Romeo and Juliet New England Tour of Shakespeare 2014
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New England Tour of Shakespeare 2014
William Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet
Directed by
Jonathan Croy
Tour Manager…………………………….……………………………...............Alexandra Lincoln
Costume Designer ................................................................................................... Mary Readinger
Sound Coordinator………………………………………………………………….…Mike Pfeiffer
Fight Choreography....................................................................................................Jonathan Croy
Director of Education .......................................................................................... Kevin G. Coleman
Associate Director of Education..................................................................................... Jenna Ware
Shakespeare & Company’s New England Tour of Shakespeare is part of Shakespeare for a New
Generation, a national initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts
in cooperation with Arts Midwest.
1Romeo and Juliet
Guidebook 2014
CONTENTS
A Note from the Director of Education…….................................................................................. 3
Preparing Students to See a Shakespeare Production .................................................................... 5
Some Thoughts About Touring Productions ................................................................................. 6
Characters Appearing in this Production of Romeo and Juliet ...................................................... 8
Romeo and Juliet Plot Synopsis .................................................................................................... 9
Timeline of Events in Romeo and Juliet ....................................................................................... 12
Possible Sources of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet ................................................................. 13
Antiquity Forgot: Historical and Mythological References in the Play ........................................15
Timeline of Important and Interesting Events ...............................................................................20
Words and Phrases Coined by Shakespeare ...................................................................................23
Discussion Questions .....................................................................................................................25
List of Romeo and Juliet Websites ................................................................................................ 30
About Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program ................................................................. 32
About Shakespeare & Company ................................................................................................... 33
Works Cited ................................................................................................................................... 33
Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program gratefully acknowledges the support of the National Endowment for the
Arts, the GE Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and a coalition of local foundations,
cultural councils, individuals, schools, and businesses.
2A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most well known of Shakespeare’s plays, and one of his most
popular. The story is not original with him, but existed in several versions, one of which
Shakespeare ‘borrowed’ from very freely. The play opens with the Chorus setting up the conflict,
(the feud between the two households) and then giving away the ending. Themes of Love,
Violence and Fate are blatantly introduced in the fewest lines.
Even this early in his playwriting career, Shakespeare is up to some signature tricks. Having
seemingly shown his cards by revealing so much of the plot up front, he quickly turns this seeming
disadvantage to advantage. Having been reminded of the story, the audience can now relax and
enjoy the addition of new characters. And Shakespeare can take all the characters to greater depth
and dimension. But there is another advantage here as well. Having dispensed with the ‘what
comes next’, he – as a poet, more than a playwright – can explore the themes more profoundly and
shed a brighter light on an old familiar story. A surprising light. In Romeo and Juliet,
Shakespeare ambitiously examines in one play three of the most complex and profound themes in
all of dramatic literature.
Certainly the feud between the two families is a real part of the story, but when we examine it
more closely – its insignificance soon becomes apparent. It seems to serve only as the backdrop
for the actual events and is never directly discussed or even explained. If, on the other hand, we
carefully trace through the play – from the opening riot which the idiot servants begin – to the
murder of Paris and the suicides, the incidents of violence have everything to do with personal
spleen, pugnacity, shame, willfulness, selfishness, despair and madness. None of these need be
directly attributable to the feud. Shakespeare, in looking more deeply at the incidents of violence,
discovers a whole spectrum of character failings. The feud becomes merely the excuse, rather than
some inciting incident. For Shakespeare, the feud is too imprecise, too superficial. Shakespeare’s
focus begins and ends – as always – with the individual characters, and what he offers as insight
into them quickly transcends anything as shallow as a feud. So is it really an inferior play of
‘accident’? Or rather a play of some insufficiency in ‘character’?
Keep in mind also that the Chorus is not speaking for the playwright, but rather for everyman. The
Chorus speaks what everyone believes, what everyone knows. The Chorus speaks our prejudice
and assumptions. And it is the Chorus that casts this play into an arena of Fate – again, not the
playwright. We must be careful ourselves to not assume that Shakespeare forgot what he so
clearly expressed as a poet and playwright in everything else he ever wrote – the supremacy of
individual freedom and responsibility.
The theme of Fate, the astrological finger pointing, is no more than a metaphor. Fatal imagery is
just that, imagery. Fate does not determine who we are or what we do. Fate does not finally
compel our choices. Rather Fate (and the stars, and astrology) does articulate and reveal –
metaphorically – what is hidden within ourselves – which we blame on forces outside ourselves.
