Romeo and Juliet Introduction (Book)

Overview

Romeo and Juliet is an early tragedy by William Shakespeare about two teenage star-crossed lovers. It ends with their suicides, uniting rival households of a long-running family feud. The play has been highly praised by literary critics for its language and dramatic effect. Along with Hamlet, it is one of Shakespeare's most frequently performed plays and is considered by many to be the world's most iconic love story. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime.

Shakespeare's use of dramatic structure, especially effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet over the course of the play.

BPS-Standards

Note: click on the highlighted indicators
for a list of the "I can...statements"

ELA (English Language Arts)

(RL) Reading Literature

• ELA-09.RL.03 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
• ELA-09.RL.04 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time  and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
• ELA-09.RL.09 Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).
• ELA-09.RL.10 By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9–10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

(SL) Speaking and Listening

• ELA-09.SL.01 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and  persuasively.

(L) Language

• ELA-09.L.05 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
  • a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text.
  • b. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.

(W) Writing

• ELA-09.W.01 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
  • a. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
  • b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
  • c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
  • d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
  • e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Key Concepts

What statement(s) clearly expresses what you should know and understand?
Great literature contains ideas about human nature that we can apply to our own lives. A play written four hundred years ago can have as big an effect on us as yesterday's news. The drama of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, for example, tells as much about the nature of power and loyalty as it does about ancient Roman history; studying Romeo and Juliet helps us learn about prejudice and vengeance. By reading great works of art we acquire the tools to understand history and humanity, and our place in it.

Essential Questions

What specific questions will guide this unit and focus teaching and learning?

• What lessons can be learned from Romeo and Juliet that apply to our lives today?
• Why is it important to study classical plays like Romeo and Juliet?
• How does history repeat itself?
• What influence could a long-dead writer like Shakespeare have on our lives?

Terms

Characters

R&J Character Assignment

Romeo Montague

House of Montague

Age: Mid to late teens

Main Characteristics: Passonate, Impetuous, Romatic, Impulsive, Rash, Fearless

Associates: Benvolio, Mercutio, Friar Laurence

Description: Romeo is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is the son of old Montague and his wife, who secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet. Forced into exile by his slaying of Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, in a duel, Romeo commits suicide upon hearing falsely of Juliet's death.

Romeo is one of the most important characters of the play, and has a consistent presence throughout it. His role as an idealistic lover has lead the word "Romeo" to become a synonym for a passionate male lover in various languages. Although often treated as such, it is not clear that "Montague" is a surname in the modern sense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Romeo

Juliet Capulet

House of Capulet

Age: 13

Main Characteristics: Courageous, Sensitive, Determined, Resourceful, Loyal

Associates: The Nurse, Frair Laurence

Description: Juliet is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the other being Romeo. She is the daughter of old Capulet, head of the house of Capulet. The story has a long history that precedes Shakespeare himself.

Juliet is a headstrong and intelligent character in spite of her young age, though she often seems timid to the audience because of her young age. She is considered by many to be the true hero of the play, acting as a sounding board and a balance against the impulsive Romeo. It is Juliet who sets the boundaries of behavior in her relationship with Romeo: she allows him to kiss her, she pledges her commitment before him, and it is she who suggests their marriage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Juliet

Friar Laurence

Neutral Character

Age: Middle Aged

Main Characteristics: Compassoniate, Resourceful, Secretive, Short-sighted

Associates: Romeo, Juliet, The Nurse, Friar John

Description: Friar Laurence plays the part of an advisor to Romeo, along with aiding in major plot developments.

Alone, the innocent Friar gives us foreshadowing with his soliloquy about plants and their similarities to humans. When Romeo requests that the Friar marry him to Juliet, he is shocked, because only days before, Romeo had been infatuated with Rosaline, a woman who did not return his love. Nevertheless, Friar Lawrence decides to marry Romeo and Juliet in the attempt to end the civil feud between the Capulets and the Montagues.

