STYLISED THEATRE
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
Learning aims
After completing this section (in this guide and in the learner’s book), you should be able to:
● Analyse the text to Romeo and Juliet according to the dramatic principles.
● Explore the background of the playwright
● Understand how the sociopolitical circumstances of the time influenced the text.
● Consider the principles of drama, style and genre, staging and setting.
What to study?
Read the text of Romeo and Juliet (as many times as possible) and study the notes in this guide.
Introduction
This unit contains all the information you need to successfully analyse the text of Romeo and Juliet to answer questions on the text. Refer to pages 125 – 128 for a complete glossary of terms.
SampleImportant terminology
Term
aside
couplet
Definition
A remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience, but unheard by the other characters in the play.
A pair of rhyming lines, usually of the same length and metre.
Term
denouement
dramatic irony
Elizabethan
foreshadowing
hubris
juxtaposition
soliloquy
Definition
The final part of a play, film or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together, and matters are explained or resolved.
Contradiction between what a character knows and what the audience knows to be true.
Relating to or characteristic of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Use of clues in a literary work that suggest events that have yet to occur.
Excessive pride or self-confidence
The placing of a person, concept, place, idea or theme next to another, to compare or contrast the two (e.g., good and evil).
A long speech expressing the inner thoughts and feelings of a character alone on stage.
tragedy/tragic play A drama or literary work where the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow.
Verona
The playwright
William Shakespeare
A city in northern Italy’s Veneto region where Romeo and Juliet is set.
In 1564, nearly one-third of the population of Stratford-upon-Avon died of the Bubonic Plague. One of those who miraculously survived, was John and Mary Shakespeare’s baby boy. Christened on 26 April 1564, William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest and most well-known writer in the English language, and the world’s leading dramatist. His body of work consists of approximately 37 plays, 154 sonnets and two narrative poems. His most famous plays include Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet and Macbeth. These plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more frequently than any other playwright’s work.
Most of Shakespeare’s known work was produced between 1589 and 1613. He initially wrote comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever done in these genres. He later moved on to tragedies. The plays written during that period are considered to be the most notable and finest works in English literature. In his last phase, Shakespeare focused on tragicomedies and romance.
The Globe Theatre was the first playhouse built by actors for actors. It was situated on the south bank of the Thames at Southwark. Most of Shakespeare’s greatest works were written to be performed at the Globe.
The Flower portrait ofWilliam Shakespeare
Source: https://bit.ly/30Id3zy
Sample
Shakespeare’s Globe today.
Source: https://bit.ly/2YYvE9M
A drawing of the original Globe Theatre.
Source: https://bit.ly/3pepaNd
The Globe inside –the audience surrounds the stage.
Source: https://bit.ly/3kMMj7P
Shakespeare’s world
The bubonic plague, or Black Death, had been endemic in Britain since the 14 th century. Spread by fleas found on the black rat, it was one of the hazards of a hot summer. When it arrived, the plague was fast and fatal, and disrupted the ordinary life of the
The playwright Elizabethan Theatre: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
city. During the outbreak in 1592, Shakespeare was lucky once again. The authorities closed the theatres and the playwright turned to love poetry. Shakespeare’s early career is largely a mystery. Details of his life before the closure of the theatres in 1592 is lost to us, but when he emerged after the disruption he returned to writing plays and made his fortune. For the rest of the 1590s, crowds gathered and theatre boomed.1
If you wanted a good day out in London in the 1590s, you went to Southwark on the south bank of the Thames. Theatre was very much part of the pleasure. Julian Bowsher of the Museum of London Archaeology describes the experience of going to a play:
‘When you arrived at a Shakespearean playhouse, you entered through a main door and paid a one-penny entrance fee to the ‘gatherer’, who would have held a little money box rather like a piggy bank with a bright green glaze on it and a slot through which to put a penny. All that we have left of these are broken bits of pottery as they were all smashed open when they were taken backstage. The coins were then put into a large money chest in a back room, which must be the origin of the term ‘box office’.’
