x dismiss this message
Did you know you can edit this page?
-
Sign Into Shelfari
-
Choose something to edit
-
Save your contributions
see page history
Description edit
Shakespeare's tragedy about two young star-crossed lovers named Romeo and Juliet, who defy their warring families' prejudices and dare to fall in love. Most touching love story of all time.
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
The play begins with a street brawl between Montagues and Capulets who are sworn enemies.Count Paris expresses his intention to marry Juliet but is denied by Capulet.
Romeo is infatuated with Rosaline at the beginning of the play. However he and Benvolio go to the Capulets' ball and... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Romeo: The son of the Montagues. He is very romantic but extremely intense when it comes to relationships. Romeo falls in love with Juliet and is about seventeen years old. He is a skillful swords fighter.
- Juliet: She is the only daughter of the Capulet family. Juliet is thirteen years old and falls in love with Romeo. She is afraid of marrying her suitor Paris.
- Escalus: Prince of Verona. He keeps the peace in Verona.
- Paris: A young count, kinsman to the prince, wishes to marry Juliet because he loves her, but is told by Capulet that he has to woo Juliet before he agrees to marry off his daughter.
- The Nurse: Juliet’s nurse, the woman who raised Juliet when she was a baby, and has cared for Juliet her entire life. A vulgar, long-winded, and sentimental character, the Nurse provides comic relief with her frequently inappropriate remarks and speeches. But, until a disagreement near the play’s end, the Nurse is Juliet’s faithful confidante and loyal intermediary in Juliet’s affair with Romeo. She provides a contrast with Juliet, given that her view of love is earthy and sexual, whereas Juliet is idealistic and intense. The Nurse believes in love and wants Juliet to have a nice-looking husband, but the idea that Juliet would want to sacrifice herself for love is incomprehensible to her.
- Tybalt: Tybalt is Juliet's cousin who loves to fight, sometimes for stupid reasons, but yes a fight. However he isn't the usual brawler, because his fighting ALWAYS includes swords. He'd rather fight with a weapon. He has been known to be called "The Prince of Cats".
- Lord Montague: He is the head of the Montague family and Romeo's father. He is in a long-time fight with Lord Capulet and his family.
- Lord Capulet: He is the head of the Capulet family and the father of young Juliet. He cares about his daughter very much and only wants the best for her. The family is in a fight with Lord Montague and his family.
- Benvolio: Nephew to Lord Montague and cousin / friend to Romeo. He is a peace seeker but is often blamed for the fights.
- Friar Laurence: He is the priest who remains neutral about the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets.
- Mercutio: A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. One of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Mercutio, overflows with imagination, wit, and, at times, a strange, biting satire and brooding fervor. Mercutio loves wordplay, especially sexual double entendres. He can be quite hotheaded, and hates people who are affected, pretentious, or obsessed with the latest fashions. He finds Romeo’s romanticized ideas about love tiresome, and tries to convince Romeo to view love as a simple matter of sexual appetite
- Friar John: Of the Franciscan order. Sent to deliver Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo.
- Balthasar: Servant to the Montague household. He delivers the news that Juliet is dead.
- Sampson: Servant to the Capulet household.
- Gregory: Servant to the Capulet household.
- Peter: Servant to Lord Capulet/Capulet household, travels with the Nurse.
- Abram: Servant to the Montague household.
- Apothecary: Reluctantly sells Romeo poison even though it is illegal.
- Lady Montague: Wife to Montague, mother of Romeo.
- Lady Capulet: Wife to Lord Capulet, mother of Juliet.
- Rosaline: Romeo's unrequited love before meeting Juliet. She is the niece of Lord Capulet.
- Old Man: Of the Capulet Family.
- Page: The watch-boy Paris hires while he pays his dues to dead Juliet.
- An Officer: Add a description of this character.
- Citizens: Of Verona.
- Kinsfolk: Of both houses.
- Maskers
- Watchmen: The equivalent to the police in Shakespearian days.
- Attendants
- Chorus: The narrator.
Quotes edit
-
“O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon.That monthly changes in her circled orb.Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.”
