~Appunti scolastici~

Romeo and Juliet

In the city of Verona there is a quarrel between the Montague and Capulet families.

First act One day Romeo after learning that his love for Rosaline wasn't returned decided to follow his friends to Capulet's party, where he meet Juliet.

Second act After in the garden they declared their love and organised a secret marriage by Friar Laurence.

Third act Romeo was banished from Verona for killing Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, who killed Mercurio, Romeo's friend.

Fourth act Juliet, to avoid the marriage with Count Paris by her father, takes a drug that makes her appear to be dead. The friar sends a message to Romeo and he returned to Verona.

Five act Romeo takes same poisonto dier, but in the same moments Juliet wakes up and, seeing her love dead, she stabs herself.

Setting

Shakespeare chose the Italian city of Verona because Italians were popularly considered violente and passionate. The socvial context arises from the struggles between two familes and this is the reason why most of the action happens out-of-doors.

Characters

Romeo Montague is presented as a man belonging to the "courtly love convention" and Juliet is the light that frees him from his dark melancholy. He risks his life at the Capulet's house to be near her and later breaks a banishment order risking death.

Juliet Capulet is beautiful, rebellious, kind and loving. At the beginning she appears as an obedient child. Her first meeting with Romeo causes her to move towards maturity: she is a real women.

Themes

The themes are: the power of love, passion and violence, individual against sociaty and the power of faith.

Style

In Romeo an Juliet there are regular rhythms, rhymes are common and often used in "couplets". Occasionally he insert a sonnet into the dialogue and the imagery is all abpout oxymora.

Balcony scene

In the famous balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet there are the two lovers who declare their love for others and Romeo praises juliet's beauty in the style of the cortes traditionand. Juliet, on the other hand, warns him of the danger they are running, loving the enemy and wanting to marry him, but their love is more difficult than anything.