Romeo’s journey, from the time he secretly marries Juliet, to the moment he kills Tybalt, is a
journey of his own making, but it can also be traced as a metaphor through the planets; Venus,
through Earth, and ending at Mars (Love, through Law and Order, into War). But the planets have
not forced his hand, they merely portray outwardly in the heavens what is inwardly the weakness
of pride or fear or shame within Romeo. What runs Romeo is his unconscious, his unknowns, the
unexamined, undeveloped, injured or absent parts of his complete self. While his love for Juliet is
new and fragile and wonderful, his tendency to violence is ancient and powerful and horrible. The
‘ancient grudge’ in the play is the history of humanity. The old myth that ‘Love leads to Death’
must be abandoned for something that leads instead to life.
3“I dreamt my Lady came and found me dead.
Strange dream that gives a dead man leave to think.
And breathed such life with kisses in my lips,
That I revived, and was an Emperor.”
Here is the new myth. Here is a dream that transcends death. Here is a dream that conquers one of
life’s most terrifying realities – or possibly illusions. If Romeo had believed the truth of this
dream, if he had simply laughed at the news his servant immediately brings him of Juliet’s death
(“Her body sleeps in Capel’s monument”), laughed because he knew how to bring her alive – the
truth of his dream – if, if, if. When Romeo in the next instant forgets, denies, betrays what his
dream reveals to him and blames Fate (“Then I defy you stars!”), he creates a defining moment of
despair and rage. He fails at what should be his finest moment, and for Shakespeare the poet, I
think the play is over.
Even for Shakespeare the playwright, the murder of Paris, the final suicides, the Friar’s
abandoning Juliet in the tomb, these are no more than incidents of falling action. The
reconciliation of the two families belongs here as well. If on one level the family feud is of little
real significance, on the same level the families’ reconciliation is similarly insignificant.
This play is sometimes interpreted as a tragedy of the excesses of Love, the ‘Love leads to Death’
myth. During our rehearsal period we discovered it to be a tragedy certainly, but a carefully and
precisely constructed tragedy of each character’s deficiencies of love, and more, their abundance
of fear.
Kevin G. Coleman
Director of Education
4PREPARING STUDENTS TO SEE A SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTION
How can I prepare my students?
Give them a sense of the story – The plots of Shakespeare’s plays are usually pretty simple for
an audience to follow and easy to detail beforehand. His plays are not murder mysteries that
emphasize plot twists or surprise revelations to keep the excitement high. It doesn’t spoil the
experience to know before hand that, say, Romeo and Juliet die in the end (the opening Chorus
reveals this anyway), or to know that in his comedies, the lovers almost always get married in the
end. Shakespeare’s plays are character-driven. The audience or reader becomes engaged by the
individual characters, their thoughts, feelings and their relationships. If we know the plot ahead
of time, we can then quiet our minds about the what, and focus on the who and why.
Introduce them to the characters – Before the play starts, if the audience is able to know and
remember who the characters are, they will more easily relax, enjoy and be curious about why
the characters do what they do – be interested in character development and interpretation. Since
most of Shakespeare’s plays have long lists of characters, they can become a feast of familiar
friends, or a tangle of confusing strangers. Knowing whether a character is part of, say, the
Capulet or Montague household, what social status or wealth they have (nobility, servant) and
what political power (civil or religious) they wield also helps to clarify characters and their
actions.
Get them excited about the language – Shakespeare’s language is different from that of movie
dialogue, song lyrics, newspapers or novels. The language is poetic, so it can involve unusual
sentence structure and syntax. The language is inherently designed to be dramatic. Most people
think of Shakespeare’s English as 400 years older than the English we speak today and focus on
the words that have fallen out of usage, or those that have slightly or even completely different
meanings. It is more appropriate to think of Shakespeare’s language as 400 years younger than
what we speak now. It is more vibrant, exciting and daring language, a language replete with
images, a language to hold your attention on the stage. Shakespeare nearly overwhelms our
modern ear with a myriad of images that surprise, delight, inspire or even break our hearts.
Discuss the qualities of live theatrical performance – It’s important for students who don’t
attend theater regularly to reflect on the nature of live performance. Because we’re so used to
other forms of entertainment, it can be surprising to remember that everything happens in real
time, in the actual moment of performance, and that each performance is unique. At
Shakespeare & Company, we celebrate these aspects of live performances, placing great
emphasis on the relationship between the actors and the audience. Our actors look directly at the
audience, speak to them directly – sometimes even ask them for a response. There is constant
acknowledgement that this is a play, being performed in the moment and in the presence of
people who have come to see and hear it – in other words – the actors will continually dance
between the “real” reality of being on a stage in front of people watching, and the “imaginative”
reality of say, Verona in the heat of the summer. We also ask students to reflect on their role as
audience. Rather than focusing on “theatre etiquette,” we invite students to participate as an
engaged audience. We want them to join us in the telling of the story. When an audience is
actively attentive and responsive, they share in the success of the performance.
5SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT TOURING PRODUCTIONS
AND LIVE PERFORMANCE
What you will be seeing is a seven-actor touring production of Romeo and Juliet. The model of
a small cast of actors playing multiple roles and traveling has a long history in various parts of
Europe and England stretching from the Middle Ages, but we can easily imagine this model
being employed from the earliest beginnings of theatre. Touring productions would leave
London and take to the road for various reasons; the plague, political and religious suppression,
the winter weather, or financial need. As a resident of Stratford-upon-Avon, a town whose
location made it important in commerce and travel, it is very likely that Shakespeare was
exposed to touring productions as he was growing up. While there is no direct evidence to prove
this – or his early fascination with performances – it is more reasonable to imagine it being true
than to reject it because of the absence of documented proof.
Our touring production visits schools and theatre venues across the northeast for 16 weeks. We
perform in huge spaces like The Egg in Albany, NY; The Academy of Music Theatre in
Northampton, MA; The Community Theatre in Morristown, NJ and in small spaces like middle
and high school theatres. Audience members range in age from elementary students, through
middle school, high school, college, community – even to senior citizens. Because of this, the
production and the actors performing must be extremely flexible to adjust to the wide range of
audience members and all types of spaces.
The production elements (sets, sound, props, weapons and costumes) have been carefully
designed to accommodate the wide variety of locations and their size, the demands of travel,
quick load-ins and assembly and the quick costume changes each actor must achieve to play
multiple roles. Theatrical lights are not transported because of the time involved to set them up
and find adequate power. Besides, Shakespeare’s plays were written for performances in the
middle of the day when the sun was illuminating the audience as well as the stage. Real swords
are used because they are better constructed, balanced and can be trusted by the actors not to
break in performance. The only adjustments made to the weapons are to dull the edges and blunt
the tips– which the audience won’t particularly notice – but which makes them safer for the
actors. The design concept must serve to help the audience keep track of the characters and story
– particularly that audience which is least familiar with live theatre. Without additional technical
staff (which keeps the cost of the tour affordable for schools) the actors themselves are
responsible for transporting everything, assembling the set and caring for the props and
costumes.
Our schedule is very packed. Five performances each week is normal, but with additional
workshops, days of multiple performances, travel, load-in, set up, vocal and fight warm-ups,
strike and more travel, the schedule calls for some very early mornings and late nights. The
demand is on the actors to present multiple characters through their physical and vocal
adjustments, but the costumes also serve to help the audience differentiate between characters.
Since playbills are impractical in most locations, the costumes become very important just for
this. The same was true for those Elizabethan actors who also traveled with reduced versions of
longer Shakespeare plays. Scholars are finding evidence that the plays in performance were
always edited and shorter than the longer versions that got the approval of the Master of Revels,
6or that we read or study in literature classes as the published versions. For example, Romeo and
Juliet, which takes over 3 hours to read aloud, most likely was only 2 hours in performance,
including the many fights and dances – just as the Chorus claims at the beginning of the play.
Our 90-minute performance of Romeo and Juliet is similarly edited and performed without
intermission. A bit shorter than what the Elizabethans probably heard, this version fits better
into school schedules.
Shakespeare’s plays are essentially about language. Elizabethan audiences went to “hear a play”
– their expression. Today we go to “see a movie,” “watch TV,” or describe ourselves as “sports
spectators” – our expressions. Elizabethan audiences particularly enjoyed the language of the
plays, and this appreciation demanded plays in which the language was first and foremost,
dramatic. *
One final thing to keep in mind. In the Elizabethan playhouses, the actors would address the
audience directly – even eliciting responses when needed. There was minimal separation
between the actors onstage and the members of the audience. Shakespeare goes out of his way to
acknowledge the audience and to keep bringing their awareness to the fact that they are watching
a play. This is a style of theatre that is esthetically and practically very different from our own.
* Some of the words and expressions in Shakespeare’s plays are unfamiliar to us. They likewise
would have been unfamiliar to Shakespeare’s audiences. But that was part of the enjoyment for
them. It would be counter-productive for Shakespeare, or any playwright, to be writing words
and expressions that intentionally confuse their audience. Rather, new words and expressions
were created to surprise and delight the hearer. And we too should approach them that way –
with curiosity rather than resentment.
