ENGL 4313/5583: Shakespeare: Tragedies

Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

John M. Mercer, Professor of English

Study Guide 2: Romeo and Juliet

 

Background and Sources

Romeo and Juliet is one of the most frequently performed of Shakespeare’s plays.  It is Shakespeare’s only tragedy about two young lovers.  The title characters in Othello and Antony and Cleopatra are also in love, but they are middle aged. 

  1. Stories about the doomed relationships of young lovers are common in myth and legend.  These couples include Hero and Leander and Tristan and Isolde. The mythological couple most similar to Romeo and Juliet, however, is Pyramus and Thisbe. Extra-credit research or prior knowledge:  How are the stories about these mythological couples similar to and different from the story of Romeo and Juliet?
  2. Extra-credit research or prior knowledge: In what play does Shakespeare explicitly use the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe?  What function(s) does the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe serve in this play?

 

A 15th-century Italian story first linked two important plot elements that appear in Romeo and Juliet: 

·        A sleeping potion is used to escape an unwanted marriage.

·        The suicides of two lovers are triggered by one lover’s mistaken belief that the other is dead.  (This is sometimes called “ironic suicide.”)

The names Romeo and Juliet were first attached to this story in the 16th century (around 1530).  

 

  1. According to the textbook’s introduction to the play, what literary work is Shakespeare’s direct source for Romeo and Juliet?  This source is not a play.  What is its genre?  What are the main differences between Shakespeare’s source and Romeo and Juliet?
  2. When did Shakespeare write Romeo and Juliet?  What other play with similar plot elements did Shakespeare write about the same time?  What is the genre of each of these two plays? Extra-credit research or prior knowledge: What are the main similarities and differences between the plots of these two plays?

 

Language in Romeo and Juliet

  1. Like other early plays by Shakespeare, the language in Romeo and Juliet tends to be highly rhetorical, extravagant, and artificial.  What definition of the word “rhetorical” applies here?
  2. An example of the play’s rhetorical language is Mercutio’s elaborate Queen Mab speech (1.4.53 ff. [“and following lines”], pages 1110-11).  Read this speech aloud.  What specific observations can you make about the language of this speech?
  3. In what other passages in the play do you find the language to be highly rhetorical, extravagant, and/or artificial?  Is this language appropriate to its context?  Why or why not?

 

Verse Forms in Romeo and Juliet

  1. What verse form does Shakespeare use mostly frequently in his plays?  What is the most commonly used meter (number and arrangement of accented and unaccented syllables)?  What rhyme scheme appears most often?
  2. Romeo and Juliet, however, prominently uses several different poetic forms.
    1. Several complete 14-line sonnets are integrated into the play. What is the meter of each sonnet listed below?  What is the rhyme scheme of each?  What name is given to this type of sonnet?

                                                               i.      The Chorus’s prologue at the beginning of the play (Pro. 1-14, page 1104)

                                                             ii.      The dialogue between Romeo and Juliet when they first meet (1.5.93-106, page 1112)

                                                            iii.      The Chorus’s speech at the beginning of act 2 (1-14, page 1113)

                                                           iv.      Do you find other sonnets in the play?  If so, where?

    1. What poetic form is used for Romeo’s words on seeing Juliet for the first time (1.5.44-53, page 1112)?  What other passages use this same poetic form? 

 