Juliet -
“O my love! my wife! Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty;”
Romeo -
“Come, gentle night, — come, loving black brow'd night, Give me my Romeo; and when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of Heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun.”
Juliet -
“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.”
Juliet -
“Is love a tender thing? it is too rough, Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn.”
Romeo -
“Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck, And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats, Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades, Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes, And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two And sleeps again.”
Mercutio -
“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;Being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears;What is it else? A madness most discreet,A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.”
Romeo -
“But soft, by yonder window breaks. It is the east and Juliet is the sun!”
Romeo -
“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.”
Friar Laurence -
“What must be shall be”
Juliet -
“She speaks, yet she says nothing.”
Romeo -
“A pair a star-crossed lovers take their life”
Chorus -
“Ay me, sad hours seem long.”
Romeo -
“Alas that love, so gentle in his view, Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof!”
Benvolio -
“And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.”
Benvolio -
“O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies midwife.”
Mercutio -
“O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear”
Romeo -
“You kiss by th' book.”
Juliet -
“He jests at scars that never felt a wound But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?”
Romeo -
“O, swear not by the moon, th' inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.”
Juliet -
“Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books, But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.”
Romeo -
“How silver-sweet sound lover's tongues by night, Like softest music to attending ears.”
Romeo -
“Thy head is as full of quarrels as an egg is full of meat, and yet thy head hath been beaten as addle as an egg for quarreling.”
Mercutio -
“No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door, but 'tis enough. 'Twill serve.”
Mercutio -
“A plague o' both your houses!”
Mercutio -
“Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds Towards Phoebus' lodging.”
Juliet -
“Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day. It was the nightingale, and not the lark, That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear.”
Juliet -
“Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain-tops.”
Romeo -
“Thank me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds”
Capulet -
“Come weep with me, past hope, past care, past help.”
Juliet -
“Not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty.”
Juliet -
“Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.”
Romeo
Setting & Locations edit
- County Paris
- Mantua: City in Italy.
- Verona: City in northern Italy where most of the story takes place.
- Italy
Organizations edit
- Capulet Household: The family which Juliet belongs to.
- Montague Household: The rival family of the Capulets. It is also Romeo's family.
First Sentence edit
Two households both alike in dignity, In fair Verona where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean: From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life: Whose misadventured piteous overthrows, Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.
Table of Contents edit
Dramatis Personae
Prologue
ACT I
ACT II
ACT III
ACT IV
ACT V
Glossary edit
- hoodwink'd: blindfolded
- collier: Insulter
- Maidenhead: Virginity
- 'bite my thumb': To insult (like the middle finger)
- Ho: Here
- 'breathe defiance': Instigate
- Soft: Wait
- 'die in debt': Do it or die trying
- 'broke her brow': Bump on the forehead
- 'man of wax': Handsome man
- 'kiss by the book': Complimenting one's kiss
- Ghostly father: Priest (Friar Laurence)
- Scury knave: An insult
Themes & Symbolism edit
- Time: "It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; Too like the lightning..." is what Juliet says in the famed 'balcony scene' of Romeo and Juliet on the topic of their love. This play demonstrates time, and the little of it we have. Romeo and Juliet had known each other for a few days, meeting, marrying and dying within the same week. The suddenness of their passion (see below), the small spark swiftly turning into a huge flame, aided with hundreds of twigs and thousands of newspapers. This passion spurs them on as well, making time either stand still or continue on. Juliet begs for night to come, "Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night... Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow'd night, Give me my Romeo..." to see her love. The next morning, she says, "It was the nightingale, and not the lark, That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear..." when she wishes for him to stay. Constantly, these characters beg for night to stay, and the sun to quicken its pace across the sky. Not only are the main characters having problems with time around them, but with their own time. Recall that within this play, Juliet is only 14. Young people don't see all the time they have laid before them. Juliet has little experience to draw upon, because of her age, because of time. Time plays a large part within this whole play.