7CHARACTERS APPEARING IN
THIS PRODUCTION OF
ROMEO AND JULIET
CAPULETS
Lord Capulet, head of the Capulet family, father to an only child, Juliet
Lady Capulet, wife to Lord Capulet and Juliet’s mother
Juliet, young daughter and only child of Lord and Lady Capulet
Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, nephew to Lord and Lady Capulet
Nurse to Juliet, her surrogate mother
Sampson, servant to Capulet household
Gregory, servant to Capulet household
Peter, illiterate servant to the Capulets
MONTAGUES
Lord Montague, head of the Montague family, father to an only child, Romeo
Lady Montague, wife to Lord Montague and Romeo’s mother
Romeo, son and only child of Lord and Lady Montague
Benvolio, a Montague, Romeo’s cousin
Abram, servant to the Montague household
Balthasar, servant to the Montagues, Romeo’s serving man
COURT
Escalus, Prince of Verona, highest ranking civil authority in Verona
Mercutio, kinsman to the Prince and friend to Romeo and Benvolio
Paris, kinsman to the Prince, in love with and betrothed to Juliet
CHURCH
Friar Lawrence, a Franciscan Friar, friend to Romeo, councilor to Juliet
Sister Joan, a Franciscan Sister, known to Friar Lawrence
8ROMEO AND JULIET PLOT SYNOPSIS
[Our touring production is 90minutes long, without an intermission. The play is divided into 22
rehearsal and performance scenes]
Scene 1 The Chorus opens the play, lays out the plot, gives away the ending and
introduces themes of Love, Violence and Fate, all in 14 lines. The Chorus mentions the conflict
between two households and the love and ensuing death of their children. Note: the Chorus is
the voice of “Conventional Wisdom,” what everyone knows or believes. The Chorus does not
represent the playwright’s point of view.
Scene 2 Sampson and Gregory, two servants of the house of Capulet, are on the streets of
Verona declaring what violence they will perform on the Montague men and women. Abram and
Balthasar, Montague’s servants, enter and the streets erupt in violence. Romeo’s cousin Benvolio
and Juliet’s cousin Tybalt become embroiled, and Lords Capulet and Montague arrive and get
involved. Escalus, the prince of Verona, arrives and stops the fight. He orders Capulet and
Montague to meet with him separately. Everyone departs except for Lord and Lady Montague
and their nephew Benvolio.
Scene 3 Romeo approaches, Lord and Lady Montague quickly depart, and Benvolio
discovers that his cousin Romeo is suffering from unrequited love. Benvolio tries to cheer him
up but fails. They both exit with Benvolio insisting he will keep trying.
Scene 4 Lord Capulet has returned home where the County (Count) Paris, a kinsman of
the Prince, asks him again for his daughter Juliet’s hand in marriage. Capulet delays permission
because his daughter is too young, but invites Paris to an old accustomed feast for which his
household is preparing. Capulet then sends a servant to invite certain guests to his house that
evening.
Scene 5 The servant, unable to read, stops two strangers (Romeo and Benvolio) on the
street to ask for help deciphering the guest list. As Romeo reads the list, he discovers that his
“love” Rosaline as well as his friend Mercutio, another kinsman to the Prince, are invited.
Benvolio persuades Romeo to crash the party in the hope of meeting someone more
approachable and beautiful than Rosaline. Romeo is skeptical but agrees.
Scene 6 Lady Capulet calls on her daughter, Juliet, to inform her of Paris’ intended
proposal. Juliet’s Nurse reminisces over the girl’s childhood, and generally speaks volumes of
little consequence, usually of a ribald nature. A servant summons them to join their guests.
Scene 7 Romeo opposes his cousin’s plan of going to the Capulet’s party because of a
dream he had. Romeo’s friend, Mercutio, completely debunks the significance of dreams with
the fanciful story of Queen Mab. Romeo agrees to go, but still has a sense of foreboding about
the event.
Scene 8 Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio enter the party masked. Romeo sees Juliet and
immediately falls in love. Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, hearing Romeo speak, realizes he is a Montague
and endeavors to kill him on the spot. Lord Capulet intervenes and humiliates Tybalt in the
9process. Tybalt is enraged and vows to take revenge on Romeo. Romeo speaks to Juliet in very
spiritual language, to which she replies in kind and they kiss. The Nurse breaks them up. As
Romeo leaves, they each discover who the other is. The party ends, and everyone leaves.
Scene 9 Immediately after the party, Romeo turns back to seek Juliet, but is intercepted by
Mercutio and Benvolio who are seeking him. He hides. They call him, conjure him, but still he
stays hidden. When they finally leave, Romeo talks about his love for Juliet, who unexpectedly
appears on her balcony. Here begins the most famous love scene in all dramatic literature. Juliet
goes to bed and Romeo leaves to see his friend Friar Lawrence.
Scene 10 Later that morning Romeo tells the Friar of his new love and their plans to marry
that day. He asks Friar Lawrence to perform the ceremony. The Friar is amazed that Romeo has
so quickly forgotten his love for Rosaline. He agrees to help the couple, believing that a marriage
between the Capulet and Montague families might bring an end to their rancor.
