Engage
My initial reactions towards Romeo and Juliet was I thought of it as very hard words to read. I did not get what shakespeare ment by thou, wilt, thee, quarrel, ect. I believe I didn't understand this because we do not use these words in our society anymore. I also thought that at the beginning it was pointless to read this play. I thought this because it was so hard to understand at first and when we read it individually I couldn't understand reading it by myself.
Describe
Romeo and Juliet is about two star-crossed lovers who get married, but there parents and families get in the way. Romeo and Juliet both take their lives to be with eachother. The play is in Verona, it begins with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet supporters who are sworn enemies. The Prince of Verona intervenes and declares that
further breach of the peace will be punishable by death. Later, Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter, but Capulet
asks Paris to wait another two years (then he later orders Juliet to marry
Paris) and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet's nurse try to
persuade Juliet to accept Paris's courtship.
Meanwhile, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Montague's son, about Romeo's recent
depression. Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited infatuation for a
girl named Roseline, one of Capulet's nieces. Persuaded by
Benvolio and Mercutio, Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet
house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. However, Romeo instead falls in
love with Juliet. After the ball, in what is now called the "balcony scene",
Romeo sneaks into the Capulet orchard and overhears Juliet at her window vowing
her love to him in spite of her family's hatred of the Montagues. Romeo makes
himself known to her and they agree to be married. With the help of Frier Lawrence, who hopes to bring the two
families together through their children's union, they are secretly married the next
day.
Juliet's cousin Tybalt, realized that Romeo had sneaked into the
Capulet ball, challenges him to a duel. Romeo, now considering Tybalt his
kinsman, refuses to fight. Mercutio is offended by Tybalt's insolence, as well
as Romeo's "vile submission," and
accepts the duel on Romeo's behalf. Mercutio gets stabbed and wounded when Romeo
attempts to break up the fight. Romeo becomes so angry he fights Tybalt and kills him.
Montague argues that Romeo executed Tybalt for the murder of
Mercutio. The Prince, now having lost a kinsman in the warring families' feud,
exiles Romeo from Verona, with threat of execution upon return. Romeo secretly
spends the night in Juliet's chamber, where they consummate their marriage. Capulet,
misinterpreting Juliet's grief, agrees to marry her to Paris and threatens
to disown her when she refuses to become Paris's "joyful bride. When
she then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, her mother rejects her too.
Juliet visits Friar Laurence for help, and he offers her a drug that will put
her into a deathlike coma for "two and forty hours," which is forty-two hours. The
Friar promises to send a messenger to inform Romeo of the plan, so that he knows what is going on and can
rejoin her when she awakens. On the night before the wedding, she takes the drug
and, when discovered apparently dead, she is laid in the family crypt.
The messenger, however, does not reach Romeo and, instead, Romeo learns of
Juliet's apparent death from Balthasar. Heartbroken, Romeo buys
poison and goes to the Capulet crypt. He encounters Paris who has come to mourn
Juliet privately. Believing Romeo to be a vandal, Paris confronts him andwants to fight,
Romeo kills Paris. Still believing Juliet to be dead, Romeo drinks the poison. Juliet then
awakens and, finds her Romeo dead. She stabs herself with Romeo's dagger. The
feuding families and the Prince meet at the tomb to find all three dead. Friar Laurence
recounts the story of the two "star-cross'd lovers". The families are reconciled by their
children's deaths and agree to stop fighting eachother. The play ends with the
Prince's elegy for the lovers: "For never was a story of more woe / Than this of
Juliet and her Romeo."
further breach of the peace will be punishable by death. Later, Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter, but Capulet
asks Paris to wait another two years (then he later orders Juliet to marry
Paris) and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet's nurse try to
persuade Juliet to accept Paris's courtship.
Meanwhile, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Montague's son, about Romeo's recent
depression. Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited infatuation for a
girl named Roseline, one of Capulet's nieces. Persuaded by
Benvolio and Mercutio, Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet
house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. However, Romeo instead falls in
love with Juliet. After the ball, in what is now called the "balcony scene",
Romeo sneaks into the Capulet orchard and overhears Juliet at her window vowing
her love to him in spite of her family's hatred of the Montagues. Romeo makes
himself known to her and they agree to be married. With the help of Frier Lawrence, who hopes to bring the two
families together through their children's union, they are secretly married the next
day.
Juliet's cousin Tybalt, realized that Romeo had sneaked into the
Capulet ball, challenges him to a duel. Romeo, now considering Tybalt his
kinsman, refuses to fight. Mercutio is offended by Tybalt's insolence, as well
as Romeo's "vile submission," and
accepts the duel on Romeo's behalf. Mercutio gets stabbed and wounded when Romeo
attempts to break up the fight. Romeo becomes so angry he fights Tybalt and kills him.
Montague argues that Romeo executed Tybalt for the murder of
Mercutio. The Prince, now having lost a kinsman in the warring families' feud,
exiles Romeo from Verona, with threat of execution upon return. Romeo secretly
spends the night in Juliet's chamber, where they consummate their marriage. Capulet,
misinterpreting Juliet's grief, agrees to marry her to Paris and threatens
to disown her when she refuses to become Paris's "joyful bride. When
she then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, her mother rejects her too.
Juliet visits Friar Laurence for help, and he offers her a drug that will put
her into a deathlike coma for "two and forty hours," which is forty-two hours. The
Friar promises to send a messenger to inform Romeo of the plan, so that he knows what is going on and can
rejoin her when she awakens. On the night before the wedding, she takes the drug
and, when discovered apparently dead, she is laid in the family crypt.
The messenger, however, does not reach Romeo and, instead, Romeo learns of
Juliet's apparent death from Balthasar. Heartbroken, Romeo buys
poison and goes to the Capulet crypt. He encounters Paris who has come to mourn
Juliet privately. Believing Romeo to be a vandal, Paris confronts him andwants to fight,
Romeo kills Paris. Still believing Juliet to be dead, Romeo drinks the poison. Juliet then
awakens and, finds her Romeo dead. She stabs herself with Romeo's dagger. The
feuding families and the Prince meet at the tomb to find all three dead. Friar Laurence
recounts the story of the two "star-cross'd lovers". The families are reconciled by their
children's deaths and agree to stop fighting eachother. The play ends with the
Prince's elegy for the lovers: "For never was a story of more woe / Than this of
Juliet and her Romeo."
Interpret
Romeo and Juliet is a story about a boy and a girl who love eachother so much that they disobey their families to be together and the thought of losing the other is so unbarible that they can not live without them. It is relavent today because today they make tragic love storys all based off of Romeo and Juliet. I think that back then men want to be with the women they loved to live with them forever and now the media makes it more like people just say they love a girl to have intercourse with them. Romeo shows this when he meets Juliet and for the first time and falls in love. He shows that he wants to marry Juliet right away, and in our time it takes a lot longer than one night. I believe that those are the differences from now and the time period of Romeo and Juliet.
Judge
I thought this play was confusing but overall a great play. What we can learn from this play is feuds need to end or be ended by outside influences if they cant be solved internally - before all hell breaks loose - dont pass on your arguments (the fued had nothin to do with Romeo and Juliet so unfair that they had to suffer).