Structure of the Plot

  1. The first half of the plot of Romeo and Juliet uses a comic situation and comic characters.  As in many of Shakespeare’s comedies, the plot of Romeo and Juliet begins with two pairs of mismatched couples.  How is each of these couples mismatched?
    1. Romeo and Rosaline
    2. Paris and Juliet
  2. As in most of Shakespeare’s comedies, the plot of Romeo and Juliet concerns true lovers who are kept apart by external circumstances.  (As Lysander says to his beloved Hermia at the beginning of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”)  What external circumstances keep Romeo and Juliet apart?
  3. When Romeo first falls in love with Juliet at Capulet’s ball in 1.5, whose hatred for Romeo is triggered?  How is this hatred significant to the plot as a whole?
  4. The first half of the play emphasizes comic characters.  What are comic traits of the following characters?  Which of their scenes and/or speeches are especially humorous?  Why?
    1. the Nurse
    2. Mercutio
  5. What event is the crisis or turning point of the play, where the mood of the play turns from comic to tragic?  Immediately following this crisis, how does Romeo prophesy his own doom?
  6. In act 5, when Romeo comes to the Capulets’ tomb, it would not be absolutely necessary to the plot for Paris to be present.  Why, then, do you think the plot includes Romeo’s confrontation of Paris?
  7. In act 5, it seems cowardly of Friar Lawrence to leave Juliet alone.  What is his motivation for leaving?  Regardless of Friar Lawrence’s motivation, why is it necessary for Shakespeare to get Friar Lawrence off stage?   
  8. The events of the plot seem to rush along at amazing speed.  In Shakespeare’s source, these events take nine months, whereas in Shakespeare’s play they require only about five days.  Why would Shakespeare condense the passage of time so much?  What theme does the rapidity of the play’s action help to communicate?
  9. Does the following timeline conform to what the lines of the play say about the passage of time?  What lines support and/or disprove this timeline?
    1. Day 1: Sunday

                                                               i.      Play begins.

                                                             ii.      In the evening, Capulet hosts a feast.

                                                            iii.      Romeo and Juliet meet.

    1. Day 2: Monday

                                                               i.      Romeo and Juliet marry.

                                                             ii.      Romeo kills Tybalt.

                                                            iii.      Romeo spends wedding night with Juliet.

    1. Day 3: Tuesday

                                                               i.      In the morning, Romeo leaves.

                                                             ii.      Juliet agrees to marry Paris.

                                                            iii.      At night, Juliet takes the sleeping potion (to last for 42 hours).

    1. Day 4: Wednesday

                                                               i.      Juliet is found apparently dead.

    1. Day 5: Thursday

                                                               i.      At night, Romeo comes to Juliet’s tomb.

                                                             ii.      Juliet wakes up.

 

Romeo and Juliet as Lovers

  1. At the beginning of the play, Romeo seems to be playing the part of a conventional Petrarchan lover and poet.  Petrarch, a 14th-century Italian poet, created the genre of the love sonnet, and Petrarchan love poetry was very popular in the 1590s, when Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet. The speaker in Petrarch’s sonnets is a man who is hopelessly in love with a woman who cares nothing for him. Mercutio explicitly connects Romeo with Petrarch (2.4.38, page 1117).  In Romeo’s first appearance on stage (1.1.159 ff., page 1106), how does he fit the stereotype of a Petrarchan lover?
  2. In 1.1.159 ff. or elsewhere in the play before he meets Juliet, where and how does Romeo use each of the following conventions of Petrarchan love poetry?
    1. antithesis: the use of parallel structure to balance contrasting elements
    2. paradox: a statement that appears to be contradictory but on some level is true
    3. oxymoron: a phrase that links two contradictory terms
    4. puns and other word play
    5. Petrarchan conceits: extended metaphors commonly used in Petrarchan love poetry, such as the lover’s comparing himself to a ship at sea, a religious devotee, or a soldier in battle (see 1.1.212, page 1107)
  3. How genuine, deep, and heartfelt is Romeo’s love for Rosaline?  How can you tell?
  4. When he sees Juliet for the first time (1.5.44 ff., page 1112), how, if at all, does Romeo’s language differ from the language he has previously used to describe his love for Rosaline?
  5. What Petrarchan conceit (see 2e above) does Romeo use in his first conversation with Juliet (1.5.93 ff.)?  
  6. How do Romeo’s actions later in the play prove the sincerity of his love for Juliet?
  7. How old is Juliet?  How mature and sophisticated does she appear to be at the beginning of the play in her conversation with her mother and the Nurse?
  8. Zeffirelli’s film Romeo and Juliet was the first major production in which a young teenage actress portrayed Juliet.  The conventional wisdom had been that only a mature actress could portray the range of Juliet’s character from the beginning to the end of the play. The great actress Eva Le Gallienne, for example, continued to play Juliet in dramatic recitals at age 80.  Extra-credit research: What can you learn about Eva Le Gallienne’s portrayal of Juliet, or that of other actresses?
  9. In the famous balcony scene (2.2.85 ff., pages 1114-15), how does Romeo continue to use the exaggerated pose of a Petrarchan lover?  What does Juliet say to teach him the unreality of this pose?  Does Romeo continue to use the language of Petrarchan love poetry in the rest of the play?
  10. According to the textbook’s introduction and your own observations, how does Juliet mature over the course of the play?  How does she demonstrate her true commitment to Romeo?
  11. How would you describe the type of love that Romeo and Juliet embody?  What are the characteristics of their love?

