What do you know…

1. What do you know… AboutWilliam Shakespeare? About the playRomeo and Juliet?

2. Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare Shakespeare wrote: Comedies Tragedies Histories Romances

3. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare Written between 1594 and 1596. Based on a basic story known to many people of the time. Plays then are like movies or TV today.

4. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare Several film versions. 1968: Zeffirelli. 1996: Luhrmann. Other variations including musicals and movies “inspired by.” At any given moment, it is in production in a theater (as a play) somewhere in the world.

5. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The Lurhmann (1996) version uses Shakespeare’s original language, but sets its scene in modern times. Though innovative in places, the movie suffers from mediocre acting. If you choose, you may watch this on your own, (PG-13 due to violence).

6. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The Zeffirelli (1968) maintains both Shakespeare’s original language as well as an authentic setting. This is the version we will watch as a class in order to understand the original play.

7. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare An overview: The Setting The Plot The Characters

8. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The Setting: Verona, Italy (Shakespeare lived and worked in London, ENGLAND) Why ITALY?

9. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The Setting: Verona, Italy Set in the late 1400s to early 1500s, though the date is never really stated. The ENTIRE plot of the play takes place over less than a week of time.

10. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The Plot Basics: Two families (Capulet and Montague) have a long standing feud. As fate has it, the Capulet daughter (Juliet) and the Montague son (Romeo) meet at a party and fall immediately in love.

11. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare Knowing they cannot be together, they secretly make plans to marry. Juliet, however, is already being married off to a guy named Paris. People start to kill each other, and Romeo ends up kicked out of Verona.

12. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare With Romeo banished, the crazy kids still try to find a way to get together. Unfortunately, something goes terribly wrong, and the audience gets their tragedy...

13. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: Lord and Lady Capulet (parents of Juliet) • Anxious to get their daughter married off to a worthy gentleman (named Paris) • In a long standing feud with the Montague Family • A distinct parenting style…

14. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: Juliet Capulet • Barely 13 years old • To be wed to Paris any day… • Has never been in love before

15. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: The Nurse • Has raised Juliet • Has a dirty sense of humor, if you read carefully… • Plays a crucial role in Juliet’s happiness

16. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: Tybalt Capulet • Juliet’s older cousin • A chest-thumper • A “saucy princox” if there ever was one

17. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: Lord and Lady Montague • Parents of Romeo • Engaged in the feud with the Capulets • Not major players in the drama

18. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: Romeo Montague • A boy of 16 of 17, sometimes interpreted as old as late 20s or older • An emotional romantic • Falls easily in and out of love

19. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: The Friar Lawrence (spelling varies) • The local religious leader • Is tired of the Feud • Plays a key role in the drama

20. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: Benvolio Montague • Romeo’s cousin • Level-headed and honest • Cares for Romeo like his own brother

21. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: Mercutio • Romeo’s best friend • His name is based on the word “mercury” or “mercurial” which means volatile or quick to change • An “actor’s favorite” • Watch out for his jokes…

22. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The CHARACTERS: Paris • The “suitor” who is to marry Juliet Prince Escalus • The Prince of Verona Apothecary • The local “pharmacist” or chemist

23. What is Tragedy? • In Shakespeare, tragedy tends to follow five stages (five acts): • Exposition (establishment of character and conflict) • Rising Action (complications develop, culminating with a “point of no return” at which point some tragedy is al but guaranteed) • Climax (different than in stories; tragic climax marks the beginning of the tragic collapse) • Falling Action (the chain of tragic events befalls the protagonist, gaining momentum and deepening the tragedy) • Resolution (the fall to ruin is complete)

24. What is Drama? • Drama is meant to be seen and heard, not read. • We will be viewing, speaking, listening, and reading this text. • When you read (silently or aloud) you must realize that all action was communicated through dialogue, thus you must picture what is happening. • People speak with inflection!

25. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The FORM: The whole play is written as a poem, in a form which is called “iambic pentameter.” • An iamb is a pair of stressed and unstressed syllables, like in the word confused (con FUSED). • Meter is a pattern of repeating “rhythm” that is present in poetry. • Penta- means “5.”

26. Inverted Syntax Grammar was often inverted in order to make the language fit the rhythm: He found the dagger in the dark closet. He found the dagger in the darkcloset. ...becomes… In closet dark did he the dagger find. In closet dark did he the dagger find.

27. His process: • I want to say: • Wait a second, what is that light coming through the window over there? • Common slang: • But soft! (wait a second!) • Yonder (over there)

28. His process: • I want to say: • Wait a second, what is that light coming through the window over there? • Creative wording: • I don’t want to just say the light is “coming through the window…” How about, it “breaks” through the window all of the sudden and grabs my attention??

29. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare But soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

30. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The FORM: Iambic pentameter= • A line of FIVE IAMBS in a row, meaning each line of verse has 10 syllables: But soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

31. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The FORM: Iambic pentameter= • A line of FIVE IAMBS in a row: But soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

32. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The FORM: Iambic pentameter= • A line of FIVE IAMBS in a row: But soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

33. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare The FORM: When the lines rhyme, Shakespeare is trying to get the audience’s attention: • A major point has just been stated • A character is leaving the scene When the lines do not rhyme, the poetry is called BLANK VERSE.

34. The Language: Is really not all that different from modern 21st century language… but people think it is so they get intimidated and give up. Just like in today’s vernacular, there are patterns:

35. Hither, thither, whither Come hither! (hither = here) Go thither! (thither = there) To whither did she go? (whither = where) **ither = **ere

36. It’s what you do… didst, doth, doest hath **th **st **est

37. Pronouns Thou (you, in the subject of the sentence) Thou art a fool! …you are a fool Thee (you, as an object) I love thee. …I love you Thine, thy (your) In thy soul; in thine eyes My heart is thine

38. Truncations and Contractions An apostrophe indicates a missing letter, either to match the rhythm of the line or to reflect speech patterns: O’er (over) Can’t (cannot) Truncations: words shortened Ope your eyes

39. Sentences go beyondThe ends of lines. Too many readers see each line as a “sentence” or complete thought, and therefore are thrown off when the words they read do not make sense. In reality, these readers have not completed the thought, so they end up very confused and unable to understand.

40. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare Speaking in VERSE • Follows iambic pentameter closely…minor variations • Sometimes words are switched around to maintain the “beat” • Words are sometimes contracted to get the right number of syllables • VERSE is used in most of the play, when major characters speak. Speaking in PROSE • Prose is unrhymed, with no rhythm, no meter • Minor or unimportant characters do not follow iambic pentameter • Bawdy (dirty) humor may appear in prose instead of poetry

41. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare Speaking in VERSE O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows. The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night. Speaking in PROSE Find them out whose names are written here! It is written that the shoemaker should meddle with his yard and the tailor with his last, the fisher with his pencil and the painter with his nets; but I am sent to find those persons whose names are here write, and can never find what names the writing person has here writ. I must to the learned.

42. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare Reading the poetry: End-stopped lines Run-on lines Speaking in VERSE O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows. The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.

43. The Tragedy of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare • HOMEWORK (due Monday or lockout and no video for you!) • Gloss the “Prologue” • Define all underlined words • Paraphrase or restate the meaning of segments/sentences • EVERY PHRASE/IDEA must be coded!