Romeo and JulietBackground Notes

Part One: William Shakespeare Biography

William Shakespeare was supposedly born on ______in ______in England. He married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582. William was ______at the time, and Anne was ______(and pregnant!) They ended up having ______children together.

By 1594, he was acting and writing for the ______, a theater troop in London. Shakespeare made much more money in his lifetime as an ______, not a playwright.

Shakespeare’s life was during the reign of Queen ______and King ______. He lived during the time of the ______, which was the rebirth of arts and sciences.

Shakespeare wrote in a poetic format called ______(alternating stressed and unstressed) ______(5 feet (10 syllables) per line). A line of iambic pentameter would be read with a rhythm like this: daDUM, daDUM, daDUM, daDUM, daDUM

Example from Romeo and Juliet: But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?

Shakespeare died in April 23rd of 1616, his alleged ______. To this day, he is the most famous ______in the world. He was also a very famous poet and is most known for his ______, which are 14 line poems. Shakespeare’s plays fell into one of three categories: ______, ______, or ______. Romeo and Juliet is a ______.

Part Two: The Globe Theater

The Globe Theater was built in 1599 by the ______Shakespeare’s acting company. It was also known as the “______” due its shape. In 1613, the original Globe Theatre ______when a cannon shot during a performance ignited the roof. It was rebuilt soon after.

The Globe was _____ stories tall and could house roughly ______people. Queen Elizabeth and King James I would frequent the theater along with many of the rich elite in London. On the other hand, at the base of the stage, there was an area called the pitwhere, for a ______, common people (the "______") would stand to watch the performance. This ranking system made the theater available to everyone.

Groundlings were known for being dirty and vulgar. They would ______for the whole show and ______at the actors if they got bored. Prostitutes would “work” during the plays as well in the pit so it was a very nasty place.

______flying above the theater would let people know what kind of play would be performed that day. The ______would indicate if the play would be a tragedy, a comedy or a history.

Actors would fill a ______up with blood and hide it under their costume. During a ______, one actor would stab another where the bladderwas concealed so he would bleed on stage. Audiences loved gory ______(and sexual innuendo) so Shakespeare used a lot of it in his plays, including R&J.

______were not allowed to be actors during this time period. All characters had to be played by men. The character of ______, for example, would have been played by a young teenage boy who had yet to go through ______.

Staging and props were very ______due to lack of technological advancement. Actors and playwrights relied on ______to set the time period, the ______or the ______of day that a scene would be taking place. Shakespeare used a narrator, called the ______, to also fill in any holes that audience members needed about time, location, or plot development.

The Globe was closed down in 1642 by the Puritans. The foundation of the Globe was rediscovered in ______and the theater has since been rebuilt to match as close as possible to the original design. It still stands in ______today and continues to perform many of Shakespeare’s classic plays.

Part Three: Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet was supposedly written around ______and was not an entirely original story. A narrative poem called ______and ______had recently been written by ______in ______. Shakespeare adapted it by changing the ______, themes and ______of the story. He also “borrowed” some ideas from an old Greek myth called ______and ______.

Romeo and Juliet is set in ______, ______in the ______. The entire action of the play takes place in _____ days.

Aside:

Soliloquy:

Monologue:

Romeo and Juliet Character List

Romeo-The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague who is about 15 in the play.

Juliet-The 13 year old daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet.

Friar Lawrence-A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence is an expert in the use of plants and herbs for both their healing and poisoning properties.

Mercutio-A relative to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend.

The Nurse-Juliet’s nurse, the woman who has cared for Juliet her entire life.

Tybalt-A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. He loathes the Montagues.

Capulet-The patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet, and enemy, for unexplained reasons, of Montague.

Lady Capulet-Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife.

Montague-Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet.

Lady Montague-Romeo’s mother, Montague’s wife.

Paris-A relative of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet.

Benvolio-Montague’s nephew, Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend, he makes a genuine effort to calm violent scenes in public places.

Prince Escalus-The Prince of Verona. A relative of both Mercutio and Paris. As the seat of political power in Verona, he is concerned about maintaining the public peace at all costs.

Friar John-A Franciscan friar charged by Friar Lawrence with delivering an important message to Romeo.

Balthasar-Romeo’s dedicated servant.

Sampson & Gregory- Two servants of the house of Capulet, who, like their master, hate the Montagues.

Abram-Montague’s servant

Peter-A Capulet servant who invites guests to Capulet’s feast. He is illiterate.

Rosaline-The woman with whom Romeo is infatuated at the beginning of the play.

The Chorus-The Chorus is a single character who, as developed in Greek drama, functions as a narrator offering commentary on the play’s plot and themes.