When Romeo is banished and flees to Mantua for murdering Tybalt (who had previously murdered Mercutio), he tries to help the two lovers get back together using a death-emulating potion to fake Juliet's death. The friar's letter to Romeo does not reach him because the people of Mantua suspect the messenger came from a house where the plague reigns, and the Friar is unable to arrive at the Capulet's monument in time. Romeo kills Count Paris, whom he finds weeping near Juliet's corpse, then commits suicide, by drinking poison that he bought from an impoverished apothecary, over what he thinks is Juliet's dead body. Friar Lawrence arrives just as Juliet awakes from her chemically-induced slumber. He urges Juliet not to be rash, and to join a society of nuns, but he hears a noise from outside and then flees from the tomb. Juliet then kills herself with Romeo's dagger, completing the tragedy. The Friar is forced to return to the tomb, where he recounts the entire story to Prince Escalus, and all the Montagues and Capulets. As he finishes, the prince proclaims, "We have still known thee for a holy man".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Friar_Laurence

The Nurse

House of Capulet

Age: Middle Aged

Main Characteristics: Simple, Earthy, Coarse, Talkative

Associates: Juliet, Peter, Friar Laurence

Description: The Nurse is a major character in the play, like the Friar she is a neutral character. There has been speculation about her name, as Capulet refers to an "Angelica", but the line can be addressed to either the nurse or Lady Capulet. She is the personal servant (and former nurse) of Juliet. As the primary person to raise Juliet, she is Juliet's confidante, and effectively more of a mother to the girl than Lady Capulet. She is one of the few people, along with Friar Laurence, to be made aware of the blossoming romance between Romeo and Juliet. Her personal history outside of the Capulet house is unknown, other than that, she once had a husband and a daughter, Susan, both of whom are dead.

As the primary person to like, she is therefore Juliet's foremost confidante. She is one of the few people, along with Friar Laurence, to be made aware of the blossoming romance between Romeo and Juliet. Her personal history outside of the Capulet estate is unknown, other than that she once had a husband and a daughter, Susan, both of which are deceased. Juliet is considered by many, historians and fans alike, to be her surrogate daughter in many respects because she took care of Juliet as a baby in Lady Capulet's absence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Nurse

Mercutio

House of Escalus

Age: Late Teens

Main Characteristics: Fun-loving, Quick-witted, Energetic, Charismatic, Volatile

Associates: Romeo, Benvolio

Description: Mercutio is a relative of Prince Escalus and Count Paris, and is a close friend of Romeo and his cousin Benvolio. The invitation to the Capulet's party reveals that he has a brother named Valentine. Mercutio is apt to make long, drawn out speeches (the most famous of which is the Queen Mab speech), and is generally thought to be reckless, a jester, and a free spirit. Due to his reckless and flamboyant personality, Mercutio is one of Shakespeare's most popular characters. Mercutio is the instigator of many fights with his rather mean spirited humor, and often insults Tybalt Capulet, a renowned swordsman. It is Mercutio's temper that leads to Tybalt's death, and Romeo's banishment and the tragedy that follows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Mercutio

Benvolio

House of Montague

Age: Mid to Late Teens

Main Characteristics: Thoughtful, Loyal, Sensible, Practical, Peace-maker

Associates: Romeo, Mercutio

Description: He is Montague's nephew and Romeo's cousin. He and Romeo are both friends of Mercutio, a kinsman to the Prince. Benvolio seems to have little sympathy with the feud, trying unsuccessfully to back down from a fight with Tybalt, and the duels that end in Mercutio and Tybalt's death. Benvolio spends most of Act I attempting to distract his cousin from his infatuation with Rosaline, but following the first appearance of Mercutio in Act I Scene iv, he and Mercutio become more closely aligned until Act III Scence i. In that scene, he drags the fatally wounded Mercutio offstage, before returning to inform Romeo of Mercutio's death and the Prince of the course of Mercutio's and Tybalt's deaths. Benvolio then disappears from the play (though, as a Montague, he may implicitly be included in the stage direction in the final scene "Enter Lord Montague and others", and he is sometimes doubled with Balthasar). Though he ultimately disappears from the play without much notice, he is a crucial character if only that he is the only child of the new generation from either family to survive the play (as Romeo, Juliet, Paris, Mercutio, and Tybalt are dead).

