The Shakespeare tragic play that I have chosen to study is Romeo & Juliet. Upon studying and researching, I have already found out so much about this play- here are some facts, plot summaries, and characters that I have read about:
Characters- In Romeo & Juliet, there are two main families. The House of Montague, and the House of Capulet. Romeo, a main character in the play is the son of Montague. While Juliet, another important character in the play, is the daughter of Capulet. Rosaline is Lord Capulet's niece, and Romeo's love in the beginning of the play. And Tybalt is a cousin of Juliet, and the nephew of Capulet's wife. Prince Escalus is the ruling prince of Verona, the city in which the play takes place. And Count Paris and Mercutio are kinsman of prince Escalus. Romeo's cousin and best friend is a character named Benvolio. The servants of the two households are, Abram and Balthasar who are servants of the Montague household. And Peter, Sampson and Gregory who are servants of the Capulet household. The Nurse is a character who helps Juliet throughout the story, solve her problems. Supporting character are- Friar Laurence who is a Franciscan friar, and Romeo's confidant. Friar John who is sent to deliver Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo, and an Apothecary who reluctantly sells Romeo poison.
Plot Summary- From what I have studied about Romeo & Juliet, I have found out that the house of Capulet and the house of Montague are enemies. Act one, scene one starts off in a brawl between the two houses and their servants. In scene two of act one, Romeo falls in love with Juliet while attending the ball hosted by the Capulet’s. Romeo went to the Ball in hopes of meeting Rosaline, a girl who he already had a love for, but instead meets Juliet. While at the ball, Romeo hears Juliet out in the orchard vowing her love for him. Romeo than confesses his love for her, and they plan to get married. Secretly, they get married with the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two families through their children's union. Act two, scene four- Montague argues that Romeo has justly executed Tybalt for the murder of Mercutio. The Prince, now having lost a kinsman in the warring families' feud, exiles Romeo from Verona, under penalty of death if he ever returns. That night, Romeo secretly spends the night in Juliet's chamber.
Capulet, misinterpreting Juliet's grief, agrees to marry her to Count Paris and threatens to disown her when she refuses to become Paris's bride. She then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, but her mother rejects her.
Act four opens with Juliet visiting Friar Laurence for help. Friar Laurence offers her a drug that will put her into a deathlike coma for "two and forty hours." The Friar promises to send a messenger to inform Romeo of the plan, so that he 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 his own servant Balthasar. Heartbroken, Romeo buys poison from an apothecary and goes to the Capulet crypt where Juliet lay. Upon coming to the crypt, he encounters Paris who has come to mourn Juliet privately. Believing Romeo to be a vandal, Paris confronts him and, in battle, Romeo kills Paris. Still believing Juliet to be dead, Romeo drinks the poison. Juliet then awakens and, finding Romeo dead, stabs herself with his 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 end their violent feud.
Facts About Romeo & Juliet-
Characters- In Romeo & Juliet, there are two main families. The House of Montague, and the House of Capulet. Romeo, a main character in the play is the son of Montague. While Juliet, another important character in the play, is the daughter of Capulet. Rosaline is Lord Capulet's niece, and Romeo's love in the beginning of the play. And Tybalt is a cousin of Juliet, and the nephew of Capulet's wife. Prince Escalus is the ruling prince of Verona, the city in which the play takes place. And Count Paris and Mercutio are kinsman of prince Escalus. Romeo's cousin and best friend is a character named Benvolio. The servants of the two households are, Abram and Balthasar who are servants of the Montague household. And Peter, Sampson and Gregory who are servants of the Capulet household. The Nurse is a character who helps Juliet throughout the story, solve her problems. Supporting character are- Friar Laurence who is a Franciscan friar, and Romeo's confidant. Friar John who is sent to deliver Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo, and an Apothecary who reluctantly sells Romeo poison.
Plot Summary- From what I have studied about Romeo & Juliet, I have found out that the house of Capulet and the house of Montague are enemies. Act one, scene one starts off in a brawl between the two houses and their servants. In scene two of act one, Romeo falls in love with Juliet while attending the ball hosted by the Capulet’s. Romeo went to the Ball in hopes of meeting Rosaline, a girl who he already had a love for, but instead meets Juliet. While at the ball, Romeo hears Juliet out in the orchard vowing her love for him. Romeo than confesses his love for her, and they plan to get married. Secretly, they get married with the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two families through their children's union. Act two, scene four- Montague argues that Romeo has justly executed Tybalt for the murder of Mercutio. The Prince, now having lost a kinsman in the warring families' feud, exiles Romeo from Verona, under penalty of death if he ever returns. That night, Romeo secretly spends the night in Juliet's chamber.
Capulet, misinterpreting Juliet's grief, agrees to marry her to Count Paris and threatens to disown her when she refuses to become Paris's bride. She then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, but her mother rejects her.
Act four opens with Juliet visiting Friar Laurence for help. Friar Laurence offers her a drug that will put her into a deathlike coma for "two and forty hours." The Friar promises to send a messenger to inform Romeo of the plan, so that he 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 his own servant Balthasar. Heartbroken, Romeo buys poison from an apothecary and goes to the Capulet crypt where Juliet lay. Upon coming to the crypt, he encounters Paris who has come to mourn Juliet privately. Believing Romeo to be a vandal, Paris confronts him and, in battle, Romeo kills Paris. Still believing Juliet to be dead, Romeo drinks the poison. Juliet then awakens and, finding Romeo dead, stabs herself with his 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 end their violent feud.
Facts About Romeo & Juliet-
- The play was Believed to have been written between 1591 and 1595
- The play was first published in a quarto version in 1597
- ·At least 27 operas have been based on Romeo and Juliet. The earliest, Romeo und Julie in 1776, a Singspiel by Georg Benda
- ·In 1977, Michael Smuin's production of one of the play's most dramatic and impassioned dance interpretations was debuted in its entirety by San Francisco Ballet. This production was the first full-length ballet to be broadcast by the PBS series "Great Performances: Dance in America"; it aired in 1978.
- The best-known ballet version is Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. Originally commissioned by the Kirov Ballet, it was rejected by them when Prokofiev attempted a happy ending, and was rejected again for the experimental nature of its music. It has subsequently attained an "immense" reputation, and has been choreographed by John Cranko (1962) and Kenneth MacMillan (1965) among others.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet
- http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/romeo/SceneTextIndex.html