Food was a large part of the theatre experience. In the theatre, the cheap seats were associated with cheap food. Nuts were popular, as were dried and fresh fruit, shellfish and oysters. People standing in the yard, the groundlings, would simply leave the discarded shells on the floor. The rich brought their own food, glasses and cutlery. This illustrates how varied Shakespeare’s audiences were – whether they ate with dirty hands or refined cutlery, the whole audience shared the same experience of the play. Shakespeare’s astonishing variety of characters simply mirrored the social mix of his audience.
SampleThe streets of London were a dangerous place in the 16th century. In Shakespeare’s day, you could calmly admire a swordfight on stage and then find yourself embroiled in one when you stepped beyond the theatre walls. In London, just as in Verona, an evening out could end up a very bloody business. Romeo and Benvolio try their best to stop the swordfight between their friend Mercutio and the excellent swordsman Tybalt, but in vain. Mercutio is stabbed and once again the streets of Verona run red with blood. We tend to think of Romeo and Juliet as essentially the balcony scene – a play about romantic young love. In fact, it is just as much a play about bands of rich, young men killing one another and the failure of the authorities to stop their brawling. Romeo and Juliet with its rich knife gangs and blood-stained streets leaves no doubt that urban violence – for Shakespeare and his audience – was one of the big issues of the day.2
1 MacGregor, N., 2012, Shakespeare’s Restless World, Penguin
2 MacGregor, N., 2012, Shakespeare’s Restless World, Penguin
Did you know?
Shakespeare’s work even found its way to Robben Island – the infamous jail where leaders of the African National Congress were imprisoned during the struggle against apartheid in the 1970s. Sonny Venkatrathnam was one of the prisoners:
‘When I got to Robben Island we had no access to a library or any other reading material. I applied to buy some books and the reply came that I was only allowed to have one book. Eventually I decided that the only book that would keep me going for some time would be The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. About six months before my release date, I circulated the book and asked my comrades to select a line or passage that appealed to them and sign it.’
On 16 December 1977, the book reached Nelson Mandela, he signed his name in Julius Caesar beside this passage on courage and death:
CAESAR: Cowards die many times before their deaths
The valiant never taste of death but once It seems to me most strange that men should fear S eeing that death, a necessary end Will come when it will come.
Shakespeare provided what many considered a vulgar form of popular entertainment. He deployed tormented ghosts, spectacular swordplay and used humour – good, bad and even rude. Centuries later, Shakespeare still speaks to the unsettled conditions of modern times. His words still console, inspire, illuminate and question. More simply, they capture for us the essence of what it is to be restlessly human in a constantly restless world.3
Summary of the play
A boy and a girl fall in love, but their families bitterly hate each other. Ultimately everything goes wrong for them, and they end up committing suicide rather than being parted. Most of the play takes place in ‘fair Verona’, a picturesque little city in the north of Italy. The action begins in the city streets to the hall of old Capulet’s house. It moves on to the orchard below Juliet’s balcony and then to Friar Lawrence’s lonely cell. The play ends in the vault where the Capulets and the Montagues view their dead children. It starts on a Sunday morning in the middle of July and less than five days later (just before dawn on the following Thursday) it is all over.
3 MacGregor, N., 2012, Shakespeare’s Restless World, Penguin
Type of play
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy/tragic play. Plays featuring heroes or heroines up against overpowering forces, morality, violence, bloodshed and defeat, were always popular with Elizabethan audiences. They loved drama and strong emotions. Shakespeare was influenced by Seneca’s tragedies. These bloodthirsty tragedies were written in Latin and based on Greek mythology. Seneca’s plays have a number of distinctive features, including the use of soliloquy, supernatural elements such as ghosts and witches, spectacle, violence and blood, cruelty and revenge, elevated rhetoric, self-reflection and self-consciousness, moral commentary, and explorations of the passions and their restraint based on the stoic belief that emotions are destructive and should be overcome with self-control and reason. 4 Popular themes in the Seneca tragedies were that of revenge and the question of whether or not it’s right. Tragedies provided the opportunity to explore the question of morality and depicted the struggle between good and bad (for example, Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus).