Lord Capulet

House of Capulet

Age: Middle-aged

Main Characteristics: Spciable, Generous, Dictatorial, Prone to fits of rage

Associates: Lady Capulet, Paris, Members of the Capulet family

Description: Lord Capulet is the patriarch of the Capulet family, the father of Juliet, and uncle of Tybalt. He is very wealthy, but he is not an aristocrat; that is, it would be incorrect to refer to him as "Lord Capulet". He is sometimes commanding but also convivial, as at the ball. When Tybalt tries to incite a duel with Romeo, while at the party, Capulet tries to calm him and then threatens to throw him out of the family if he does not control his temper; he does the same to his daughter later in the play.

Capulet believes he knows what is best for Juliet. He says that his consent to the marriage depends upon what she wants and tells Paris that if he wants to marry her he should wait a while then ask her. Later however, when Juliet is grieving over Romeo being sent away, Capulet thinks her sorrow is due to Tybalt's death and in a misguided attempt to cheer her up, he wants to surprise her by arranging a marriage between her and Count Paris – the catch is that she has to be "ruled" by her father and to accept the proposal. When she refuses to become Paris's "joyful bride", saying that she can "never be proud of what she hates", he becomes furious, threatening to make her a street urchin, calling her "hilding" (meaning "slut" or "whore"), "unworthy", "young baggage" and "disobedient wretch" (along with "green-sickness carrion" and "tallow-face"), as well as saying that God giving Juliet to them was a "curse" and that he now realizes that he and his wife had one child too many when Juliet was born (in The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, he not only threatens to turn her out but to sentence her to rotting away in prison if she does not obey her parents' orders). He then storms away, with his wife rejecting Juliet before following suit. He fixes the day of the marriage for Thursday and suddenly advances it to Wednesday out of anger and impulse. His actions indicate that his daughter's wants were irrelevant all the way up to the point when he sees her unconscious on her bed (presumably dead) and later when she is truly dead during the play's final scene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Capulet

Lady Capulet

House of Capulet

Age: About 30

Main Characteristics: Cold, Vengeful

Associates: Lord Capulet, The Nurse, Members of the Capulet family

Description: Lady Capulet is the matriarch of the house of Capulet, and Juliet's mother. She plays a larger role than Montague's wife, appearing in several scenes. In Act One, Scene three, she refuses to talk to her daughter about marriage, as she feels uncomfortable about it, but in Scene four, she is pleased about Count Paris's "interest" in her daughter. When Tybalt is killed in Act Three, she expresses extreme grief and a strong desire for revenge on Romeo. In Act Three, Scene 5, she becomes very angry with Juliet for refusing to marry Paris, and she coldly rejects her, saying "Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word; do as thou wilt, for I am done with thee". By the final act, she is nearly overcome by the tragic events of the play. We know that Juliet was born when her mother was 14, thus she is about 28 years old, and her husband is many years older than her. Calling her "Lady Capulet" is a modern convention; it is an echo of Juliet's form of address in 3.5.65: "my lady mother". In the first quartos the stage direction and speech headings can be "mother", "wife", or even "old lady", but nowhere "Lady Capulet"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Capulet.27s_Wife

Lord Montague

House of Montague

Age: Middle-aged

Main Characteristics:

