Mrs. Geraghty
English 9
Academy of St. Joseph
Mrs. Geraghty
English 9
Academy of St. Joseph
You've survived the first half of the year and now you're ready for the second. We'll be spending a LOT of time on "Romeo and Juliet." This is a wonderful love story with plenty of little twists and turns to hold your interest. Make SURE you keep up with the work or you will get lost. If you're absent, assume we've read on. If you don't have a copy of the play at home, you can find the play online by doing a Google search. Refer to my notes below for summaries of the scenes.
In addition to studying the play, we will be doing more grammar.
MORE grammar!?
You didn't really think we were finished with grammar, did you?
The first thing we'll cover is the use of the past participle to form the perfect tense. It may sound daunting, but it's not too hard. Usually, it's easy to figure out the perfect tense. Just add has, have, or had in front of the past participle. Lots of verbs stay the same when they move from the past tense to the past participle. It's those nasty irregular verbs that confuse people. What do we do? Make sure you familiarize yourself with the irregular past participles. If you haven't been using them correctly, it's time to re-train your brain! Eventually, you'll train your brain and your ear so you can speak and write correctly.
Let's see how it works:
I am watching TV. (present tense)
I watched TV all night. (past tense)
I have watched TV all night. I had watched TV all night. I will have watched TV for 236 hours by the time you get back from your trip. I should have watched TV instead of painting the house. (perfect tense)
HERE COMES THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE...
I am eating my lunch. (present tense)
I ate my lunch. (past tense)
I have eaten my lunch. I had eaten my lunch when I realized I was supposed to be in math class. I should have eaten my lunch. I will have eaten a million lunches by the time I'm 33 years old. (perfect tense)
Why don't we say "have ate"? BECAUSE the past participle of eat is "eaten." WHY? BECAUSE IT IS! Eat is an irregular verb and changes in the past participle. There's no rhyme or reason to it. It's ENGLISH! There are always exceptions to the rule!
Check your blue text book for the chart that lists irregular past participles.
CLASS REVIEW
"Romeo and Juliet"
ACT I
Scene1 Servants of the house of Capulet, Sampson and Gregory, pick a fight with servants of the house of Montague (Abram and Balthasar) when Sampson bites his thumb at them. A fight ensues. Benvolio (a Montague) tries to stop the fight, but Tybalt (a Capulet) makes things worse by attacking Benvolio. Lord Capulet and Lord Montague join in and the fighting grows worse. The Prince rides in and announces that he is tired of the fighting between the families. He announces that if either member of the family is found to "disturb the quiet of our streets again, (that person's life) shall pay the forfeit of the peace." In other words, anyone caught fighting will be put to death.
Lord and Lady Montague stick around after the fight and ask Benvolio where Romeo is. Benvolio responds that he saw Romeo before sunrise that morning. Romeo, we discover, has been very depressed lately and spends his nights walking aimlessly and his days shut up in his room. Benvolio tells the Montagues to allow him to speak with Romeo in private to discover the reason for his sadness.
Romeo happens to come along (it is now 9am) and Benvolio questions him. We discover that Romeo's depression is the result of his being rejected by Rosaline, a girl he loves. Benvolio suggests that Romeo just find another girl and forget about her. Romeo, of course, tells him that this is as impossible as telling a man who has gone blind to forget the things he once saw. Benvolio swears that he will make Romeo forget Rosaline, or he'll die trying!
Scene 2
Paris meets with Lord Capulet to ask for Juliet's hand in marriage. Capulet says that since Juliet is only 13 and is his only joy in life, he would like Paris to wait two more years. He also wants Paris to "get her heart" and make her love him so that they have a happy marriage. He invites Paris to a party at his house that evening so that he can compare Juliet to other beautiful women. He wants Paris to be certain that Juliet is really the one he loves. Lord Capulet gives his servant a list of guests to invite. As we know, the servant can't read so he searches for someone to read the list to him. As chance has it, he runs into Romeo and Benvolio. Romeo reads the list to him and discovers that Rosaline, the niece of Lord Capulet, is invited to the party. Benvolio realizes that if they crash the party (they'd NEVER get in without crashing it since Montagues are enemies to the Capulets), Romeo would have the chance to compare Rosaline to the other beauties at the party. In doing so, he'd realize that his "swan's a crow." Romeo states that nobody could EVER compare to Rosaline, but he agrees to go to the party just so he can see Rosaline.
