romeo and juliet

• Fate


  The idea that the events in our lives are predetermined and set, that there is nothing we can do to escape them
• Examples of fate in Romeo and Juliet

  • Romeo predicting his own death before going to the Capulet ball
  • Friar John failing to deliver the important letter to Romeo
• Prologue in Romeo and Juliet


  • Summarizes the entire plot, a clear statement of what will happen before it begins
  • Reinforces the theme of fate, that Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers fated to die
  • Use of the sonnet form reinforces the idea of inevitability
  • The genre of tragedy also highlights the inescapability of fate
• Parallel scenes in Romeo and Juliet


  Reflect how events are inescapable, cyclical, and intensify in conflict and tension over time
• Blank verse


  Iambic pentameter that does not rhyme, typically used by upper class characters and nobility
• Prose


  Ordinary written language without a rhyme scheme or specific metrical structure, usually used by characters of low social status or in comic scenes
• Rhymed verse


  Lines of verse which rhyme, often used in iambic pentameter to signal the end of a scene
• Nurse's use of blank verse


  • Highlights the nurse's significance and transcendence of her lower class status
  • Symbolizes the nurse's role in nurturing Juliet and the relationship between Romeo and Juliet
• Nurse's absence at the end of the play


  • Notable because the nurse is present in the source material, her absence leaves her side of the story untold
• The prologue tells us that Romeo and Juliet's death will bury their parents' strife, but the ending is not a simple 'happily ever after'
• The play ends on a positive note with Montague pledging to create Juliet's statue in pure gold
• The final scene shows over a dozen characters on stage: Paris, Paige, Romeo, Balthazar, Friar Lawrence, Juliet, first Watchman, second Watchman, third Watchman, princess, attendance, Montague, Capulet, Lady Capulet, and unnamed others
• The nurse is the only major character absent from the final scene
• In the source material (Arthur Brooke's poem), the nurse of Juliet is banished in her age
• Shakespeare leaves the nurse out of the final scene
• Friar Lawrence's long speech about the power of plants in Act 2 Scene 3 foreshadows the apothecary's use of poison later in the play
• Benvolio's first lines "You know not what you do" echo the words of Jesus in the Bible
• Paris suddenly becomes a more heroic character in Act 5, willing to fight to the death to defend Juliet's honor
• Capulet's sudden change of mind about Paris marrying Juliet undermines his character and the patriarchal control he represents
• Romeo and Juliet are both young, with Juliet being 13 and Romeo still an adolescent
• The action starts with a fight on the streets of Verona between the Montagues and Capulets
• The Prince threatens the patriarchs of the families that if another fight like this breaks out they will pay with their "lives"
• Paris, a young nobleman, asks Lord Capulet for Juliet's hand in marriage
• Lord Capulet


  Believes Juliet is too young to marry
• Lord Capulet invites Paris to a feast that he is throwing, giving Paris an opportunity to "woo" Juliet
• The audience is then introduced to Lady Capulet, Juliet and her Nurse
• Juliet: 'It is a fate that "I dream not of."'
• The audience is then introduced to a lovesick Romeo who through the encouragement of Mercutio chooses to go to Capulet's feast to distract himself from how much he misses Rosaline
• Romeo and Juliet meet at Capulet's feast and fall in love, but quickly find out that they belong to the opposing families
• Mercutio and Benvolio are looking for Romeo after the "feast"
• This is the iconic balcony scene where Romeo and Juliet confess their love for each other and plan to be married
• Romeo meets with the Friar to ask if he will marry Romeo and Juliet
• The Friar agrees to marry the couple, hopeful about the peace it could bring to the families
• The Nurse meets with Romeo, Romeo tells her that Juliet should meet him in Friar Laurence's cell. They make plans to consummate the marriage
• The Nurse tells Juliet about what she and Romeo had discussed
• Romeo and Juliet are secretly married by the Friar
• Tybalt challenges Romeo to a fight but Romeo refuses. Mercutio steps in and is killed by Tybalt. Romeo is then filled with a murderous rage and kills Tybalt
• The Prince hears about this from Benvolio and then banishes Romeo
• The Nurse returns to tell Juliet the news about Romeo's banishment. Juliet is distraught about it
• The Friar tells Romeo about his banishment and Romeo is troubled and threatens to kill himself. The Nurse comes with news saying Juliet is in the same state. The Friar comes through with a plan to save the couple. He sends Romeo to Mantua