Associates: Lady Montague, Members of the Montague family

Description: Old Montague is the patriarch of the house of Montague, and the father of Romeo and uncle to Benvolio. He is very wealthy, but he is not an aristocrat; that is, it would be incorrect to refer to him as "Lord Montague". He worries over Romeo's relationship with Rosaline (with whom Romeo was in love at the beginning of the story), but cannot get through to his son. He later pleads with the Prince to prevent his son from being executed, and gets his wish when the Prince lowers Romeo's punishment to banishment. In the earliest texts his name is actually spelled "Mountague", but Montague now seems well-established.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Montague

Lady Montague

House of Montague

Age: Uncertain

Main Characteristics: Maternal, Sensitive

Associates: Loard Montague, Members of the Montague family

Description: Montague's wife is the matriarch of the house of Montague, and the mother of Romeo and aunt of Benvolio. She appears twice within the play: in act one, scene one she first restrains Montague from entering the quarrel himself, and later speaks with Benvolio about the same quarrel. She returns with her husband and the Prince in act three, scene one to see what the trouble is, and is there informed of Romeo's banishment. She dies of grief offstage soon after (mentioned in act five). She is very protective of her son Romeo and is very happy when Benvolio tells her that Romeo was not involved in the brawl that happened between the Capulets and Montagues. When Romeo was banished his mother was heartbroken and then she died. As with Capulet's wife, calling her "Lady Montague" is a later invention not supported by the earliest texts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Montague.27s_wife

Count Paris

House of Escalus

Age: Uncertain but probably in his 20s or 30s

Main Characteristics: Well-meaning, Self-absorbed, Dignified, Loyal

Associates: Lord Capulet, Prince Excalus

Description: Count Paris is a kinsman of Prince Escalus and seeks to marry Juliet. He is described as handsome, somewhat self-absorbed, and very wealthy.

Paris makes his first appearance in Act I, Scene II, wherein he expresses his wish to make Juliet his wife and the mother of his children. Capulet demurs, citing his daughter's young age as a reason and telling him to wait until she is more mature. (Paris disagrees, however.) Nevertheless, he invites Paris to attend a family ball being held that evening with permission to woo and attract Juliet. Later in the play, however, Juliet refuses to become Paris' "joyful bride" after her cousin Tybalt dies by her new husband Romeo's hand, proclaiming that she now wants nothing to do with Paris. Her parents threaten to disown her if she will not agree to the marriage. Then, while at Laurence's cell at the church, Paris tries to woo her by repeatedly saying that she is his wife and that they are to be married on Thursday. He kisses her and then leaves the cell, prompting Juliet to angrily threaten to kill herself with a knife. His final appearance in the play is in the cemetery where Juliet is "laid to rest" in the Capulet family tomb. Believing her to be dead, the Count Paris has come to mourn her death in solitude and privacy sending his manservant away. He professes his love to Juliet saying he will nightly weep for her (Act V, Scene III). Shortly thereafter Romeo arrives and Paris sees him and thinks he is trying to vandilise the tomb so he tries to arrest him, they fight, Romeo kills Paris and Paris's death wish was to be put next to Juliet in the tomb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Count_Paris

Tybalt

House of Capulet

Age: 20s

Main Characteristics: Vain, Aggressive, Vengeful, Self-important

Associates: Petrucio, Members of the Capulet family

Description: Tybalt is Juliet's hot-headed cousin and a skilled swordsman. Tybalt is angered by the insult of Romeo and Benvolio's uninvited presence at the ball in the Capulets' home. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert/Tybalt the "Prince of Cats" in Reynard the Fox, a point of both mockery and compliment to him in the play. Mercutio repeatedly calls Tybalt "Prince of Cats" referring to Tybalt's expertise with the sword, as he is agile and fast, but also it is an insult.