- Friar Laurance's Flowers: In Friar Laurence's soliloquy at the beginning of Act II , Scene III, he states the following: "Within the infant rind of this small flower; poison hath residence, and medicine power:; For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part; Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart.; Two such opposed kings encamp them still; In man as well as herbs,--grace and rude will; And where the worser is predominant,; Full soon the canker death eats up that plant" He is speaking of a flower in his cell, which gives off a sweet, and healing odor (thus medicinal power), but when tasted, is deadly. As in his herbs, men also possess medicine and poison, but under the names of grace and rude will. When a plant has too much poison, it will die from canker death (a disease which starts outs small and at the center of the plant, but grows steadily over time, killing the plant's tissues, and eventually killing the whole plant). Similarly, if a man has more rude will than grace, he will begin to die from the inside.
- The Power of Fate to Determine Events: From the very beginning of the play, Romeo and Juliet are called 'star cross'd lovers'. Romeo calls out, "I am fortune's fool!" and Juliet begs for Fate to send Romeo back to her. It is made clear early on that the events are played out because of fate and not because of the free will of the characters.
- Passion: Romeo and Juliet is about passion. Passionate hate between the Montagues and the Capulets, passionate friendship between Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio , and passionate love between Romeo and Juliet. Through it all Friar Laurence warns that “these violent delights have violent ends”, but no one listens. The lesson is not, do not love, or do not hate, but to love and hate in moderation. Many people forget that because they are too wrapped up in the love story.
- Unawareness: Throughout the play, characters are unaware about others situations leading them to make very impacting decisions (although they are unaware of the damage they are actually going to cause). For example, Juliet and Romeo's love came to be because they were unaware of whom they were actually falling In love with. This illustrates that unawareness is what created this tragedy in the first place.
- Power of the Written Word: There are three letters written in this place that would have changed the plot line if they had or hadn't been sent.
- Light and Dark: Through this entire play, both Romeo and Juliet constantly refer back to light and dark. Romeo begins the motif when he says, "But soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon <Rosealine>..." through the entire monologue revolves around Juliet being the sun. Romeo first uses the cover of darkness here to listen in on her own soliloquy and to hide from the Capulet guards. Romeo says when Juliet asks why he's there, he says "I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes..." When Juliet asks for Romeo to come the night after they're married she says, "Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow'd night, Give me my Romeo..." and in the morning speaks, "It was the nightingale, and not the lark, That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear..." in the same scene she says, "Then, window, let day in and let life out." when Romeo has to go. This entire play has Romeo as the dark, and Juliet as the light. Romeo is the night and Juliet the day. Many more examples of this motif are omitted, because if they weren't this would be as long as the play itself.
Series & Lists edit
This is book 99 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)
This book is in LMU Anglistik Syllabus. (authoritative list)
This is book 96 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This book is in Folger Shakespeare Library. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Shakespeare's Tragedies. (community list)
This book is in Harbrace Shakespeare. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Best Books of All Time. (community list)
This is book 109 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
This book is in 100 Fantabulous Book Challenge. (community list)
This is book 3 of 5 in Bella Swan's reading list. (community list)
This is book 95 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- William Shakespeare (Author)
Other Contributors:
- Claudia Daneu (Translator) - Spanish
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Cuthbert Burby
Country: England
Publication Date: 1599
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 243
Publisher: Cuthbert Burby
Country: England
Publication Date: 1599
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 243
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 741.5973
Subjects edit
Popular Tags
See all 50 tags
Links to Supplemental Material edit
- Project Gutenberg: Free e-book
Movie Connections edit
- William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (IMDb): 1996Baz Luhrmann, director
- Romeo and Juliet (IMDb): 1968Franco Zeffirelli, director
- West Side Story (IMDb): 1961
- Star Crossed (IMDb): 2009. Aka Amor em Jogo. Portuguese Movie.
- William Shakespeare: 1998
- Romeo and Juliet (IMDb): 1954
More Books Like This edit
Books with Additional Background Information edit
Books That Influenced This Book edit
Books Influenced by This Book edit
Books That Cite This Book edit
We’re hiding the errata, reading level and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.
You were just viewing this book on Emily Kovács’s shelf.
