When Romeo enters, Benvolio advises him to try to forget about his love for Rosaline, and seek other women.
Significance • “I bite my thumb at you, sir” • This rude gesture provokes the other party. • Through servants mock the seriousness of their superiors and the absurdity of the feud between the families. • “Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, Profaners of this neighbor-stainèd steel!— Will they not hear?” • He emphasizes his power and criticizes the people of turning their weapons against their own people. • “Love is a smoke raised with fumes of sighs” • Romeo addresses the disappointment and infatuation of love. • Smoke connotes inconstancy and that love obscures one’s thinking and vision. • Sighs connotes disappointment.
Significance • “What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montague and thee.” • Tybalt is introduced as the characterization of hatred. • Syncrisis is used to compare “hell” with “Montagues”, emphasizing the contempt he has for the family. “Hell” is the metonym of devil and evil. • Shakespeare uses parallel clauses and iambic pentameter to create a aggressive rhythm. • This cadence emphasizes Tybalt’s hate for specific elements. • The repetition of the word “hate” further emphasizes this. • The short sentence structure creates a rash and disrespectful tone. • “Here’s much to do with hate but more with love” • Romeo believes that love is a stronger force than hate.
Significance • “O brawling love, o loving hate, O anything of nothing first created! O heavy lightness, serious vanity, Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke” • Romeo uses oxymoron to convey the distress and anguish that he is experiencing. • The oxymoron conveys the conflict between the futility of his love and his obsession with Rosaline • The use of exclamation marks reflect his melodramatic nature and him romanticizing the insignificance of his unrequited love.
Commentary • The comedic nature of the exchange between the servants mock the seriousness of the nobles and alerts the audience of the absurdity of the feud. • Tybalt is portrayed as a character of hatred and violence. He provokes Benvolio to fight and is a major contributor to the conflict in the play. He establishes the basis of the conflict between the feuding families in this play, and his unparalleled and paradoxical hatred of peace further extend that theme. • Prince Escalesis an authority figure within the play. The scales connote balance and the law, showing that he has the responsibility of maintaining order within Verona. • Romeo’s anguish is introduced in this scene. His unrequited love for the unmet character Rosaline tells the audience the futility of his love. Benvolio’s concern for him portrays Benvolio as a wise, advice-giver.
Summary • Paris asks Lord Capulet for his permission to marry his daughter. • Capulet invites Paris to a feast later that night, and send tell his servant to deliver invitations. • The servant Peter cannot read, and finds Romeo to help read for him. • Romeo discovers Rosaline, the girl he loves, is in the invitation list. • Benvolio and Romeo decide to go to the party, although it is a Capulet party.
Significance • “Younger than she are happy mothers made.” • Paris attempts to convince Lord Capulet to allow him to marry Juliet, despite Capulet thinking she is too young. • Paris believes that if Juliet marries him, she becomes his possession; aligning with social conventions of a patriarchal society. • Paris’s notion of marriage and birth is an antithesis to Juliet’s perspective of passionate love, strengthening his position as an obstruction in Romeo and Juliet’s love. • “Earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light.” • Capulet uses beautiful stellar imagery to analogize the women at his party. • The juxtaposition of dark and light emphasizes the radiance of the women.
Commentary • Lord Capulet speaks in rhyming couplets. The use of rhyming couplets is synonymous with high-ranking members of the Verona society such as Friar Lawrence. • This scene displays the youth of Juliet, and the social conventions of early marriage. • Paris’s dialogue in this scene with Capulet is short and stinted, conveying his impatience towards his prospective father-in-law. • The character of Rosaline does not appear in the play, the lack of development in their love is used to divert the focus to Romeo and Juliet. • Benvolio is portrayed as Romeo’s confidante and caregiver. He is more responsible, and gives Romeo advice on his love.
Summary • Lady Capulet informs Juliet of her arranged marriage, and to look out for Paris at the feast.
Significance • “What, lamb! What, ladybird!” • Nurse has a closer relationship with Juliet than his mother. • Terms of endearment used by the Nurse emphasize their close maternal relationship. • “Why, he’s a man of wax.” • This description of Paris portrays him as the perfect man. • The hyperbole compares him to a sculpture from wax. • “But no more deep will I endart mine eye Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.” • Metaphor of Juliet as the arrow and her parents as the bow. • As the arrow, Juliet is powerless to choose her life’s direction, and will be directed at whichever man her parents choose. • Reference to cupid’s bow.