Tybalt is first seen coming to the aid of his servants who are being attacked by the servants of the Montagues. He is also present at Capulet's feast in act one, scene five, and is the first to recognize Romeo. His last appearance is in act 3 scene 1 where Mecurtio insults Tybalt and ends up fighting with him. Tybalt kills Mecurtio but due to Mecurtio's death Romeo rages and kills Tybalt, This resulted in Romeo's banishment. He is Capulet's nephew and Juliet's cousin. He is close to the Lady Capulet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Tybalt

Analysis

Plot Summary

Themes

Imagery

Language

Quotes

About Shakespeare

Quotes

Dramatic structure

Shakespeare shows his dramatic skill freely in Romeo and Juliet, providing intense moments of shift between comedy and tragedy. Before Mercutio's death in Act three, the play is largely a comedy. After his accidental demise, the play suddenly becomes very serious and takes on more of a tragic tone. Still, the fact that Romeo is banished, rather than executed, offers a hope that things will work out. When Friar Lawrence offers Juliet a plan to reunite her with Romeo the audience still has a reason to believe that all will end well. They are in a "breathless state of suspense" by the opening of the last scene in the tomb: If Romeo is delayed long enough for the Friar to arrive, he and Juliet may yet be saved. This only makes it all the more tragic when everything falls apart in the end.

Shakespeare also uses subplots to offer a clearer view of the actions of the main characters, and provide an axis around which the main plot turns. For example, when the play begins, Romeo is in love with Rosaline, who has refused all of his advances. Romeo's infatuation with her stands in obvious contrast to his later love for Juliet. This provides a comparison through which the audience can see the seriousness of Romeo and Juliet's love and marriage. Paris' love for Juliet also sets up a contrast between Juliet's feelings for him and her feelings for Romeo. The formal language she uses around Paris, as well as the way she talks about him to her Nurse, show that her feelings clearly lie with Romeo. Beyond this, the subplot of the Montague-Capulet feud over-arches the whole play, providing an atmosphere of hate that is the main contributor to the play's tragic end.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare%27s_Works/Tragedies/Romeo_and_Juliet#Dramatic_structure

Language

Shakespeare uses a large variety of poetic forms throughout the play. He begins with a 14-line prologue by a Chorus in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. Like this sonnet much of Romeo and Juliet is written in iambic pentameter, with ten syllables of alternating stress in each line. However, the most common form used is blank verse, a more fluid, nonstructured approach, although Shakespeare uses this form less often in this play than in his later plays.

In choosing forms, Shakespeare matches the poetry to the character who uses it. Friar Laurence, for example, uses sermon and sententiae forms, and the Nurse uses a unique blank verse form that closely matches colloquial speech. Each of these forms is also moulded and matched to the emotion of the scene the character occupies. For example, when Romeo talks about Rosaline earlier in the play, he uses the Petrarchan sonnet form. Petrarchan sonnets were often used by men at the time to exaggerate the beauty of women who were impossible for them to attain, as in Romeo's situation with Rosaline. This sonnet form is also used by Lady Capulet to describe Count Paris to Juliet as a handsome man. When Romeo and Juliet meet, the poetic form changes from the Petrarchan (which was becoming archaic in Shakespeare's day) to a then more contemporary sonnet form, using "pilgrims" and "saints" as metaphors.Finally, when the two meet on the balcony, Romeo attempts to use the sonnet form to pledge his love, but Juliet breaks it by saying "Dost thou love me?" By doing this, she searches for true expression, rather than a poetic exaggeration of their love. Juliet uses monosyllabic words with Romeo, but uses formal language with Paris.

Other forms in the play include an epithalamium by Juliet, a rhapsody in Mercutio's Queen Mab speech, and an elegy by Paris. Shakespeare saves his prose style most often for the common people in the play, though at times for other characters, such as Mercutio.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare%27s_Works/Tragedies/Romeo_and_Juliet#Language

Themes

Scholars have found it extremely difficult to assign one specific, over-arching theme to the play. Proposals for a main theme include a discovery by the characters that human beings are neither wholly good nor wholly evil, but instead are more or less alike, awaking out of a dream and into reality, the danger of hasty action, or the power of tragic fate. None of these have widespread support. However, even if an overall theme cannot be found it is clear that the play is full of several small, thematic elements which intertwine in complex ways. Several of those which are most often debated by scholars are discussed below.