Scene 11 Later that day, Benvolio and Mercutio are looking for Romeo. They know that
Tybalt has sent a letter to the Montague house challenging Romeo to a fight. Mercutio mocks
Tybalt. Romeo arrives and greets his friends who are glad to see him in better spirits. Juliet’s
Nurse appears with a servant looking for Romeo, and Mercutio promptly humiliates her. When
he finishes, he exits with Benvolio, leaving the Nurse and Romeo alone to make the secret
marriage plan.
Scene 12 Juliet is waiting impatiently for the Nurse. The Nurse finally returns, and after
much persuasion, tells Juliet to go to Friar Lawrence’s cell where Romeo will be waiting to
marry her. Juliet exits, meets Romeo, and they are married. It’s early afternoon.
Scene 13 Back on the street, Benvolio is trying to persuade Mercutio to retire (indoors)
because of the danger of a chance meeting with the Capulets. Tybalt enters seeking Romeo,
speaks fair to both, but Mercutio tries to provoke him. Romeo enters from his wedding, and
Tybalt insults him twice. Romeo will not respond, so Mercutio picks up the challenge. Romeo
tries to persuade them not to fight, and in his attempts to break it up, Tybalt wounds Mercutio.
Tybalt runs away, and Mercutio blames Romeo and the feud between the Capulets and
Montagues then exits to die. Romeo talks about his reputation, how Juliet’s beauty has made him
effeminate, and asks that “fire-eyed fury” be his conduct now. Tybalt enters and they fight.
Romeo kills Tybalt and runs away, blaming Fate. The Capulets enter, the citizens enter, the
Prince enters and banishes Romeo instead of sentencing him to death. All exit.
Scene 14 Juliet waits out the day for Romeo to arrive and fantasizes about her impending
wedding night. Her Nurse enters and announces, after some confusion, that Tybalt is murdered
and Romeo banished. Juliet is distraught. The Nurse promises to bring Romeo to her that night.
Scene 15 A distraught Romeo is hiding in the Friar’s cell. The Friar attempts to console him
with philosophy, but Romeo rages and attempts suicide. The Nurse arrives to summon him to
Juliet. Romeo leaves to spend the night with his new wife.
Scene 16 Later that same night at Juliet’s house, Lord and Lady Capulet commiserate with
Paris who, in a “house of tears” is unable to woo their daughter. Capulet promises his daughter to
10Paris and sets the wedding date for Thursday (this being Monday). The delighted Paris exits.
Capulet sends his wife to inform Juliet of his decision. Meanwhile in Juliet’s room, Romeo
prepares to leave for Mantua. They say farewell and Lady Capulet enters to speak with Juliet.
She tells her daughter of the plan for her to marry Paris. Juliet refuses, and Lord Capulet enters.
Hearing she had refused, he explodes, rages at all the women and exits declaring he will keep his
word to Paris. Lady Capulet exits, unwilling to intercede for Juliet any further. Juliet appeals to
the Nurse, who counsels her to marry Paris. Juliet, abandoned by her parents, betrayed by her
Nurse, escapes to the Friar for his help. She ends by warning, “if all else, myself have power to
die.”
Scene 17 Paris is informing Friar Lawrence of his imminent marriage to Juliet, when she
arrives. Paris kisses her. The Friar asks Paris to leave so that he and Juliet may speak alone.
Juliet implores the Friar to help her prevent this new marriage. The Friar gives Juliet a sleeping
potion that will create the illusion of her death. His plan is for Juliet to be found “dead” on the
morning of the wedding, and after she is taken to the burial vault, he will bring Romeo there to
rescue her and escape to Mantua. Juliet is resolved and leaves the Friar.
Scene 18 The Capulets are making wedding plans as Juliet returns home. She asks her
father to forgive her disobedience, and he responds by hastening the marriage to the next
morning (Wednesday). Juliet and the Nurse leave to prepare for the wedding and Capulet goes to
tell Paris of his change of plans. Juliet dismisses her mother and Nurse from her room, and after
much misgiving, drinks the potion.
Scene 19 The next morning the Capulet household is in a flurry of preparation for the
wedding. Capulet orders the Nurse to go to and wake Juliet. The Nurse discovers Juliet who
appears to be dead. Lord and Lady Capulet arrive followed Paris and the Friar. The Friar
consoles them as they grieve for the dead Juliet. They leave to bury Juliet in the Capulet’s tomb.
Scene 20 In Mantua, Romeo enters in a joyful state as a result of a dream he had of Juliet.
Balthasar, Romeo’s servant, enters and reports that Juliet is dead. Romeo orders him to prepare
for immediate departure to Verona. He then exits to purchase a deadly poison from an
apothecary, which he plans to drink at Juliet’s grave.