Significance • “No less! Nay, bigger; women grow by men.” • Nurse says that men will make a girl bigger by impregnating her. • Use of double entendre show the Nurse as a down-to-earth and friendly character. • This quote shows the contrast between the upper and lower class views on love. The servants are more erotic, and the aristocrats have a more romantic and traditional view. • “I would say thou hadst sucked wisdom from thy teat.” • Nurse is Juliet’s wet nurse. • This reinforces their maternal relationship.
Commentary • Act 1 Scene 3 establishes the Nurse’s close maternal relationship with Juliet, that she only wants the best for her, telling her to “Go girl, seek happy nights to happy days.” Her character is displayed as chatty, often saying pointless things. • In Juliet’s first appearance, she is illustrated as a submissive and obedient character, following her parent’s will. This is contrasted to when she falls in love, where she develops into an independent character. • Juliet’s relationship with her mother is more formal, she often addresses her as madam and this creates an aura of respect, but not love.
Summary • Romeo, his cousin Benvolio and his friend Mercutiodiscuss whether to go into the Capulet party. • Romeo is does not care to dance, as he dreams of something awful happening to him. • However, Benvolio and Mercutio convince him to participate, they enter the party.
Significance • “I have a soul of lead” • Romeo analogizes his depression to a physical burden upon him. • The pun of soul and sole means his sadness and that he doesn’t want to dance. • This is contrasted with Romeo in a later scene where he claims to “with love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls.” • “If love be rough with you, be rough with love. Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.” • Mercutio mocks Romeo’s romanticized view of love. • The words “rough”, “prick”, “beat” create a semantic field of violence, portraying Mercutio’s character as volatile and aggressive. • The juxtaposition of innuendo and violence conveys Mercutio and Romeo’s vastly different attitude towards love, Mercutio’s being erotic and Romeo’s being romantic. • The use of inversion shows Mercutio’s use of wit and humorous disposition.
Significance • “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars… Direct my sail.” • Romeo is in a state of trepidation before the party, he predicts bad fortune. • Shakespeare uses this to reinforce that fate ultimately decides the course of Romeo’s life. Caesura is used to isolate “Direct my sail”, Romeo giving fate control. • The “sail” is compared to the quote at the Act 5 Scene 3, where in Romeo’s soliloquy he analogizes their demise with the crashing of a boat. • His ignorance of the premonition reflects the inevitability of his course. • The choice of diction “hanging” connotes a sense of looming and impending doom. • Romeo personifies fate as “lusty gentlemen”, whom directs his course.
Commentary • Mercutio, with his wit and stories of Queen Mab, is immediately established as a witty, impulsive character. In contrast to Romeo, he cares little about what occurs around him, much less what people think of him. • The name Mercutio is derived from the word “mercurial”, which connotes his mercurial personality. The word “mercurial” denotes a fast and quick changing mood, which Romeo embodies. On that note, “mercurial” is in reference to the Roman god Mercury, whom is known for his eloquence. • Romeo’s angst is depicted through the use of puns, soul – sole, soar – sore. • Romeo’s premonitions create a sense of foreboding and dramatic irony. Although he does meet Juliet at the ball, their relationship ultimately results in their unfortunate demise. His dream, “I dreamt a dream” is used to foretell the future, as was believed in Elizabethan society.
Summary • Capulet’s house is cleared to prepare for the dance. • Lord Capulet welcomes the masked guests and watches the dance. • Tybalt realizes that one of the maskers is a Montague and is furious at the intrusion. • Capulet, identifying Romeo, orders Tybalt to control himself and behave civilly. • Romeo does not take part in the dance, has noticed Juliet and is amazed by her beauty. • He approaches her and woos her, and they eventually fall in love and kiss. • The Nurse interrupts them, and the scene ends with Romeo learning that Juliet is a Capulet, and Juliet that Romeo is a Montague.
Significance • “Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!” • Romeo describes Juliet’s radiant beauty. • The choice of diction “burn” connotes a burning passion. • The use of light imagery portrays Juliet’s radiance. • “Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’sear” • Juliet’s beauty is compared to a jewel on an Ethiopian’s ear. • Jewel is an metonym of beauty and wealth. • The brightness of the jewel contrasts with the darkness of an African’s skin.