Love

Romeo and Juliet is sometimes considered to have no unifying theme, save that of young love. In fact, the characters in it have become emblems of all who die young for their lovers. Since it is such an obvious subject of the play, several scholars have explored the language and historical context behind the romance of the play.

On their first meeting, Romeo and Juliet use a form of communication recommended by many etiquette authors in Shakespeare's day: metaphor. By using metaphors of saints and sins, Romeo can test Juliet's feelings for him in a non-threatening way. This method was recommended by Baldassare Castiglione (whose works had been translated into English by this time). He pointed out that if a man used a metaphor as an invitation, the woman could pretend she did not understand the man, and the man could take the hint and back away without losing his honour. Juliet, however, makes it clear that she is interested in Romeo by playing along with his metaphor. Later, in the balcony scene, Shakespeare has Romeo overhear Juliet's declaration of love for him. In Brooke's version of the story, her declaration is done in her bedroom, alone. By bringing Romeo into the scene to eavesdrop, Shakespeare breaks from the normal sequence of courtship. Usually, a woman was required to play hard to get, to be sure that her suitor was sincere. Breaking this rule, however, serves to speed along the plot. The lovers are able to skip a lengthy part of wooing, and move on to plain talk about their relationship—developing into an agreement to be married after knowing each other for only one night. In the final suicide scene, there is a contradiction in the message - in Christianity, suiciders are condemned to hell, whereas people who die to be with their loves under the "Religion of Love" are joined with their loves in paradise. Romeo and Juliet's love seems to be expressing the "Religion of Love" view rather than the Christian view. Another point is that although their love is passionate, it is only consummated in marriage, which prevents them from losing the audience's sympathy.

The play arguably equates love and sex with death. Throughout the story, both Romeo and Juliet, along with the other characters, fantasize about death as a dark being, often equating him with a lover. Capulet, for example, when he first discovers Juliet's (faked) death, describes it as having deflowered his daughter. Juliet later even compares Romeo to death in an erotic way. One of the strongest examples of this in the play is in Juliet's suicide, when she says, grabbing Romeo's dagger, "O happy dagger! / ...This is thy sheath / there rust, and let me die." The dagger here can be a sort of phallus of Romeo, with Juliet being its sheath in death, a strong sexual symbol.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare%27s_Works/Tragedies/Romeo_and_Juliet#Love

Fate and chance

Scholars are divided on the role of fate in the play. No consensus exists on whether the characters are truly fated to die together no matter what, or whether the events take place by a series of unlucky chances. Arguments in favour of fate often refer to the description of the lovers as "star-crossed". This phrase seems to hint that the stars have predetermined the lovers' future. Another scholar of the fate persuasion, Draper, points out the parallels between the Elizabethan belief in humorism and the main characters of the play (for example, Tybalt as a choleric). Interpreting the text in the light of the Elizabethan science of humorism reduces the amount of plot attributed to chance by modern audiences. Still, other scholars see the play as a mere series of unlucky chances—many to such a degree that they do not see it as a tragedy at all, but an emotional melodrama. Nevo believes the high degree to which chance is stressed in the narrative makes Romeo and Juliet a "lesser tragedy" of happenstance, not of character. For example, Romeo's challenging Tybalt is not impulsive, it is, after Mercutio's death, the expected action to take. In this scene, Nevo reads Romeo as being aware of the dangers of flouting social norms, identity and commitments. He makes the choice to kill, not because of a tragic flaw, but because of circumstance.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare%27s_Works/Tragedies/Romeo_and_Juliet#Fate_and_chance