Scene 21 Friar Lawrence is intercepted by another Franciscan who returns the letter,
undelivered, that Friar Lawrence had sent to Romeo to tell him of the sleeping potion plan. In a
panic, the Friar plans to enter Juliet’s tomb alone and be there when she wakes.
Scene 22 At the Capulets’ tomb, Paris is mourning Juliet’s death. Romeo enters, and Paris
attempts to apprehend him. Romeo kills Paris, says farewell to Juliet, drinks the poison he has
brought and dies. Friar Lawrence enters, and Juliet wakes. When he hears a noise he flees the
tomb. Juliet kills herself with Romeo’s dagger. Now the town is up and racing to the tomb. The
Prince enters; Lord and Lady Capulet follow, as does Lord Montague. They discover their
children newly dead. Friar Lawrence explains how it all came about. The parents reconcile over
their dead children, and the play ends with the prince speaking the final lines.
11TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN ROMEO AND JULIET
It may be surprising to realize the events of this entire play transpire over a five day period. The
sense the audience gets is one of headlong speed: Romeo first sees Juliet on Sunday night, they
marry on Monday afternoon and by early Thursday morning they are both dead.
SUNDAY
• The Capulet and Montague feud erupts again into violence in Verona’s streets.
• After some persuasion, Lord Capulet accepts Paris as a suitor to his daughter, Juliet.
• Invitations to the Capulet's annual masquerade are delivered.
• Romeo crashes the party, meets Juliet and falls in love.
• Later at Juliet's balcony, Romeo and Juliet proclaim their for each other love and discuss
marriage.
MONDAY
• Having stayed up all night, Romeo visits Friar Lawrence at dawn.
• Juliet sends her Nurse to Romeo to arrange their marriage.
• Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet in the afternoon.
• Tybalt kills Romeo’s friend Mercutio in a sword fight in the street.
• Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished form Verona by the Prince.
• Lord Capulet gives Paris his consent to marry Juliet on Thursday morning.
• Romeo and Juliet spend their secret wedding night together.
TUESDAY
• Romeo reluctantly leaves Juliet at dawn and flees to Mantua.
• Juliet is told she will marry Paris. She refuses.
• Juliet goes to Friar Lawrence who gives her a potion to simulate death.
• Juliet returns and agrees to marry Paris.
• Lord Capulet moves the wedding up a day, to Wednesday.
• Juliet drinks the potion.
• Friar Lawrence sends another Friar to Mantua with a message for Romeo.
WEDNESDAY
• Juliet is discovered “dead” at dawn and placed in the Capulet’s tomb.
• Balthasar, Romeo’s servant, rides to Mantua to tell him of Juliet’s death.
• Romeo buys poison and returns to Verona.
• Romeo breaks into the Capulet’s tomb and being accosted by Paris, kills him.
• Romeo drinks the poison and dies.
THURSDAY
• Alone, Juliet wakes to find Romeo dead. She stabs herself.
• The Capulets and Montagues find their children newly dead and end the feud there, in the
Capulet tomb.
12POSSIBLE SOURCES OF SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO AND JULIET
The story of young lovers from feuding families appears in a variety of printed sources. These
sources span from ancient Greece until the late 1500’s. An Elizabethan audience would have
been very familiar with the story. As a modern reader, we know the story primarily from
Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet.
5 AD Metamorphoses, written by the Roman poet, Ovid
It includes the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. However, the tale of these mythological lovers
predates its inclusion in Metamorphoses and was borrowed from the ancient Greeks who were
introduced to the story via the Middle East. Pyramus and Thisbe are Babylonian teenagers who
fall in love through a hole in a wall that separates their neighboring yards. They both agree to
meet in secret at night. Arriving first, Thisbe is frightened by a lioness and runs (dropping her
veil) to a nearby cave. Pyramus arrives and finds only Thisbe’s veil. He believes that she has
been killed and kills himself. Thisbe returns from the cave and finds Pyramus dead and kills
herself. As well as serving as a source for Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare includes this myth as a
“play within a play” in the comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which was most likely written
about the same time as Romeo and Juliet.
500 AD Ephesiaca, written by the Greek historian, Xenophon
It tells the story of a wife separated from her husband. She refuses to marry another man and in
order to feign her death, she takes a sleeping potion. After the effects of the drug wear off, she
awakes in her tomb and leaves to face other adventures. This story appears to be the first printed
record of the use of a sleeping potion to create a death-like state.
1476 II Novellino, written by the Italian novelist, Masuccio Salernitano
An Italian couple, Mariotto and Gianozza, fall in love. A Friar secretly marries them. Mariotto
kills an important citizen and is banished to Alexandria. Gianozza takes a sleeping potion to
avoid marrying a man chosen by her father. When she revives in her family’s tomb she sneaks
away to Alexandria. A messenger is sent to tell Mariotto that Gianozza is not actually dead.
