STUDYING ROMEO AND JULIET - 4^C LINGUISTICO

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as exemplary  young lovers.

http://2013.playingshakespeare.org/index.html

The Prologue in Romeo and Juliet provides important exposition for the audience or reader. Because the play begins in media res—or, "in the middle of things"—it is necessary to provide some background information to make sense of what follows.

It refers to an ill-fated couple with its use of the word “star-crossed,” which means, literally, against the stars. The Prologue itself creates this sense of fate by providing the audience with the knowledge that Romeo and Juliet will die even before the play has begun.

In the form of a sonnet, the Prologue tells the audience that the play is set in Verona. We learn of the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, and we learn that a "pair of star-cross'd lovers" come from these feuding families. Read here.

In Act I Lord Capulet holds a masked ball to encourage a courtship between his daughter, Juliet, and Paris, a relative of the Prince. Concealing their identities behind masks, Romeo and Benvolio go to the ball, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love at first sight.

 

At the end of the evening they discover their identities as members of the opposed families. On his way home from the feast, Romeo climbs into Capulet's orchard to glimpse Juliet again. Juliet appears at her balcony, and the couple exchange vows of love, agreeing to marry the next day.

The famous balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet occurs in Act II, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's well-known play. Within the balcony scene there are several very important events that take place. Each one builds the intensity of the passionate attraction between these two iconic lovers.  Read here.