Romeo And Juliet Act I Review

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare

The Prologue  Chorus.

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient trudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins if these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows, Do with their death bury 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.

So what does that mean? The

Chorus is played by a single actor, whose job is to briefly summarize the plot of the play. The story is set in Verona, Italy. The recent fighting that broke out between two feuding noble families dooms

So what does that mean? The

unfolding of “their deathmarked love” is the play’s subject. Its tragic climax is their untimely deaths, which cause their respective families to resolve the feud.

ACT I Romeo and Juliet

Remember

when we did the plot pyramids for Marigolds? The beginning of a story is called the ____________. What does an exposition do? In Romeo and Juliet, Act I functions as the exposition of the play.

Romeo and Juliet

ACT I, SCENE I

Act I, Scene I Summary On

a street in Verona, two servants of Lord Capulet start a fight with two of Lord Montague’s servants. Benvolio, Romeo’s friend, enters and stops the fight. Then Tybalt, a relative of the Capulets enters and insults Benvolio, and the fighting starts again.

Act I, Scene I Summary The

fighting is stopped by several people, just as Lord and Lady Capulet and Lord and Lady Montague enter. The two Lords exchange angry words. Prince Escalus, the Prince and leader of Verona, comes and warns the Lords that if they fight any more they’ll be sentenced to

Act I, Scene I Summary  Romeo

enters the scene and confesses to his friend Benvolio that he’s upset because he loves a young woman, Rosaline, who’s sworn she’ll become a nun.  Benvolio tells Romeo to forget about her, but Romeo says any other woman will only remind him of Rosaline, who he loves so much.

Romeo and Juliet

ACT I, SCENE II

Act I, Scene II Summary  Paris

asks Lord Capulet for permission to Marry Juliet, but Capulet hesitates because he thinks Juliet is too young for marriage.  He says if Paris can win Juliet’s heart, the two will have his blessing.  So, he invites Paris to a feast.

Act II, Scene II Summary Romeo

finds out Rosaline is on the guest list to attend the feast, so he and his friends decide they will sneak into the Capulet’s big party.

Act I, Scene 3 Now

we’ll watch the rest of Act I in the 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet, directed by a famous Italian director named Franco Zeffirelli. Pay close attention to the party scene, when Tybalt sees Romeo and gets mad that he’s there. Also, pay close attention to the part when Romeo and Juliet first meet.