Characters
List the Montagues + associates/ a brief description of each
Montague - father of Romeo
Lady Montague
Romeo - son of Montague, falls in love with daughter of rival, Juliet Capulet
Benvolio - Romeo's cousin/close friend, peacemaker
Balthasar- servant of the Montague's
Abraham - servant of Montague
Mercutio - best friend of Romeo/possibly crazy
Scene 1
- Capulet servants Samson and Gregory trash talk the Montague's
- Montague servants Abram and Balthazar appear and seem to want to start a fight
- Benvolio attempts to recruit Tybalt to stop the violence but Tybalt wants to fight and Benvolio is left no choice
- Prince Escalus appears and gives a speech reprimanding this third public fight and threatening death if an event like this occurs again
- The senior Capulet and Montague's who have appeared on the scene disperse
- Montague and Lady Montague question Benvolio about Romeo's whereabouts
- Benvolio goes off in search of Romeo who is found sulking over Rosaline
- Benvolio recommends he find someone else to love
Sonnets
14 line poems following the pattern of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
What does the prologue tell us about the story?
- Take place in Verona, Italy
- Revolves around two feuding families who's disagreements have caused death
- The feud will end with the death of a member of each family (who have fallen in love with each other)
- The play will take two hours
Who is Queen Mab?
A queen of the fairies said to appear in peoples dreams, referred to by Mercutio when he was questioning Romeo about visiting prostitutes
List the Capulets + associates/ a brief description of each
Capulet - father of Juliet, not super involved in the feud
Lady Capulet - poor mother figure, self absorbed
Juliet - falls in love with Romeo, intended to marry Paris
Tybalt - hot headed cousin of Juliet, instigator
Nurse - mother figure/caretaker of Juliet, crude + comic relief
Peter - servant of Capulet, known as "the clown" due to inability to read
Sampson - servant of Capulet
Gregory - servant of Capulet
Paris - older, wants to marry Juliet
Scene 2
- Capulet is making a hesitant deal with Paris concerning his intentions to marry her
- Paris gets him to agree to let Juliet give him a chance at a party which Capulet is hosting
- Peter is sent out to invite guests but is prevented from a lack of literacy
- Romeo and Benvolio walk past and help him read the list, formulating a plan to attend the party in disguise after seeing that Rosaline will be there
-Iberian Pentameter: five feet of two syllable groupings
Summarize Capulet's deal with Paris
- He can marry Juliet if:
1. Juliet likes him
2. They date for a while before marrying (Juliet is still young)
Who else is in the story?
- Prince Escalus
- Paris
- Mercutio
- Servants
Scene 3
- Lady Capulet proposes the idea of marriage to Paris to Juliet
- The Nurse loudly voices her thoughts and opinions often referencing the time she spent caring for Juliet as a child/babe
- Juliet agrees to give Paris a chance at the party her father is hosting
Examples of Shakespearean sonnets
1. Prologue
2. First meeting of Romeo and Juliet
What's the deal with Peter?
He can't read hence his nickname, the clown
Scene 4
- Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio and other Montague associates set out with masks to attend Capulet's party
- Romeo reveals his lovesickness to Mercutio only to be met with a cynical and disorganized response which refers at one point to the fairy Queen Mab
- Romeo reveals feelings of uncertainty and dread over what is to come and Mercutio maintains a skeptical viewpoint
Age of Juliet
13, two weeks shy of 14
Scene 5
- Capulet servants are preparing for the party while also putting away food for themselves to enjoy later
- Capulet welcomes his guests and proposes they dance
- Romeo spots Juliet from a distance and falls in love
- Tybalt recognizes the voice of Romeo and wants to fight but Capulet stops him
- Rome and Juliet meet and soon are engaging in romantic activities
- Juliet is called away and Nurse reveals her identity thus far unknown to Romeo which casts light on their unfortunate situation
- Juliet asks for the identity of Romeo and is upset when she finds he is a Montague, her family's rival
What makes Romeo and Juliet unique as a tragedy?
- There is a comedic flair which is not common to tragedies