Light and Dark

Scholars have long noted Shakespeare's widespread use of light and dark imagery throughout the play. The light theme was initially taken to be "symbolic of the natural beauty of young love", an idea beginning in Caroline Spurgeon's work Shakespeare's Imagery and What It Tells Us, although the perceived meaning has since its publication branched in several directions. For example, both Romeo and Juliet see the other as light in a surrounding darkness. Romeo describes Juliet as being like the sun, brighter than a torch, a jewel sparkling in the night, and a bright angel among dark clouds. Even when she lies apparently dead in the tomb, he says her "beauty makes / This vault a feasting presence full of light." Juliet describes Romeo as "day in night" and "Whiter than snow upon a raven's back." This contrast of light and dark can be expanded as symbols—contrasting love and hate, youth and age in a metaphoric way. Sometimes these intertwining metaphors create dramatic irony. For example, Romeo and Juliet's love is a light in the midst of the darkness of the hate around them, but all of their activity together is done in night and darkness, while all of the feuding is done in broad daylight. This paradox of imagery adds atmosphere to the moral dilemma facing the two lovers: loyalty to family or loyalty to love. At the end of the story, when the morning is gloomy and the sun hiding its face for sorrow, light and dark have returned to their proper places, the outward darkness reflecting the true, inner darkness of the family feud out of sorrow for the lovers. All characters now recognize their folly in light of recent events, and things return to the natural order, thanks to the love of Romeo and Juliet. The "light" theme in the play is also heavily connected to the theme of time, since light was a convenient way for Shakespeare to express the passage of time through descriptions of the sun, moon, and stars.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare%27s_Works/Tragedies/Romeo_and_Juliet#Light_and_dark

Time

Time plays an important role in the language and plot of the play. Both Romeo and Juliet struggle to maintain as imaginary world void of time in the face of the harsh realities that surround them. For instance, when Romeo attempts to swear his love to Juliet by the moon, Juliet tells him not to, as it is known to be inconstant over time, and she does not desire this of him. From the very beginning, the lovers are designated as "star-crossed" referring to an astrological belief which is heavily connected to time. Stars were thought to control the fates of men, and as time passed, stars would move along their course in the sky, also charting the course of human lives below. Romeo speaks of a foreboding he feels in the stars movements' early in the play, and when he learns of Juliet's death, he defies the stars' course for him.

A "haste theme" can be considered as fundamental to the play. For example, the action of Romeo and Juliet spans a period of four to six days, in contrast to Brooke's poem's spanning nine months. Scholars such as Tanselle believe that time was "especially important to Shakespeare" in this play, as he used references to "short-time" for the young lovers as opposed to references to "long-time" for the "older generation" to highlight "a headlong rush towards doom". Romeo and Juliet fight time to make their love to last forever. In the end, the only way they see to defeat time is through a noteworthy death which makes them immortal through art.

Time is heavily connected to the theme of light and dark as well. The play is said in the Prologue to be about two hours long, creating a problem for any playwright wishing to express longer amounts of time. In Shakespeare's day, plays were often performed at noon in broad daylight. This forced the playwright to use words to create the illusion of day and night in his plays. Shakespeare uses references to the night and day, the stars, the moon, and the sun to create this illusion. He also has characters frequently refer to days of the week and specific hours to help the audience understand that time has passed in the story. All in all, no fewer than 103 references to time are found in the play, adding to this illusion of its passage.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare%27s_Works/Tragedies/Romeo_and_Juliet#Time

Resources

Online websites:

• Interactive Folio:
  http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/folio/folio.html
• Video Synopsis: 
  http://www.cambio.com/2011/10/03/romeo-and-juliet/
• Pink Monkey Notes:
  http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/romeo.asp
• Sparknotes "No Fear" Shakespeare:
  http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/
• Shmoop - Literature:
  http://www.shmoop.com/romeo-and-juliet/
• Cambridge Public School Drama Collaborative
  http://www.cpsd.us/web/curriculum/drama/shakespeare.html