Romeo and Juliet: Prologue

1. Romeo and Juliet: Prologue Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

2. Familiar Feuds and Rivalries • OSU vs. Michigan • Hatfields vs. McCoys • Local high school rivalries • Cats vs. Dogs

3. Prologue Terms • Chorus • A technique started in Ancient Greek theatre, where a group of actors provide commentary or extra information to the audience, but do not participate in the action of the play. • Couplet • Two lines of rhyming iambic pentameter used to indicate a characters exit or the end of a scene or act.

4. Prologue Terms • Motif • A repeated idea throughout a work of literature. • A motif you may be familiar with: • In the Hunger Games novels, there is special attention given to food throughout. • Examples: • Peeta, the baker’s son, is named after a type bread. • Katniss is named after an edible plant. • Katniss is disgusted with the rich foods of the Capitol at first, but she spends a lot of time describing them.

5. Fate • The supposed force or power that predetermines the actions of human beings. • Many cultures have deities representing Fate • Fate is a recurring motif in Romeo and Juliet and other literature