Unfortunately, the messenger is captured by pirates and never gets to Mariotto. Mariotto hears of
her death and returns home. He is beheaded and Gianozza returns to learn of his death. She
enters a convent and dies there.
1530 Historia Novellamente Ritrovata di due Nobili Amanti, written by the poet and Venetian
military leader, Luigi Da Porto
Da Porto writes his own version of Masuccio’s tale. He places the story in Verona with feuding
families, the Montecchi and Cappelletti, names of actual historical families.
131554 Novelle, written by a former Dominican priest and poet, Matteo Bandello
Bandello’s Julietta and Romeo are both alive in the tomb scene. In the end their parents accept
their love for each other.
1559 Histoires Tragiques, written by a French nobleman, Pierre Boiastuau
Boiastuau adapted and translated Bandello’s tale into French. He restores the tragic ending and
is the first writer to use the names “Romeo” and “Juliet.”
1562 The Tragedie of Romeus and Juliet, a long narrative poem written by the historian, Arthur
Brooke
Traditionally, this is considered the primary source that inspired Shakespeare’s play.
Scholars have described Brooke’s poem as moralistic and unimaginative. The poem focuses on
the love/hate element and emphasizes the “star-crossed” fate of Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare actually dramatizes Brooke’s poem in very specific and ingenious ways. He reduces
the action to a few days rather than the 9 months as in Brooke’s poem. Shakespeare makes Juliet
almost 14, two years younger than the 16-year-old Juliet in Brooke’s poem. (Bandello’s Juliet
was 18). Shakespeare infuses the story with amazingly rich language and humanistic character
portrayals that have made it such an enduring masterpiece.
Since Shakespeare’s time the story continues to be changed and adapted. In 1747, David
Garrick’s production of Romeo and Juliet was staged at the Drury Lane Theatre. In Garrick’s
version, Juliet awakes before Romeo dies. He also added dialogue between the two lovers, added
a funeral procession and deleted any mention of Rosaline to the play. The 1961 popular musical
West Side Story by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins sets the story in New York. The feuding
families are replaced with two feuding street gangs, white and Hispanic. Romeo Must Die was a
film produced in 2000 with the story moved to Oakland, California. The daughter of an African-
American mobster falls in love with a man affiliated with the Chinese Mafia. In this same year
Qutayba Salem’s, Romeo and Juliet retells the story from Mercutio’s perspective.
14HISTORICAL AND MYTHOLOGICAL REFERENCES
IN THE PLAY
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene
Two of Shakespeare’s other plays, The Taming of the Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona
feature this city in northern Italy. The city is presented as an independent principality, ruled by a
Prince. This was the case historically between 1260 and 1387. This “nursery of arts” as it’s
described in The Taming of the Shrew, boasts a 2,000-year-old classical Roman arena, which is
now used for opera. However, the city’s main claim to fame today, and its primary tourist draw,
is its being the setting for Romeo and Juliet.
From ancient grudge break into new mutiny
Although many modern productions of the play place it in the context of current social or
political conflict, such as Bosnia or the Middle East, Shakespeare never provides a reason for the
animosity between the Montagues and Capulets.
The two hour’s traffic of our stage
Most modern productions of the play last nearly three and a half hours. While the Elizabethan
playing companies may have performed at a quicker pace than their modern counterparts, the
main explanation for this discrepancy is the Elizabethan practice of cutting plays for
performance. Elizabethan playing companies had to get approval for their play scripts; they
could certainly do less than what appeared in this allowed book, but never more. So the texts we
have today represent more than would ever have been played for any particular performance in
Shakespeare’s playhouse. A length of two hours is somehow appealing to our sensibilities, and
most movies are edited to this length.
If you with patient ears attend
Elizabethans wrote and talked about going to “hear” a play, rather than going to “see” it. While
in our culture today we’re much more attuned to visual experience (video games, music videos,
“watch TV,” “see a movie” etc.) Shakespeare’s was a more aural culture, and people were
presumably more attuned to what they heard. Besides, on the Elizabethan stage, there wasn’t
much to look at in terms of set, lighting or special effects.
Begin to draw
The shady curtains from Aurora’s bed
Aurora is the Roman goddess of the dawn.
She’ll not be hit
With Cupid’s arrow; she hath Dian’s wit
Cupid was the Roman god of love, who’s popular image as a winged boy with a bow and arrow
graces many a valentine. Diana was the Roman goddess of nature and forests, and later became
15associated with the hunt. She was seen as the protector of women, including the protector of
women’s chastity, although she was also believed to protect women in marriage and childbirth.
She had a very popular cult of female followers who remained virgins.
