Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

A tragedy of love, fate and feuding families that continues to captivate audiences with its timeless exploration of passion, conflict and sacrifice.

CHORUS 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-crossed lovers take their life, Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-marked love And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children’s end, naught 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.

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-crossed lovers take their life, Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.

The fearful passage of their death-marked love And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children’s end, naught 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.

How does Shakespeare use symbols in the Prologue to set the tone?

"Star-crossed lovers " : Symbolises doomed fate controlled by celestial force beyond human control. It implies their love is doomed by cosmic forces beyond their control, emphasising the inevitability of tragedy. The stars—traditionally associated with fate in Elizabethan England—work against them, suggesting that no amount of human effort can alter predetermined destiny.

"Ancient grudge": Represents the family feud that creates the hostile backdrop for tragedy.

"Death-marked love": Foreshadows the inevitable tragic ending from the very beginning.