Scene 3
Lady Capulet meets with Juliet and the Nurse to discuss marriage with Paris. The Nurse tells us that Juliet will turn fourteen in two weeks. She knows this because her daughter, Susan, was the same age. Susan, though, has died. Juliet, being a dutiful and obedient daughter, states that she will certainly "check out" Paris at the family's party if it is her mother's wish. The nurse is very excited about the prospect of marriage to Paris whom she considers "a man of wax" (a perfect man...a great catch).
Scene 4 Romeo asks his friends how they can enter the party without an invitation. Benvolio says that they'll simply walk in and blend in with others who are dancing. They'll stay a few minutes and leave. Romeo says he'll enter with them, but his heavy soul will prevent him from dancing. Mercutio assures him that since he is such a lover, Romeo can simply rely on "Cupid's wings" to help him. Romeo and his friends are now walking toward the Capulet estate. As they walk, Mercution entertains them with the story of a dream he had the previous night. He dreams of Queen Mab, the queen of the fairies, who makes people dream about their addictions. She makes people realize their faults. The point of the dream is that our desires and dreams are very fragile and can harm us if we don't control them. This foreshadows the romantic dreams of Romeo and Juliet who believe their love is real. Mercutio gets very caught up in telling his dream to his friends, and Romeo has to calm him down. By the time he finishes telling his story, he and his friends arrive at the Capulet party. Benvolio tells them that they have to hurry or they'll be late. Romeo says he's afraid they've arrived too early because he has a terrible feeling that something is going to happen at the party that will eventually result in his early death. (Now THAT'S foreshadowing!) Regardless of his premonition, Romeo says that he'll let God take control of his life. ("But he that hath the steerage of my course, direct my sail." He and the others enter the fateful party.
Scene 5 The party has begun. Lord Capulet is a very welcoming host and tells the ladies that if they don't get up to dance, he'll assume that it's because they have corns on their feet! He and his cousin talk about their younger days when they would dance for hours at parties. Now that they're older, they have to sit and watch the younger men dance. Romeo, whom we know has been suffering over his love for Rosaline, enters the party and is IMMEDIATELY attracted to the beautiful girl he sees across the room. The girl is no other than Lord Capulet's daughter Juliet! Tybalt hears Romeo speaking about Juliet and becomes enraged that a MONTAGUE has DARED to crash their party! He rushes to his uncle to complain and to demand that he be thrown out. Lord Capulet tells Tybalt that Romeo has a reputation for being a well-behaved young man. Lord Capulet doesn't want to make a scene at his party, so he tells Tybalt to just ignore Romeo and let him stay. Tybalt has a fit and says that he will NOT endure Romeo's presence. Lord Capulet repeats his ruling and tells his insolent nephew to obey him! Tybalt leaves, but swears that his anger toward Romeo will worsen with time. Meanwhile... Romeo has become absolutely SMITTEN with Juliet. He works his way across the room to try to get closer to her and touch her hand. He sneaks up behind her, takes her hand, and plants a kiss on it. Juliet, who is just as smitten with Romeo upon first glance, tells him that lips are to be used in prayer. Romeo asks her to use her lips to pray that his sins will be washed clean. He kisses her. At this point, the nurse arrives to tell Juliet that her mother wants to speak with her. Juliet goes to her mother as she is told. Romeo asks the nurse for Juliet's name and discovers the unfortunate truth that Juliet is a Capulet. Benvolio comes to tell Romeo that they've been discovered and have to leave immediately. As they exit, Juliet asks the nurse to identify Romeo. She, too, discovers that Romeo is a Montague and states, "My only love sprung from my only hate!" She has fallen in love with her enemy! Act I ends here.