Significance • “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.” • Romeo immediately falls in love with Juliet, and forgets about Juliet. • Iambic pentameter creates a cadence of admiration. • “Now, by the stock and honor of my kin, To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.” • Tybalt is furious that Romeo is intruding into their ball. • The juxtaposition of the words “honor” and “sin” shows that Tybalt is driven by a warped sense of morality, believing that upholding honor justifies murder. • The rhyme scheme links the word “sin” and “kin”, showing he is ready to commit a crime to protect the honor of the Capulet family.
Significance • “For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.” • Romeo and Juliet utilizes religious imagery to convey their exalted love. • Juliet matches Romeo in wit, a mutual connection. • “My grave is like to be my wedding bed.” • Juliet expresses that she would rather die than marry someone other than Romeo. • Ironic as their marriage causes their deaths. • “My only love sprung from my only hate!” • Juliet’s dilemma is shown through the juxtaposition of “love” and “hate”. • The antithesis sets the tone for the conflict that obstructs their love. • The repetition of “only” reinforces Juliet’s belief that he will be her only love.
Commentary • Romeo and Juliet shares the same fourteen lines of a sonnet, and kisses afterwards. They each speak a full quatrain, and share the six lines afterwards. The mutuality expressed by the stichomythia within this dialogue conveys their love to be unlike that of the arranged marriages that were present in that era. This is contrasted to other Shakespearean plays such as Much Ado About Nothing where Claudio dominates his dialogue with Hero. • The constant religious allusions in their speech reflect the exalted nature of their love. He presents himself as a pilgrim visiting a statue of a saint. Juliet makes the pun of “palm / palmers” to compare their palms to pilgrims. This technique is in reference to poet Petrarch, where the women were often portrayed as saints, and the men were undeserving.
Commentary • Romeo’s beautiful words of adoration convey to the audience that Juliet has revealed his true witty and romantic nature, contrasted to his dull and depressed nature when he was infatuated with Rosaline. • Romeo’s words of dire portent at the beginning of the scene build on his feeling of trepidation in Act 1 Scene 4. It reinforces the ironic nature of Shakespearean tragedy, of which the audience believe that life should be given to the true lovers, but only death grasps them. • The love at first sight element in this scene is crucial in contribution to the tragedy of the deaths. The true love that Romeo and Juliet had creates pathos, in classic Shakespearean tragedy style, the audience wishes for Romeo and Juliet to live happily, but is disappointed by the strength of the conflict.
Summary • The Chorus summarizes the deterioration of Romeo’s infatuation towards Rosaline. • His transition from unrequited to mutual love is quick, however the Chorus expresses that they have no chance to see each other without the cover of night. • The words of the Chorus say that the taboo nature of their love further increases their intense pleasure with extreme danger.
Summary • Benvolio and Mercutioare now looking for Romeo. • Mercutio, unknowing of the fact that Romeo now loves Juliet, attempts to tease Romeo by making bawdy remarks of Romeo’s love for Rosaline, with no effect. He • They return home after Romeo does not turn up.
Summary • Romeo dismisses Mercutio’s jokes, and sees Juliet upon her balcony and admires her beauty. • Juliet, unaware of Romeo’s presence, confesses his love for him even if they are of opposing families. • After learning of his presence, they discuss their marriage, and promises to send a messenger to learn of their wedding plans.
Significance • “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.” • Romeo’s first sight of Juliet is illustrated through vivid light imagery. • Shakespeare parallels Juliet to the sun through a metaphor. The sun is a metonym of light and radiance, vividly describing Juliet’s beauty. • Proxemics is utilized as Juliet on the balcony would have reflected the image of a rising sun. Comparison to the sun creates a warm image of Juliet. • The usage of light imagery is a recurring motif used to describe the romantic love. • The “envious moon” is reference to the virgin goddess of the moon Diana. Romeo implies that as long as Juliet is a virgin, she will forever be a servant of Diana. • Romeo also uses “kill the envious moon” to express his desire for their love not to be limited to the obscurity of the night.
