ROMEO AND JULIET

William shakespeare

PresentaTION

Romeo and Juliet

all about shakespeare plays

DATES

STAGE DIRECTIONS

PROGRESSION

CHARACTERS

STYLE

DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE

STRUCTURE

tHE PLOT

ACT 4

ACT 2

ACT 1

ACT 5

ACT 3

all about the play

COMEDY OR TRAGEDY?

SETTING

THEMES

IMAGERY

the characters

romeo

juliet

capulet

montague

beatiful, kind and loving and determinate

the man to the courtly love convencion

This is the soliloquy of what Romeo says when he sees Juliet for the first time at the Capulet Ball.

love at the first sight

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night As rich jewel in an Ethiope’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.

metaphore, hyperbole and allitteration

similarity

rhyme couplet and imagery of light

"deny thy father"

Romeo enters the Capulet garden and reaches Juliet's balcony: here the two young people swear eternal love to each other and decide to get married in secret.

THE BACKSTAGE

These violent delights have violent ends.

William Shakespeare is inspired by Seneca's structure:

• act 1: introduction
• act 2: development
• act 3: turning point
• act 4: complications
• act 5: resolution

most of the stage directions were added by editors during the 18th century

The power of love: Romeo and Juliet love eachother so much that they go against their families The passion and violence: from Mercutio and Tybalt's deaths to the lovers suicides The power of fate: they were star crossed lovers beacuse their love ends tragically The age and youth: shakespeare emphasises the gap difference to cause rebellion from the children and confusion

Shakespeare choose Verona for his plays because it was seen as fascinable and sophisticated country furthermore it was important on an artistic and intellectual levels

shakespeare's plays have been dated fusing three type of evidence:

• esternal
• internal
• stylistic

The plays is characterised by elements of both comedy and tragedy: It's beginning like comedy beacuse stars the love of lovers but it's also a tragedy because the tragic role of change

shakespeare's theater was open to all social classes: from humbler and poorer people to richer people

there was a little scenic material and a language rich of rethorical figures

shakespeare uses both prose and verse to show the social status of his characters

the progress of a play is linked to the gradual clarification of things

• In the first act Romeo compares Juliet to sunlight

"O she doth teach the torches to burn bright"

• From the second act there is progression towards darkness