ACT ONE TEST WILL BE GIVEN
Act II
Prologue: Romeo has forgotten his obsession for Rosaline and has fallen in love with Juliet.
Scene 1 It is early morning (about 4am) and Romeo's friends have had a bit too much wine and ale. They are searching for their friend and assume that he has gone off somewhere to whine about Rosaline again. (Remember - they don't know he has met Juliet.) Benvolio tells them to give it up and go home since Romeo obviously doesn't want to be found.
Scene 2 Romeo has entered the gardens (orchard) surrounding the Capulet estate. He sees Juliet on her balcony and hears her as she speaks into the night. He's about to respond to her words but realizes that she's not talking to him. He states that two of the stars from the heavens had to go do something somewhere and asked Juliet's eyes to twinkle for them while they were away. If her eyes DID switch places with the stars, then the brightness of her cheeks would put the stars to shame. Her eyes would light up the night sky so much that the birds would think it was daytime.
Juliet asks WHY Romeo has to be a Montague (Wherefore art thou Romeo?), her enemy. Since their families are stuck in a feud, they'll never be able to share their love publicly. She asks, "What's in a name?" Her point is that a name is not what defines a person. A rose would still be a rose no matter what it was called; therefore, Romeo could change his name and still be the man she loves.
Romeo cannot control himself any longer and calls out to her. They profess their love for each other. Juliet wants him to swear his love. She warns him not to swear by the moon since the moon changes constantly and she wants his love to be unchanging.
They make a plan by which Juliet will send a messenger to meet with Romeo at 9 the following morning. Romeo will tell the messenger whether he still wants to marry Juliet. He will then tell the messenger the time and place of the secret wedding ceremony. Romeo rushes off to see Friar Lawrence.
Scene 3 (sunrise) Romeo visits Friar Lawrence who is astonished that Romeo could have fallen out of love with Rosaline so quickly. Romeo swears that he loves Juliet and asks Friar Lawrence to marry them later that day. Friar Lawrence comments that the tears Romeo had cried for Rosaline haven't even dried yet! He finally gives in and agrees to marry them in the hope that the marriage will unite the two families and end the feud.
Scene 4 Mercutio are "hanging out" in the town square talking about the previous night's party and wondering where Romeo had gone. Benvolio mentions that Tybalt had sent a challenge to Romeo to settle Romeo's crashing of the party. Romeo comes upon them and they jokingly chide him for giving them "the slip" and leaving the party without them. Romeo and his friends joke around for a while. The nurse arrives on the scene and asks to speak to Romeo. Mercutio acts the part of the comedian and jokes rudely with her. Romeo sends his friends off to breakfast and speaks alone with the nurse. He tells her to ask Juliet to tell her parents that she is going to "shrift" (confession) at Friar Lawrence's chapel that afternoon. She will need this excuse to get permission to leave the house without a chaperone. There they will be secretly married. He also tells the nurse to wait at a given spot within the hour. He will send someone to her to deliver a rope ladder. He instructs her to hang the rope ladder from Juliet's window that night so that he can climb to her room and consummate the marriage.
Scene 5 Juliet is waiting impatiently for the nurse to return with the news. Of course, when the nurse does return she tortures Juliet by witholding the news for a minute or two while she "rests her weary bones." The nurse finally tells Juliet about the plan and Juliet leaves for Friar Lawrence's.
Scene 6 Friar Lawrence secretly marries Romeo and Juliet.
ACT III
Scene 1 Benvolio are hanging out in the square. Benvolio remarks that it is hot and the Capulets are sure to come by to pick a fight. He suggests that they go home before this happens. Mercutio thinks he is being overly dramatic. Unfortunately, he has spoken too soon. Tybalt enters the square with his friends and he and Mercutio exchange words. Before it turns into an actual fight, though, Romeo enters. Tybalt challenges Romeo and calls him a villain. Romeo, who has just married Juliet, tells Tybalt that he does not wish to fight with him. He states that although he can't explain why, he loves Tybalt and holds the Capulet name dear to his heart. Tybalt interprets this to be an insult and challenges Romeo to a duel, but Romeo refuses. Mercutio can contain his anger no longer and jumps in for Romeo. Mercutio and Tybalt fight (with swords). Romeo, trying to stop the fight, holds Mercutio back, giving Tybalt an opening to stab Mercutio. Tybalt runs off.