Common traits of the tragic hero
1. The hero is led to his downfall due to hubris, or excessive pride.
2. The hero usually has an epic battle with a counterpart where they fight to the death for what they believe in.
3. The hero must be doomed from the start, but bears no responsibility for possessing his flaw.
4. The hero must have discovered his fate by his own actions, not by things happening to him.
5. The hero must see and understand his doom, and that his fate was revealed by his own actions.
6. The hero’s story should arouse fear and empathy.
7. The hero must be physically or spiritually wounded by his experiences, often resulting in his death.
Sample
8. Ideally, the hero should be a king or leader of men, so that his people experience his fall with him. This could also include a leader of a family.
9. The hero must be intelligent enough to have the opportunity to learn from his mistakes.
10. The hero must be faced with a very serious decision.
11. The suffering of the hero must have meaning.
4 Newton, T, et al. 1581. Seneca, his Tenne Tragedies Translated into Englysh
12. There may be supernatural involvement. (For example, in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Caesar was warned of his death through Calpurnia’s vision. Brutus was warned of his impending death by his evil spirit.)
13. A tragic hero’s story generally follows a sequence of great, good, flaw and downfall.
14. The Shakespearean tragic hero must die at some point in the story, for example, Macbeth.
15. Shakespeare’s characters illustrate that tragic heroes are neither completely good nor completely evil.
16. Through the development of the plot a hero’s flaws, rather than his quintessential goodness or evil, cause him to make a mistake which leads to his tragic downfall.
17. The hero must come in contact with many conflicts and overcome a number of them.
Synopsis/Important events
Act 1
A duel between servants of the Montagues and the Capulets is broken up by the Prince. Romeo tells Benvolio that he is in love with Rosaline. Lady Capulet tells Juliet that she is to marry Paris. Lord Capulet prepares for the celebrations.
A servant of Lord Capulet asks Romeo to read the guest list. Romeo decides to go to the ball to see Rosaline. At the ball, Romeo meets and falls in love with Juliet. Only afterwards do they discover that their families are sworn enemies. Tybalt recognises Romeo, but is prevented from doing anything by Lord Capulet who does not want trouble.
Act 2
Benvolio and Mercutio look for Romeo. Juliet tells Romeo she loves him and they exchange vows. Romeo goes to see Friar Lawrence, who agrees to marry them as it may help end the feud. Meanwhile, Tybalt makes it known that he wants to challenge Romeo to a duel. Romeo tells the Nurse of his plan to marry Juliet. Juliet blushes when she hears the news. Romeo and Juliet meet at the Friar’s cell and are married in secret.
Act 3
The next day, Mercutio picks a fight with Tybalt. Romeo turns up and tries to intervene. Tybalt kills Mercutio when Romeo gets in the way. This makes Romeo angry and he then kills Tybalt. Romeo is now a murderer and is banished from Verona.
Act 4
Paris goes to Friar Lawrence’s cell. Paris announces he is to marry Juliet on Thursday. Juliet says she will stab herself rather than marry Paris. The Friar gives her a bottle containing a substance which will make her appear dead for 42 hours. His plan is to write to Romeo so that he will be there when she wakes up. Juliet agrees to marry Paris to please her father, who then moves the wedding a day forward to Wednesday. Juliet takes the potion. Her family mourns her death.
Act 5
Balthazar arrives in Mantua with news of Juliet’s death. Romeo visits an apothecary to buy poison. Friar Lawrence learns that his messenger, Friar John, did not get to Mantua because of the plague. Paris is at the tomb when Romeo arrives. They fight and Romeo kills Paris. Romeo sees Juliet – who he thinks is dead – and poisons himself. Friar Lawrence arrives too late to save Romeo. Juliet wakes to find Romeo dead and kills herself with his dagger. Montague and Capulet agree to end their feud and pledge to put up a golden statue of Romeo and Juliet.