Significance • “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” • Juliet wonder why her love has to be from the opposing house. • She is ready to leave her family to prove her dedication to Romeo. • Her repetition of the word “Romeo” proves her addiction. • “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet.” • Juliet laments the meaningless convention of a name, and the obstruction that their feuding families present, proving that she loves Romeo regardless of social differences. • The metaphor of “rose” utilizes metonymy to symbolize love. • This quotation encapsulates her sudden maturity to question the importance of the family feud.
Significance • “With love’s light wings did I o'erperch these walls” • Romeo explains how he entered Juliet’s private courtyard. • This is compared to Romeo’s previous line of “soul of lead”. His love for Juliet changes him drastically. • “O, swear not by the moon, th' inconstant moon” • Juliet wants their love to be unwavering. • Swearing on the moon represents their love can only occur at night. • “It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden, Too like the lightning” • Juliet comments on Romeo’s impetuous nature. • The synathroesmus of “rash”, “unadvised”, “sudden”, “lightning” create a semantic field of urgency and impulsiveness. • This comment enforces Juliet’s growing maturity compared to Romeo’s impetuous nature.
Significance • “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep. The more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.” • Juliet repeats her vow to Romeo, speaking of her infinite love and generosity towards him. • Shakespeare uses iambic pentameter to emphasize the words “bounty”, “boundless”, “love” and “deep”, extending his love towards him. • Rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter also creates an exalted cadence.
Commentary • The beautiful symbolism of love is emphasized by its contrast to Mercutio’s bawdy innuendo in the previous scene. • This scene encapsulates the rapid progression of their love, “My [Juliet’s] ear’s have not yet drunk a hundred words Of that tongue’s uttering, yet I know the sound.” • Juliet’s proactive nature in suggesting their marriage is against the social conventions in 16th century. • Juliet’s monologue and then dialogue with Romeo in this scene illustrates love with the duality of light and dark. The remarkable treatment of the confession of love by Shakespeare is a memorable scene in Romeo & Juliet. • Juliet’s character is seen as loyal and mature, this is expressed by her wish for unwavering and not fickle love.
Summary • Romeo visits Friar Lawrence, who is glad to hear that Romeo is no longer infatuated with Rosaline, but surprised that another woman has already taken her place. • He agrees to secretly marry Romeo and Juliet, justified by the cause of uniting the families of Montague and Capulet.
Significance • “Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, And vice sometime by action dignified.” • Friar Lawrence believes that good actions can be turned bad when misapplied, and bad can sometimes be good through dignified actions. • This quote foreshadows their consequential deaths through their marriage. • “Young men’s love then lies, Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.” • The Friar criticizes Romeo’s infatuation. • “For this alliance may so happy prove, / To turn your households’ rancor to pure love.” • The juxtaposition of “rancor” and “love” implies the extreme strength of love to turn such hatred into happiness. • Friar believes that the marriage of the lovers will end in peace, through a semantic field of love, however, the audience knows that their love is “death-marked”. This creates a sense of dramatic irony.
Significance • “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” • The Friar warns Romeo not to be hasty. • This is ironic as it is the Friar that agrees to hastily marry them, and hastily enacts the plan to reconnect Juliet and Romeo, leading to their death.
Commentary • In the introduction of Friar Lawrence, his soliloquy, he is presented as a wise and kind man. • His dialogue shows that he believes that love and hatred are closely linked, that “Poison hath residence and medicine power.” His view of love and hatred underlines one of the key driving forces of the play, that love can be destroyed by conflict. • The final lines of his soliloquy is a prophecy of Romeo’s fate, that he will die of poison due to the dominance of hatred. • He criticizes Romeo’s fickle and melodramatic nature, “How much salt water thrown away in waste To season love that of it doth not taste!” He speaks of Romeo’s unreliability, that he cannot expect women to act maturely when the male figure cannot do so himself.
Commentary • The Friar, like Prince Escales, hope to end the feud between the to bitterly conflicted families. They are both in positions of authority, the Church and the State respectively. It increases the tragedy that the love of Romeo and Juliet should be ended by the very quarrel that the Friar hoped it would reconcile, and that only their deaths restore peace to Verona. • Throughout the Friar’s soliloquy, his speech consists of contradicting theses, in the form of couplets, such as “For naught so vile that on the earth doth live But to the earth some special good doth give.” Although each of the lines seam contradictory, the rhymed couplet binds them together as a single point to create a balance in the world. It displays the contrast of good and evil.