Mercutio curses the Capulets and Montagues ("A plague on both your houses!") His friends think he is just joking and pretending to be hurt. Trying to keep things light, Mercutio says his wound is, "not so deep as a wellnor so wide as a church door; but 'tis enough..." He then tells them, "Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man," implying that he will be dead by the next day. He tells Romeo that he was wounded when Romeo held him still. Benvolio takes Mercutio inside the church for shelter. Romeo feels terrible that his love for Juliet has made him "effeminate." In other words, because of his attachment to Juliet, he refused to fight Tybalt. As a result, his best friend had to step in for hiim and lost his life.
Benvolio returns to tell Romeo that Mercutio is dead. Tybalt happens to return now and Romeo challenges him, saying that either Tybalt's or Romeo's soul will soon accompany Mercutio's. They will fight until one of them dies. They duel and Romeo kills Tybalt.
The Prince arrives and Benvolio fills him in on what happened. Lady Capulet insists that the Prince should put Romeo to death for killing her nephew Tybalt. The prince states that Romeo may have killed Tybalt, but Tybalt killed Mercutio!
Lord Montague defends Romeo by saying that Romeo only did what the law would have done anyway. In addition, he killed Tybalt to defend his friend's honor. Lastly, the prince is related to Tybalt, so he would not be too harsh on the man who defended his cousin.
The Prince decides that in light of these facts, he will not put Romeo to death. Instead, he decides to exile (banish) Romeo from Verona. If Romeo ever returns to Verona he will be put to death.
Scene 2 The nurse comes to Juliet with news of Tybalt's death. At first, the nurse is so upset that Juliet can't figure out who she is talking about. She thinks the nurse is upset over the murder of Romeo, but soon finds out the truth. The nurse is upset that Juliet would defend Romeo who has just killed her cousin. Juliet states that if she doesn't defend Romeo, who will? She exclaims that Romeo's exile is more than she can stand. Because of it, she will not be able to consummate her marriage. She would rather die rather than to have to dissolve her marriage to Romeo and marry Paris. The nurse tells her to have hope. She (the nurse) will find Romeo and sneak him into Juliet's room that night so they can make the marriage legal. Juliet gives the nurse a ring to give to Romeo as a sign of her love and asks her to tell Romeo to come take his last farewell.
Scene 3 Romeo has gone to Fr. Lawrence's cell. Since he ran off before the Prince arrived at the murder scene, Romeo doesn't know the Prince's sentence. Romeo, thinking that he is going to be executed, is distraught and can't stop crying. Fr. Lawrence yells at him and tells him to stop his "womanish tears." He tells Romeo that the Prince has decided NOT to execute him but to exile him instead. Romeo claims that exile is WORSE because he will suffer knowing that Juliet is back in Verona where he can't see her. He claims that the flies and mice of Verona are luckier than he is because they're allowed to stay in Verona where Juliet is. Romeo asks Friar Lawrence to give him a knife or poison so he can end his torture.
The nurse arrives at this point. She tells Fr. Lawrence and Romeo that Juliet is just as upset as Romeo. Romeo grabs a knife and offers to stab himself. Friar Lawrence stops him.
He gives Romeo reasons why he should be happy:
1. Juliet is alive and loves him. For this he should be happy.
2. Tybalt could have killed Romeo in the fight instead of being the one killed. For this he should be happy.
3. According to the law, Romeo should have been put to death for killing Tybalt, but the Prince only
exiled him. For this he should be happy.