 

Foils to the Love of Romeo and Juliet

Foils are pairs of parallel characters who, by contrast, illuminate each other’s traits.  The other characters’ attitudes toward love are foils to the superior love of Romeo and Juliet.  How do the following characters view love?  How are they foils to Romeo and Juliet’s love?

  1. Samson and Gregory, in making sexual jokes in the opening scene (1.1)
  2. Paris, in negotiating with Capulet about his marriage to Juliet
  3. Capulet, in arranging and insisting upon Juliet’s marriage to Paris
  4. Lady Capulet, in praising Paris’s wealth to Juliet
  5. Capulet and Lady Capulet, in lamenting Juliet’s supposed death (page 1133)
  6. Mercutio, in making fun of romantic love (2.4.37 ff., page 1117)
  7. The Nurse, in reminiscing about Juliet’s infancy (1.3.16 ff., page 1109)
  8. The Nurse, in advising Juliet to marry Paris (3.5.213 ff., page 1129)

 

Comic Characters

  1. Mercutio’s name means “moody,” “touchy,” or “mercurial.”  What definition of “mercurial” applies here?  How is Mercutio’s name appropriate to his character?
  2. In stage productions, Mercutio usually makes a big impression on the audience.  In Baz Luhrmann’s film Romeo and Juliet starring Leonardo diCaprio and Claire Danes, Mercutio is portrayed as an African-American drag queen.  What about the character of Mercutio lends itself to this portrayal?
  3. The Nurse is another favorite character with audiences.  Shakespeare created this character from only a brief reference in his main source.  In what way is the Nurse “earthy”?
  4. The Nurse is a bundle of contradictions, behaving different ways at different times.  Explain how the Nurse embodies the following contradictions:
    1. She is both talkative and secretive.
    2. She is both obsequious and insolent.  (Check the definitions of these words in a college dictionary.)
    3. She is both trustworthy and dishonest.
    4. She both facilitates Juliet’s relationship with Romeo and undermines it.

 

Romeo and Juliet as a Tragedy

Aristotle’s Poetics draws the following distinction between the plots of two different kinds of plays:

·        In tragedy, or a tragic plot, the main character falls from happiness to misery as a result of his or her own actions.  (More modern critics sometimes call this a tragedy of character.)

·        In pathos, or a pathetic plot, the main character falls from happiness to misery as a result of external circumstances beyond his or her control.  (More modern critics sometimes call this a tragedy of fate.)

A major question in the interpretation of Romeo and Juliet is whether the play is tragedy (tragedy of character) or pathos (tragedy of fate).  The following specific causes of the fall of Romeo and Juliet have been suggested:

