Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare’s tragic story of two young lovers “Romeo and Juliet” is presented to the audience through a sonnet formed prologue. Although sonnets normally contain happy words, Shakespeare has in fact used the vide-versa device, he has used words like “strife” and “civilian blood”, though it seems the sonnet is all about death, it is not.
The sonnet in fact leads all back to love again; I think Shakespeare's message was no matter how bad things get love can always break hatred.
The prologue acts as a Trailer would do, informing the audience to the main parts of the play. This assures that the audience have an idea of what the story is going to bestow and also help to product tension and heightened prospect.
The language applied amid the prologue is filled with provocation; “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny” conceals the ongoing strife between the two households. The “grudge” is never evolved on; the audience watch as the younger generation emerge up against each other.
The degree of loathing words among the prologue is vast in likeness to words that imply love, ‘death’, ‘strife’ and ‘blood’, expose the theme of conflict is effective within this play, additionally, the audience discover that “a pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life” relating to Romeo and Juliet. Moreover, our prospect is high and we look forward to the play’s progress.
Act 1 Sc 1 begins in a public place, Verona. Two members of the Capulet household enter bearing swords. One of the young men explains “strike being quickly moved”, the reality that he is bearing a weapon informs the audience to his promptness for a fight. His provocative, albeit humorous, tone conveys that he is a man who has a short temper. The exception and youth of both of these characters is likewise revealed through their use of sexual innuendo when specifying to women, “the heads of the maids”.
Unlike the current day audiences, Elizabethan would have found this type of language enjoyable; they would have also found the punning immensely funny, modern day audiences would now find it inappropriate, “Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads.”
Nevertheless, just as the mood of the play seems to have Lifted’ Sampson pronounces, “I will bit my thumb”. At this stage he is recommending to a recruit of the Montague family who has joined the drama. Additionally, the audience view with presumption and the quarrel starts. The argument and the resulting fight is between the young men of the house Capulet and the young men of the house of Montague.
When Benvolio and Tybalt both enter later during Act one Scene one, Shakespeare escalates the conflict one level up, “what, drawn, and talk of peace”, as the audience can see, Tybalt has no meaning whatsoever of preventing a fight, moreover he influence Benvolio to fight, ”do but keep the peace”, Benvolio looks like the hero of the scene and Tybalt looks like the devil, this conveys to the audience that the characters were put in there just the show the effects of the good and the evil, we can tell they are not the main characters, but they are just there to establish the play.