Then he states his plan. He tells Romeo to:
1. Go to Juliet's room and consummate the marriage so it is legally binding.
2. Leave before the guards come on duty the next morning
3. Go to the city of Mantua and stay there until...
4. Fr. Lawrence can speak with the prince and explain what happened. He will convince the prince
to pardon Romeo. Once the prince agrees...
5. Fr. Lawrence will send word to Romeo to return to Verona where he and Juliet will be reunited.
6. He tells the nurse to return to the Capulet home and convince everyone to go to bed early, which they'll probably want to do anyway since they've had an emotionally draining day.
The nurse gives Romeo the ring that Juliet sent.
Scene 4 Paris is visiting the Capulets. Lord Capulet has decided that since Juliet is so overwrought over the death of her cousin Tybalt (remember: he doesn't know that Juliet has met Romeo. He misinterprets Juliet's constant crying over Romeo's exile as depression over Tybalt's death.) ...as I was saying...Lord Capulet has decided to cheer Juliet up by pushing the wedding to Paris up. As a matter of fact, he'll make the wedding take place on Wednesday! Then he thinks about it a second and decides he needs more time to prepare, so they'll make it on THURSDAY!!! Juliet will marry Paris in THREE DAYS!! He really thinks this will cheer her up! Since his nephew Tybalt just died, though, it will be a small wedding with very few guests. After all, he doesn't think it would be appropriate to have a big celebration three days after his nephew's murder!
Scene 5 Romeo and Juliet are waking after their night together. Of course, there were no alarm clocks in the 1500's, so they are waking to the sound of birds. Juliet insists that it is not morning and that it is the nightingale (a night bird) that is singing outside their window. She doesn't want Romeo to leave. Romeo insists that it is the lark they hear. The lark sings at sunrise, and if he doesn't leave immediately he will be caught. He is willing to stay and get caught if that is what Juliet wants, though. Juliet realizes that he must leave and rushes him off. They say their last farewells and promise their everlasting love to each other.
After Romeo leaves, Juliet throws herself on her bed and weeps uncontrollably. Lady Capulet enters and thinks Juliet is crying over Tybalt's death. To cheer her up, Lady C tells Juliet that her father has decided to let her marry Paris on Thursday. Juliet gets very angry and insists that she will NOT marry Paris on Thursday! Lady Capulet goes to get Lord C and tells him of Juliet's refusal. He is very angry that his daughter is disobeying him and comes into her room to demand her obedience. He tells her that if she refuses to do as she is told, she can go live in the streets and starve!
Her parents leave the room and Juliet turns to her nurse for advice. The nurse, realizing that their plans have been ruined, tells Juliet that Romeo is gone and will probablyl never be able to return (they don't know about Fr. Lawrence's plan). Therefore, she advises Juliet to forget about Romeo. After all, the nurse says, Paris is a much better catch anyway. Juliet is shocked! Her nurse is obviously no longer on her side. Juliet pretends to agree with the nurse (she knows that if she doesn't do this, the nurse will be watching her every move!) and tells the nurse to go inform her parents that she is sorry for her disobedience and to ask for their permission for her to go to Fr. Lawrence's cell to make her confession. The nurse leaves to do so and Juliet lets us know that she has NO intentions of confessing. SHE is going to Fr. Lawrence's for help in getting to Romeo. If he can't help her, she asks God to give her the courage to kill herself.
ACT 4
Scene 1 It is now Tuesday. Paris has come to see Friar Lawrence about wedding arrangements for Thursday. He comments that she is very depressed over Tybalt's death, not realizing the real reason. As they are speaking, Juliet arrives to see Friar Lawrence. She gives Paris the cold shoulder and asks him to leave so she can make her confession. As soon as they are alone, Juliet tells her troubles to Friar Lawrence and begs him for his help. Friar Lawrence comes up with yet another plan. He tells Juliet that it's a dangerous plan BUT if she has the nerve to go through with it, it may solve her problem. Juliet says she'd rather jump off a cliff than have to marry Paris and break her marriage vow to Romeo (and commit the sin of adultery). Here's Friar Lawrence's plan:
1. Juliet should return home and consent to marry Paris.
2. The next night (Wednesday), Juliet should dismiss the nurse from her room and sleep alone.
3. Juliet should drink the sleeping potion that Friar Lawrence has given her. The potion will make her appear to be dead for 42 hours. Her breathing and pulse will be so shallow, nobody will know she's really just in a sort of coma.
