The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

THE TRAGEDY OF ROMEO AND JULIET

by William Shakespeare

January 1, 1597

This is an eBook compiled and reformatted by Emmanuelle Britt H. 2023

8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

The play opens with a foreshadowing of events to come.

• Romeo and Juliet begins with a sonnet that unveils the plot. The prologue, starting with "Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene," takes the audience through the tragic events of the play, while also urging them to discover the exact circumstances that led to such a calamitous state.

"While the play flirts with elements of comedy," explains Emma Smith, a Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, University of Oxford, "it firmly establishes the outcome right from the start,

emphasizing that only the death of the young lovers can reconcile the feuding families... Thus, what captivates our attention is the profound passion and heart-wrenching journey that leads to this inevitable fate, rather than any uncertainty about the ultimate outcome."

Romeo and Juliet drew inspiration from epic poems.

• Shakespeare drew inspiration for Romeo and Juliet from an epic poem titled The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, written in 1562 by the English poet Arthur Brooke. Brooke's poem was based on a French translation of the works by the Italian writer Matteo Bandello. In Brooke's version, the focus was on moral teachings, aiming to discourage readers from defying their parents' wishes.

On another note, before Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare had gained popularity with his poem Venus and Adonis, which tells the story of the love goddess and her unrequited affection for a handsome man who prefers hunting over her advances. This poem combines elements of eroticism and comedy but concludes tragically. Romeo and Juliet marked Shakespeare's venture into the realm of tragedy, as he explored new depths in his writing.

The play compresses several months' worth of life events into a mere span of four days.

• In addition to altering the moral focus of Arthur Brooke's version, Shakespeare's play also presents a significant departure in terms of timeline. According to Paul Prescott, Professor of English and Theatre

at the University of California Merced, "Brooke's story unfolds at a leisurely pace, spanning about nine months. Shakespeare condenses the action into a mere four days." This compressed timeline creates a sense of restlessness and urgency in the play, capturing the feeling that events are rapidly unfolding. For instance, if we consider just Monday, Romeo experiences a series of transformative events. He gets married, takes a life, faces banishment, contemplates suicide, and presumably engages in a sexual encounter. It becomes an astonishingly eventful "manic Monday" for Romeo in Verona. The intensity and fast-paced nature of these four days lend a heightened sense of dramatic tension and propel the story forward.

The reason behind the feud between the Montagues and Capulets remains ambiguous and seemingly trivial.

• The origin of the longstanding feud between the Montagues and Capulets in Romeo and Juliet is not explicitly revealed in the play. However, there is a partial clue in Act I, Scene 1 when the Prince of Verona

intervenes in a brawl and describes the conflict as "Three civil brawls bred of an airy word." This suggests that the feud was sparked by a seemingly trivial or insignificant matter. Professor Paul Prescott offers insight into the meaning of this description. While "airy" implies emptiness, it also reminds us that all

words are composed of air. This raises the question of how a seemingly empty word could have ignited such intense violence and animosity, filling the streets of Verona with hatred. The play prompts us to ponder the power of words and their ability to shape and escalate conflicts. It highlights the destructive consequences that can arise from misunderstandings, grudges, and the weight given to insignificant provocations. Despite the elusive nature of the feud's origin, the focus remains on the tragic consequences that unfold as a result of the deep-rooted animosity between the two families.

The inclusion of violence in the play was intended to cater to the preferences of the predominantly young male audience of the time.

• While Romeo and Juliet is renowned as a love story, it is interspersed with moments of violence. Professor Emma Smith highlights that passion and aggression are intertwined, noting that the passion between the lovers itself can be seen as a form of violence, serving as an antidote to the pervasive violence surrounding them. The prevalence of violence in the play can also be attributed to the

fascination with combat during that era. It was a time when various manuals on duelling were published, reflecting the cultural interest in physical confrontations. Additionally, the inclusion of violence in Romeo and Juliet may stem from Shakespeare's understanding of his audience's preferences. Prior to

this play, Shakespeare had written history plays, which often featured extensive fighting. These historical dramas appealed particularly to young male audiences who frequented the theaters, as combat scenes were a major draw for them. Hence, the presence of violence in Romeo and Juliet could be attributed

to a combination of exploring the complex relationship between passion and aggression, reflecting the cultural fascination with combat, and catering to the theatrical tastes of the audience of that time.

Mercutio's tragic death marks a turning point in the play, shifting the tone from comedy to tragedy.

• One of the notable deviations Shakespeare made from his sources in Romeo and Juliet is the character of Mercutio. He serves as a source of comic relief throughout the play, bringing lightheartedness to the story. However, his fate takes a tragic turn when he is slain by Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. Even in his final moments, Mercutio maintains his wit, uttering a pun with his last words: "Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man." With Mercutio's untimely death, the comedic element of the play comes to

an end. His parting curse, "a plague o' both your houses!" directed at the Montagues and the Capulets, foreshadows the tragic events that unfold and ultimately defines Romeo and Juliet as a tragedy. The curse

manifests itself, highlighting the destructive consequences of the ongoing feud between the two families.

A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet share common themes and parallels, making them closely interconnected plays.

• The exact chronological order of Shakespeare's writing of Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream remains uncertain, but the thematic connections and parallels between the two plays make them akin to "twin plays." Dreams play a significant role in both works, but the key link lies in the young couples - Romeo and Juliet, and Hermia and Lysander - who strive to be together despite parental opposition.

Helen Hackett, Professor of English Literature at University College London, highlights the striking similarities in how Hermia and Lysander, like Romeo and Juliet, describe themselves. Hermia's words, "If then true lovers have been ever crossed/It stands as an edict in destiny," evoke thoughts of the "star-crossed lovers" from Romeo and Juliet. Furthermore, another doomed pair of lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe from Ovid's works, appear in a play within A Midsummer Night's Dream, where their story is humorously and clumsily portrayed by a group of amateur actors known as the mechanicals. Ovid's works likely served as a source of inspiration for Romeo and Juliet as well. This suggests that Shakespeare may be playfully satirizing his own work by incorporating elements from Ovid into A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Romeo and Juliet forged a lexicon of love

• By interweaving various poems and infusing his own enchantment through sonnets, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet emerges as the epitome of romance. It is a collision of two worlds: Romeo, a somewhat lost and brooding soul yearning for a profound encounter, and Juliet, his loveat- first-sight, who Professor Helen Hackett describes as a "passionate and desirous type of heroine." The combination is electrifying. Romeo experiences a sense of reality surpassing the clichés of sonnets, and their exchange of sonnets becomes a harmonious love duet. According to Hackett, we perceive a mutual and reciprocated love, equally fervent and significant to both of them