The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

What is a tragedy?• Tragedy is not simply a sad story.– The collapse of a person from a

position of strength (political, social, or emotional) to a position of ruin or demise.

– The chain of events is usually brought upon the person by himself, due to a fatal (but natural) internal character flaw.

A Tragedy Includes:

-supernatural elements (witches,ghosts) -tragic hero : person with noble qualities and a flaw in

his character -tragic error: some disorder that has been committed

against the laws of nature and needs to be corrected.-conflict ...within the hero, or between the hero and

others-revenge ...the hero is usually often revenged or he is

being avenged -sad ending: the death, downfall or destruction -comic relief : some light scenes to relieve the stress of

tragic events

Shakespearean tragedies tend to follow five acts- five stages

of the tragedy– Exposition (establishment of character and

conflict)– Rising Action (complications develop,

culminating with a “point of no return” at which point some tragedy is all but guaranteed)

– Climax (different than in stories; tragic climax marks the beginning of the tragic collapse)

– Falling Action (the chain of tragic events befalls the protagonist, gaining momentum and deepening the tragedy)

– Resolution (Catastrophe) (the fall to ruin is complete)

So, think of a traditional plot line…

climax rising action

falling actionexposition resolution

The story is summed up in the falling action and the resolution.

In a tragedy…

The climax marks the beginning of the characters’ tragic collapse. The falling action deepens the tragedy and by the point the resolution takes place, the fall to ruin (or the tragedy) is complete.

Romeo and Juliet

• Written between 1594 and 1596• Most notable characters: The Nurse

and Mercutio• A tragedy• A love story

Romeo and Juliet

• Feuding families

• Planned marriages

• The Plague

• The Nurse

Themes1. Love is a beautiful, yet powerful

emotion that captures individuals and catapults them against their world, and, at times, against themselves.

2. Love can overwhelm a person just as powerfully and completely as hate can.

3. Fate is inevitable. 4. The social rules and laws of society

often cause conflict for an individual.

The Globe

The Globe

The Globe

Plays were big!There was money to be made!As soon as a play had been written it was immediately

produced - printing followed productions! Actors initially used 'foul papers' or prompts. In

Shakespeare’s time copyright did not exist. In 1591 the growing popularity of theatres led to a law

closing all theaters on Thursdays so that the bull and bear bating industries would not be neglected!

The Globe

• Flags were used as a form of Elizabethan Advertising!

• Flags were erected on the day of the performance which sometimes displayed a picture advertising the next play to be performed.

• Color coding was also used - a black flag meant a tragedy , white a comedy and red a history.

The Plays• Patrons paid a penny to stand in the

pit.• Actors learned their lines as they

performed the play. • As many as 10 plays could be seen at

the Globe over two weeks.• Women were not allowed to act, nor

was acting looked upon as an upstanding profession.

Reading Romeo and Juliet

• Don’t pause at the end of a line. Read to the punctuation

• Read the marked vocabulary words in the margin- the meaning of words changes over the years.

• Focus on what you do know. • Create an image in your mind.• Don’t sweat the small stuff.