4. As is the custom of many wealthy families, Juliet's body will be put into the family crypt along with all the other dead Capulets (including the recently departed Tybalt) where she will remain asleep.
5. In the meantime, Friar Lawrence will send Friar John to Mantua with a letter for Romeo. The letter will explain everything.
6. Romeo will sneak back to Verona at night and will meet Friar Lawrence at the crypt where they will both wait for Juliet to awaken.
7. Romeo and Juliet will escape to Mantua where they will live happily since nobody will even know she's gone (until the next family member dies, of course!)
Great plan, huh?
Scene 2 It is Wednesday. Lord Capulet opens the scene preparing for the wedding. Juliet enters and asks her father's forgiveness for her disobedience. He's thrilled to see the change in her. The next day (Thursday) will be the wedding day, so he instructs the nurse to go with Juliet to pick out a dress for the ceremony.
Scene 3 It is now Wednesday night. Juliet tells the nurse and her mother that she wishes to get to bed early and spend the night before her wedding alone. As Juliet is about to take Friar Lawrence's sleeping potion, she voices some reservations. After all, this is the late 1500's and this stuff isn't FDA approved! These are her thoughts:
1. What if the potion doesn't work at all and she awakens in the morning? She'll have to marry Paris! As a precaution, she lays her dagger next to her pillow planning to kill herself if this happens.
2. What if Friar Lawrence has actually given her poison? Perhaps he is afraid that the family will discover his involvement in the marriage and punish him and he's going to cover his tracks by poisoning Juliet!
3. What if she awakens before Romeo arrives and can't get out before she suffocates from the lack of air?
4. What if she awakens before Romeo arrives and is so frightened by her surroundings that she goes insane and bashes in her own brains with one of Tybalt's bones?
She imagines Tybalt's ghost searching for Romeo so he can punish him for his murder. Juliet can't take anymore and quickly drinks the potion.
Scene 4 Thursday morning. The household is in full preparation for the day's wedding celebration. Lady Capulet tells the nurse to rouse Juliet. The nurse sees Juliet's comatose body and cries out in despair that her young lady is dead. She alerts the Capulets, and the act ends as the family prepares for Juliet's funeral.
Act 5
Scene 1 Romeo is relaxing in Mantua thinking about a dream he had the previous night. He dreamed that he had died, but Juliet had brought him back to life with a kiss (and made him an emperor!) At this point, Balthasar (Romeo's servant) arrives with the sad news that he has just witnessed Juliet's funeral! Juliet is dead! (What happened to the messenger Friar Lawrence was supposed to send to Romeo to let him know it was all part of a plan? You'll find out...)
Romeo is shocked. He orders Balthasar to get two horses so he can return to Verona with him. He then goes to seek out an apothecary (a drug dealer who makes all sorts of strange potions) so he can buy some poison which he will use to "join Juliet" in death. It is illegal to sell poison in Mantua, so it's not going to be very easy for Romeo to find an apothecary willing to sell any. He recalls having seen a very poor apothecary in the town and realizes that someone as poor as that man would be willing to sell poison for the right price. He convinces the man that he is obviously starving and needs the money. He also says that the government never did anything to help the apothecary out of his state of poverty, so why should the apothecary be so eager to follow the government's law? Romeo gets the poison and plans to return to Verona where he will visit her grave to see her once more before he drinks the poision and joins her.
Scene 2 Meanwhile, back in Verona... Friar Lawrence is visited by Friar John who should be returning from Mantua after delivering Friar Lawrence's explanatory letter to Romeo. BUT Friar Lawrence has bad news. He was on his way to Mantua when he decided to stop along the way and ask a fellow Friar to accompany him on the journey. While he was in the Friar's house, the "plague police" happened to stop by and quarantined the house, since Friar John's friend had been visiting some sick people and was, therefore, exposed to the plague! Friar John couldn't leave the house and never got the message to Romeo!