Characters
Below is a basic character map to help you place the characters.
SampleSource: https://goo.gl/nmsXsj
Juliet
Juliet is the only daughter of the Capulet family in Verona. Juliet had other siblings, but they died before the play begins: ‘The earth hath swallow’d all my hopes but she’. Juliet is nearly fourteen years old. In the play, she meets Romeo, a member of the Montague family. They quickly fall in love. They are so deeply in love that they are married within 24 hours of meeting each other. Juliet is headstrong and intelligent. During the play she becomes more mature and independent. She is very good at misleading others without lying. This is especially useful when she is trying to hide the fact that she loves and is married to Romeo. At the end of the play Juliet kills herself because Romeo has committed suicide.
Romeo
Romeo is the only son of the Montague family in Verona. He is 16 years old, impulsive, passionate and immature. At the start of the play, Romeo is in love with Rosaline, another Capulet. However, Romeo is more in love with the idea of being in love, than actually being in love with Rosaline – he is merely infatuated. He quickly loses interest in Rosaline when he meets Juliet.
Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, as revenge for killing his best friend Mercutio. This leads to Romeo being banished from Verona. At the end of the play, Romeo kills himself because he thinks that Juliet has died.
SampleRomeo (Douglas Booth) and Juliet (Hailee Steinfeld) in the 2013 film, directed by Carlo Carlei.
Source: https://goo.gl/UwQFje
The
Elizabethan Theatre: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Mercutio
Mercutio is a relative of the Prince and Paris. He is also a close friend of Romeo and Romeo’s cousin Benvolio. The invitation to the Capulets’ party says that he has a brother, Valentine. Mercutio likes to make long, drawn-out speeches (the most famous of which is the Queen Mab speech). He is generally thought to be reckless, a joker and a free spirit. His quick wit and flamboyant, affable personality, makes Mercutio one of Shakespeare’s most popular characters. Though one of Romeo’s best friends, Mercutio’s light-hearted attitude tends to try Romeo’s patience on occasion. On the other hand, Mercutio is frustrated with Romeo’s depression due to Rosaline’s denial of Romeo’s love. After Romeo has fallen for Juliet, Mercutio is pleased to see Romeo back to his normal, friendly self.
After Romeo receives a death threat from Tybalt, Mercutio expects Romeo to engage Tybalt in a duel. However, Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt because Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin and now also his kinsman. Unaware of this, Mercutio is incensed. He decides to fight Tybalt himself. Not wanting his best friend or his relative to get hurt, Romeo intervenes, causing Mercutio to be killed by Tybalt ‘under [Romeo’s] arm.’ Before he dies, Mercutio casts ‘a plague o’ both [Romeo and Tybalt’s] houses!’ He makes one final pun before he dies: ‘Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man ...’ In revenge for the murder of his best friend, Romeo slays Tybalt. This leads to his banishment from Verona and the increasingly tragic turn of events that follow.
Friar Lawrence
Sample
The Friar is an old man who has seen the consequences of the feud between the two families for years. When he sees that the two lovers are determined to be together despite everything, he puts in an effort to help them with the hope that the marriage will end the ongoing feud. He represents peace and wisdom in Verona. As a religious figure, the audience would have respected him. He speaks with authority and acts in the best interest of the spiritual wellbeing of the people of Verona. He wakes up early, and picks flowers and herbs form his garden to make medicine. Romeo and Juliet take him in their trust because he has always served them faithfully. Throughout the play, Friar Lawrence showed noble characteristics and in the end he was willing to take the blame for his mistakes.
Benvolio
Source: https://goo.gl/Tp5avt
In Italian, the name Benvolio means ‘good-willed and kind’ – a very good description of Benvolio. He is quiet, careful and peace loving. We see his nature in his behaviour when he tries to stop the fight between the servants and is attacked by Tybalt.