  1. Fate.  What dictionary definition of “fate” applies here?  How does each of the following passages help to support the idea that fate causes Romeo and Juliet’s fall? 
    1. Prologue 1-14, page 1104
    2. 1.4.106, page 1111
    3. 3.1.119, page 1122
    4. 3.5.60 ff., page 1127
    5. “no pity in the clouds” [Find this passage.]
    6. 3.5.209-10, page 1129
    7. 5.3.82, page 1136
    8. What other passages in the play support the idea that fate causes their fall? 
  2. Chance events, coincidences, and bad timing (which may or may not be caused by “fate”).  How could minor changes in the following events (or the timing of these events) have saved Romeo and Juliet?
    1. Romeo’s reading the invitation to Capulet’s feast
    2. the fight between Tybalt and Romeo on Romeo’s wedding day
    3. the letter telling Romeo about Juliet’s sleeping potion
    4. Friar Lawrence’s arrival at and departure from the tomb
    5. Juliet’s awaking in the tomb
    6. What other chance events, coincidences, and/or examples of bad timing contribute to Romeo and Juliet’s fall?
  3. Hatred; the feud between the Montagues and Capulets.  It could be argued that Romeo and Juliet are helpless against the power of the feud, an evil they have inherited.
    1. In what specific situations does the feud help to bring about the fall of Romeo and Juliet?
  4. Various characters’ mistakes made through ignorance or lack of knowledge.  In what sense is each of the following actions a mistake made through ignorance that contributes to the fall of Romeo and Juliet?
    1. Paris’s desire to marry Juliet
    2. Capulet’s insistence that Juliet marry Paris
    3. Friar Lawrence’s facilitation of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship
    4. Mercutio’s fight against Tybalt
    5. Romeo’s suicide 
  5. Weaknesses in Romeo’s and Juliet’s character.  The preface to Shakespeare’s source for Romeo and Juliet includes the following condemnation of the young lovers’ character: “And to this end, good Reader, is this tragical matter written, to describe unto thee a couple of unfortunate lovers, thralling themselves to unhonest desire; neglecting the authority and advice of parents and friends; conferring their principal counsels with drunken gossips and superstitious friars (the naturally fit instruments of unchastity); attempting all adventures of peril for the attaining of their wicked lust; using auricular confession [confessing sins aloud to a priest], the key of whoredom and treason, for the furtherance of their purpose; abusing the honorable name of lawful marriage to cloak the shame of stolen contracts; finally by all means of unhonest life hasting to most unhappy death.”
    1. In your own words, what character flaws does this writer identify as the cause of Romeo and Juliet’s fall?
    2. To what extent do these flaws apply to Shakespeare’s characters Romeo and Juliet?
    3. In your opinion, what imperfections in their character, if any, are most responsible for their fall?
    4. Romeo and Juliet’s hasty actions are often identified as a cause of their tragedy.  How does each of the following passages support this idea?

                                                               i.      2.2.117, page 1115

                                                             ii.      2.3.95, page 1117

                                                            iii.      2.6.9-15, page 1120

 

Class discussion or extra-credit writing: Is the play tragedy or pathos?  Is it a tragedy of character or a tragedy of fate?

 

Themes in Romeo and Juliet

Critics have identified the following themes in the play:

  1. The nature of young love. 
    1. What positive characteristics of young love do Romeo and Juliet exhibit?
    2. What negative characteristics of young love do Romeo and Juliet exhibit?
  2. The relationship between love and death.  One critic says, “All European literature is summed up in fatal love.”  It has been said that passion tends to self-destruct. In Shakespeare’s day, one meaning of the word “die” was “to experience orgasm,” which also shows the connection between passion and death.
    1. How does the image pattern of lightning in the following passages communicate the relationship between love and death?  

                                                               i.      2.2.116-20, page 1115

                                                             ii.      5.3.90, page 1136

                                                            iii.      What other passages in the play relate to lightning—or to a similar flash of bright light in the dark?  How do these passages show the relationship between love and death?

    1. How does the image pattern of bridal bed as tomb communicate the relationship between love and death?

                                                               i.      1.5.135, page 1113

                                                             ii.      What other passages in the play link these two images?

  1. The relationship between love and hate.  Love and hate are deeply intertwined in the play:

·        Out of the feud (hatred) comes the love of Romeo and Juliet. 

·        The feud then helps to destroy the lovers. 

·        Their death then brings about reconciliation (love) between the feuding families.

How does each of the following passages relate to the theme of the relationship between love and hate in the play?

  1. Romeo’s first extended speech in the play, including “Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love. / . . . O brawling love!  O loving hate!” (1.1.175-76, page 1106)
  2. Friar Lawrence’s soliloquy about the existence of both good and evil within nature and human nature (2.3.1-30, page 1116)
  3. Prince Escalus’s words to Capulet and Montague at the end of the play: “See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, / That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.” (5.3.292-93, page 1138)