Friar Lawrence is shocked! Romeo never got the message!? Holy Saint Francis! He realizes how dangerous this is. He orders Friar John to fetch a crowbar. He must break into the crypt before Juliet wakes up! He'll take her back to his cell where they will wait together until he can send another letter to Romeo to tell him to meet her there.
Scene 3 (Be careful...this scene is cut from the movie!) Poor Paris! He's innocent in all of this. He has no idea that Romeo and Juliet have fallen in love and married. He really loved Juliet. It is Friday evening and Paris is sneaking into the Capulet crypt to visit Juliet's body and sprinkle flowers and perfume on it. He tells his servant (his Page) to wait outside and whistle if he hears anyone approaching. Meanwhile, guess who shows up? Romeo! Paris hears him coming and hides behind a bush. Romeo arrives with Balthasar, telling him that he just wants to see Juliet's body for himself and to take a ring from her finger. (Of course, this is a lie. He can't tell Balthasar that he's going to go into the crypt and poison himself! Balthasar would stop him!) He gives Balthasar a letter to deliver to his father.
Balthasar doesn't trust Romeo's intentions and hides behind a bush. Romeo takes his crowbar and starts to open the crypt door, calling it a "detestable maw...a womb of death that contains the sweetest morsel of the earth." Just as he forces the doors open, Paris jumps out from behind the bush and confronts him, thinking that he has come to deface and disrespect Juliet's tomb. It is dark and Romeo cannot see Paris's face. They fight and Romeo stabs Paris. Just before he dies, Paris begs Romeo to lay his body next to Juliet's. Romeo holds a lantern to Paris's face and realizes who he is. He knows from the conversation he had with Balthasar on their return trip to Verona that Paris was betrothed to Juliet. Romeo, a true romantic, understands what it's like to be in love and drags Paris's body into the tomb to do as Paris asked.
Romeo looks around the tomb and sees Juliet's body. He comments on how death has not had any effect on her beauty. He sees Tybalt's body and asks for his forgiveness for having killed him. He returns to Juliet's body and cries over her, saying that he will never leave her again because he is going to kill himself and remain with "worms that are thy chambermaids." He takes his last look at Juliet and gives her a final kiss before he drinks the poison saying, "Thus, with a kiss, I die."
Friar Lawrence arrives at the graveyard. Balthasar comes out of his hiding spot and tells Friar Lawrence that Romeo has been in the crypt for about half an hour. Friar Lawrence hurries into the crypt and sees Paris's blood on the entrance floor. As he enters, Juliet is waking up. He sees Paris's and Romeo's bodies on the floor tries to hurry Juliet out before she does. It is too late, though. Juliet sees Romeo and refuses to leave. Friar Lawrence hears the watchmen who have been summoned by Paris's servant. Warning Juliet that someone is coming, he runs out.
Juliet realizes that Romeo has poisoned himself. She hears the watchmen coming and knows that she must do something before they arrive. She tries to drink from the poison bottle, but it is dry. She kisses Romeo's lips, hoping that some poison has remained on them, but is unsuccessful. Finally realizing she has no other choice, she grabs Romeo's dagger from his belt and says her last words, "O, happy dagger, this is thy sheath; there rust and let me die." She falls upon Romeo's body.
The guards arrive in time to stop Friar Lawrence from leaving. The Prince arrives with the Capulets and Lord Montague, who tells the Prince that Lady Montague has died from a broken heart brought on by Romeo's banishment. The Prince asks for an explanation of what has happened at the graveyard. Friar Lawrence asks to be heard and explains the whole story starting with the marriage of Romeo and Juliet and ending with their suicides. Balthasar tells what he knows and delivers Romeo's letter to the Prince. The letter backs up what Friar Lawrence has said.