When everyone starts fighting, he suggests that they all go somewhere quiet where they can talk about things rationally. Benvolio reveals his selflessness and loyalty as a friend when he describes Romeo’s depression to the Montague family and when he helps him to get over his sadness.
Tybalt
Tybalt is nephew to Lord Capulet and cousin to Juliet. He does not speak many lines, but his influence on the entire course of the play outweighs his seemingly minor role. He demonstrates his angry, resentful and stubborn nature throughout the play. When Tybalt first appears, Benvolio is attempting to stop the servants of the Capulet and Montague households from fighting. In contrast, Tybalt urges on the fight and succeeds in drawing Benvolio into fighting with him. At the Capulet party, Tybalt recognises Romeo’s voice and within ten words being spoken, he calls for his sword.
Friar Lawrence (played by Paul Giamatti) giving Juliet the potion, in the 2013 adaptation by Carlo Carlei.
Mercutio (Christian Cooke), Romeo (Douglas Booth) and Tybalt (Ed Westwick) in battle in Carlo Carlei’s 2013 adaptation.
Source: https://bit.ly/3HulCi9
Nurse
The Nurse is a humane, soft-hearted and empathetic character who the audience could easily identify with. She is not stereotypical but rather someone with good and bad qualities, which makes her even more human. She was Juliet’s wet nurse and they have a very strong bond. The Nurse regards Juliet as a ‘daughter’, but she is in danger of losing her job and therefore encourages Juliet to marry Paris.
Count Paris
Count Paris is Juliet’s suitor. He is handsome, self-absorbed and wealthy. He is also a kinsman of Prince Escalus. Paris makes his first appearance in Act 1, Scene 2, where he expresses his wish to make Juliet his wife and the mother of his children. Lord Capulet objects due to his daughter’s young age and tells him to wait until she is more mature. All the same, he invites Paris to attend the ball the family is hosting that evening to attract Juliet’s attention. Paris is a bit of a bystander in the play itself, unwittingly mixed up in the drama between the two families.
His interest in Juliet is primarily based on her social standing and her family’s vast wealth. In contrast Romeo loves her for her beauty and the person she is. As far as appearance itself goes, Paris is described by the Nurse in Act 1, Scene 3 as ‘a man of wax.’ His interest in Juliet’s social standing and wealth, rather than interest in her as a person, may imply that he is vain and egocentric – something that Juliet’s parents don’t quite understand.
Although Paris is not as developed as other characters in the play, he stands as a complication in the development of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. His contrived love of Juliet stands as a counterpoint to Romeo’s impetuous love. In Act 5, Scene 3, Paris visits the graveyard to quietly and privately mourn the loss of his wouldbe fiancée. He is eventually killed by Romeo during a swordfight in the same scene and his dying wish is for Romeo to lay him next to Juliet, which Romeo does. This scene is often omitted from modern stage performances.
Prince Escalus
Prince Escalus, fictional Prince of Verona, is the mediator between the feuding families. Escalus is the voice of authority in Verona. He appears only three times within the text and only to administer justice following major events in the feud between the Capulet and Montague families. He first punishes both Lords Capulet and Montague for the quarrel between Tybalt, Benvolio and a handful of servants. He returns too late to stop the fatal brawls between Tybalt and Mercutio and, subsequently, Tybalt and Romeo. Escalus is prepared to execute Romeo for his offense of killing Tybalt, but lightens the sentence to a lifetime banishment from Verona when Benvolio insists that Tybalt started the quarrel by murdering Mercutio, a kinsman to the Prince. He returns in the final scene following the double suicide of Romeo and Juliet, and at last orders the lords of the feuding families to make peace.
Themes
Stars and fate
Shakespearian audiences would have known right from the start what the lovers’ fate would have been. Elizabethan society strongly believed that the power of the stars determined one’s fate. Someone who was born under a ‘weak’ star would for instance never be able to change their fate. The term ‘star-crossed lovers’ suggest the hopelessness of the situation right from the start. Take note of how Shakespeare plays the death of those who were closely associated to the lovers in a dark vault. It reflects the fact that the heavens refuse to shine light on the young lovers’ marriage.
