Shakespeare, William - Romeo and Juliet (3)

-THE STORY:

The feud in Verona

The story is set in Verona where the two main families of the town, the Montagues and the Capulet are bitter enemies.
Romeo, Montague's son, attends a feast given by Lord Capulet where he sees his daughter, Juliet. At the feast Romeo and Juliet fall in love each other and the fallowing day they are secretely married with the help of Friar Lawrence.
The same day Romeo gets involved in a quarrel in which his friend Mercutio is killed by Tybalt, Juliet's cousin.

Juliet's desperate plan

To vindicate Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt and for this crime He must leave Verona. Lord Capulet wants Juliet to marry count Paris but She doesn't want so, to avoid the marriage, Juliet drinks a potion that makes her seem dead. Romeo, believing Juliet to be dead, goes to see her body for the last time. Here He meets Paris, They fight and Paris is killed. At Juliet's tomb Romeo drinks a poison and dies. But Juliet awakes and finding Romeo dead, takes his dagger and kills herself. When the two families learn of the tragedy they get reconciled.

-COMMENTO:

Shakespeare's unique approach

In Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare does not use the three Aristotelian unities. The story does not take place in one day but in several days and not in the same place, so it is lively, vivacious. The main issues of the tragedy Romeo and Juliet are:

1) LOVE: It is the main issue of the tragedy, love had never been the main issue of a tragedy.

2) CHORUS: the chorus was a typical element of Greek tragedy. Romeo and Juliet is the only tragedy that starts with a chorus that helps us to guess that something does not work. It provides information about star-crossed lovers, images of tomb. In this way We know that this love is destined to end in death.

3) GENERATIONAL GAP: Romeo and Juliet is the tragedy of the between Juliet and her father. He wants her to marry Count Paris even if Juliet says that she doesn't want.

4) MEANINGFUL DEATH: Romeo and Juliet's death is a meaningful death because It is thanks to their deaths that their families get reconciled.

The tragedy is divided in two parts: at the beginning It is a love story then it becomes a tragedy.

The balcony scene

THE BALCONY SCENE: After leaving the feasts at Capulet's house, Romeo returns to see Juliet. He secretly enters the garden and sees Juliet leaning out of her balcony. She is speaking to herself, She is thinking of Romeo. She does not know that Romeo is there and listens. At the beginning it is a monologue, than a dialogue between the two lovers. Juliet's monologue begins with an invocation and questions to Romeo, to be together the two lovers have to forget their families names.

Shakespeare's inspiration

-Shakespeare's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet was inspired by an Italian novel written by Bandello. But Shakespeare rewarded the source and his tragedy became a masterpiece of world's literature.