The Prince calls upon Lord Montague and Lord Capulet to consider all the damage their feud has done. They've all suffered, including himself (remember: Mercutio was his relative). Lord Capulet turns to Lord Montague in peace and offers him Juliet's dowry as a sign that he accepts the marriage. Lord Montague, in return, says that he will erect a golden statue of Juliet in the city square. Lord Capulet says that he will have a statue of Romeo made and will put it right next to Juliet's.
The play ends with the Prince's words:
A glooming peace this morning with it brings.
The sun for sorrow will not show his head.
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardoned, and some punished:
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
(Curtain)
Everything You Need to Know About Shakespeare & the Elizabethan Era
Why is it called the Elizabethan era? Queen Elizabeth I ruled England from 1558-1603. She gave financial support (royal patronage) to playwrights like William Shakespeare because she loved the arts. Without her support, Shakespeare's plays would never have gained the popularity they did. Remember: Under Queen Elizabeth, England was a Protestant country. Anyone who practiced any other faith was considered a heretic and subject to torture or death!
When did Shakespeare come around? He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, a town outside London, on April 23, 1564. He began writing his plays in the l570's. By the early 1590's, he was well established as both an actor and a playwright. Although there were other theaters in London at the time, Shakespeare and his acting company (The Lord Chamberlain's Men) presented their plays in the Globe Theater, which was built by Shakespeare in 1599.
When and why did he write poems? The London theaters were closed from 1592-1594 because of an outbreak of the plague. During that time, the Bard kept himself busy writing poems, something the Elizabethans considered more important than plays. Shakespeare hoped that his poems woud earn him the respect he though he deserved but did not receive at first as a playwright .
Was he married? Did he have a family? Sure. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582. She was probably the daughter of a farmer who lived close to Stratford. He was 18 when they married and she was 26! They had a daughter named Susanna and a set of twins (Hamnet and Judith). For most of their youth, the children didn't see much of their father who was living in London and producing his plays.
During his lifetime, William Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets! Not too shabby!
FACTS TO KNOW:
Shakespeare was born April 23, 1564 (Remember: we don't have his birth records, but his baptismal records show that he was baptized on April 26. Traditionally, children were baptized three days after birth, so...do the math!) He died in March, 1616.
Three Types Of Drama:
HISTORY: plays about historical characters or events (represented by a red flag flying over the theater.)
COMEDY: plays that have a satisfactory resolution and no deaths! While the term "comedy" seems to imply humor, remember that ALL of Shakespeare's plays have humor in them. He was a FUNNY GUY!! (Comedies were represented by white flags.)
TRAGEDY: the main character and/or others die (the flag flying over the theater would have been black.)
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Romeo and Juliet
"For never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy (U-oh, someone's going to die!) was first published in 1597. You've probably heard stories about how Shakespeare is not the original author. He based his play on the 3020 line poem The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (written by Arthur Brooke in 1562). (Brooke based his poem on a story told in 200A.D. by a Greek storyteller named Xenophon.) The poem names all the characters (except Rosealine) and follows the same plot, but the play is Shakespeare's creation! It is a story of forbidden love between young Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague. Because their families are caught in an ancient feud (which is so old nobody even remembers WHY they're feuding!) the two cannot share their love openly. They have to sneak around to avoid their parents' prying eyes. Of course, this results in disaster.
Important Characters:
Romeo - teenaged son (17?) of Lord and Lady Montague
Juliet - 13 year old daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet
Friar Lawrence - Romeo's priest and advisor
Nurse - Juliet's closest "family" member; her "nanny"
Benvolio - Romeo's friend; the "peacemaker" of the group
Mercutio - Romeo's best friend; the "comedian" of the group
Tybalt - Juliet's cousin; hates the Montagues; has a quick temper
Paris - betrothed to Juliet; makes an agreement with the Capulets
Prince Escalus - ruler of Verona who is tired of the fighting between the Capulets and Montagues
I hope you enjoy reading the play and learn to love William Shakespeare like I do!