Passion
Sample
● Passion can be described as a strong or barely-controlled emotion. It is also described as a compelling enthusiasm or desire for something.
● Passion may result in violence.
● For reasons long forgotten by the two families, a fierce feud exists between them. It is so strong that even their servants hate each other.
● Friar Lawrence’s reaction and warning when he sees their hot passion for each other: ‘These violent delights have violent ends Therefore love moderately’
● Like the hostility between the two families, Romeo and Juliet’s passion for each other knows no limits.
● This overwhelming passion ultimately causes their death.
● They are both willing to change their names and to testify that they will do anything to be together. In those days, your name was your most valuable possession.
Lack of communication
The most prominent cause of the tragedy is the inability to communicate. The cause of their death is the fact that the message never reached Romeo. Think of the dilemmas that may have been prevented/resolved if there was proper communication:
● If the families were on good terms with each other.
● If the young people met earlier.
● If they were not the only heirs to their noble families in Verona, they would probably not have been forced into arranged marriages.
When Romeo and Juliet met, they didn’t know each other’s names, yet fell in love. They met each other for the first time as lovers, in secret. They decided to get married and keep it a secret. How different do you think their situation would have been if there was less secrecy, misunderstanding and unforeseen communication problems?
Structure of the play
Background
We are introduced to Romeo and Juliet, the two protagonists whose families have been feuding for generations.
First incident
SampleThe two teenagers meet, kiss and fall in love.
Build-up
The young lovers declare their love to one another and are married in secret. Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished from Verona. Juliet drinks a potion to prevent her from marrying Paris.
Climax
Romeo doesn’t receive the message about the plan and hears that Juliet is dead. He returns to Verona.
Exposition
Romeo hurries back to Verona and enters the vault where he sees Juliet seemingly dead. He drinks poison. Juliet wakes up, sees that Romeo is dead and commits suicide. The two teenagers are found dead.
End
The feud between the two families is resolved.
Context
The play was written somewhere between 1591 and 1595. This was during the Elizabethan era and the Renaissance – a time of significant change in the fields of religion, science, language, politics and the arts. Queen Elizabeth was the ruling monarch in England during this time.
Location
The play takes place in Verona, a lively city located near the border of Italy on the Po River. Verona was culturally rich and commercially successful. It boasted a thriving artistic community and a robust business climate which was on par with Venice, the wealthiest city-state in Italy at the time. Verona was, however, also plagued with violence and war, a situation that plagued Italy for many centuries.
Religion and family life
During this time, Italy was a Catholic nation and had a strong belief in damnation for mortal sin. Suicide was considered a mortal sin. The Catholic belief also affected family life and structure. The father was the absolute head of the household and women had very little right or authority. Women were not allowed to own property or money. Children were regarded as property and could be ‘given’ in marriage to a suitable partner. This was often a political or financial transaction made to secure wealth or status. It was not unusual to be married very young. Children of wealthy families were often raised by wet nurses and had a strong bond with these women. Often, the bond between them would be stronger than the children’s bond with their biological parents.
Astrology
Astrology was an influential part of Italian society during this time. Many people believed that the positions and aspects of heavenly bodies such as stars, influenced the course of human events. Many wealthy families even had horoscopes drawn for
their children after birth. Throughout this play, references are made to supernatural forces at work. It is continually suggested that fate is inextricably linked to the stars. Many premonitions are made throughout the play and it is suggested that unseen forces control the destinies of the main characters. Romeo and Juliet are referred to as ‘star-crossed’ lovers at the start of the play.
Costume
Typical costume for Romeo
Douglas Booth in full costume for the 2013 film.
Source: https://goo.gl/iBfUpY
A portrait of an unknown Italian noble, circa 1526.
Source: https://bit.ly/3FwAWJi
An Italian Renaissance costume by Sarah French.
Source: https://bit.ly/3Cv1lVF
The playwright Elizabethan Theatre: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