Let two more summers wither in their pride
Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride
In Shakespeare’s day, with parental permission, boys were allowed to marry at 14, girls at 12,
though it was not recommended. Just like today, one came of age at 21. Sir Thomas More
recommended that girls not marry before 18 and boys not before 22.
Contrary to young Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, the average age for brides of Shakespeare’s time
was twenty-four, and for grooms it was twenty-seven.
How long is it now to Lammas-tide?
Lammas was an annual feast formerly observed in England on August 1st, in celebration of the
first harvest of wheat. Half loaves of bread were consecrated at the Catholic mass in thanks for
the harvest. The word “Lammas” comes from the Anglo-Saxon term “hlafmaesse,” or half loaf.
(Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare, Vol. 1, p.482)
‘Tis since the earthquake now eleven years
There was a rare earthquake in England in 1580, and many in Shakespeare’s audience in the
1590s would have remembered it. This is yet another example of Shakespeare, no matter where
he set the play, filling the stage with Elizabethans.
I had then laid wormwood to my dug
Wormwood is a plant from which bitter oil was extracted, while a dug is another name for a
woman’s breast. Juliet’s nurse is what was called a “wet nurse” who breastfed Juliet through her
infancy, thus freeing her biological mother from the task. According to a contemporary manual,
“Though it were fit, that every mother should nurse her owne child: …yet since they may be
hindered by sickness, or for that they are too weake and tender, of else because their Husbands
will not suffer them, therefore I say, it will be very necessary to seeke out another Nurse.” (From
Childbirth or The Happy Deliverie of Women by James Guillemeau, London, 1612.)
Then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you
Mab is the queen of the faeries. She is often portrayed as a trickster who robs dairies and steals
babies. Mab first appeared in post-sixteenth century English literature, in the poems Nimphidia,
and Entertainment at Althorpe by Ben Johnson. The origin of Queen Mab is most likely Celtic,
either from Mabb of Welsh Mythology or Maeve (maebhe) of the Cuchullain tales.”
(Source: John Jeffries, http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mab_queen.html)
Turn back, dull earth, and find thy center out
The tertiary definition of center is “the point around which something rotates or
revolves”(American Heritage Dictionary). For example, the sun is the center of our solar system.
16Young Adam Cupid, He that shot so true
When King Cophetua loved the beggar-maid
King Cophetua is a fictional hero and an African king who cared nothing for women until he saw
a beggar-maid at his window. He fell in love with her and married her. The actual name of the
beggar-maid is not known. (Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare, Vol. 1, p. 431)
See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
O, that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek!
Shakespeare’s father, John was a glover by trade, so it’s very likely that William Shakespeare
learned the trade of making gloves during his youth. It was a common practice in Elizabethan
times for children to learn the trade of their father. However, for Romeo, the son of a noble
family, learning a trade would have been very unusual.
Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
One of the most famous lines ever written, yet its meaning is often misunderstood. People
mistakenly assume that “wherefore” means “where,” while it actually means “why,” much like
our expression “how come” means “why?” Juliet is not looking for Romeo, but rather asking
why the boy she kissed and fell in love with (thou) is Romeo, a Montague and, thus, her enemy.
At lover’s perjuries
They say, Jove laughs
Jove, also called Jupiter, was the supreme god for the Romans. Originally he was a sky deity. He
evolved into a protector of the state and the god of oaths. His “love of life” was legendary, and
consequently he was often depicted as unfaithful to his wife, Juno.
Bondage is hoarse, and may not speak aloud;
Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies,
And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine
With repetition of my Romeo’s name
In Greek mythology, the god Zeus (Jupiter to the Romans) had lots of love affairs. It was Echo’s
job to distract Jove’s wife, Hera, by talking to her incessantly. When Hera discovered this ruse,
she punished Echo by making her only able to repeat the voices of others.
And flecked darkness like a drunkard reels
From forth day’s path and Titan’s fiery wheels:
Helios is the sun god in Greek mythology. He was also referred to as a Titan and rode a golden
chariot drawn by four horses to bring light to the earth. Helios is also called Phoebus.
17Now is he for the numbers that Petrarch flowed in: Laura to his lady was but a kitchen-
wench; marry, she had a better love to be-rhyme her; Dido a dowdy; Cleopatra a gipsy;
Helen and Hero hildings and harlots; Thisbe a grey eye or so, but not to purpose
Shakespeare alludes to several famous lovers from history. Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) was a
famous Italian writer. His poems, sonnets and odes were written between 1330 and 1360. His
most famous poems deal with his love for a woman named Laura.
Dido was the queen of the powerful city of Carthage and lover to the Trojan warrior Aeneas.
When Aeneas left Dido, she killed herself. He went on to found the city of Rome.
Cleopatra was both an Egyptian queen and lover to Julius Caesar, and later Marc Antony. She is
immortalized in Shakespeare’s play Antony and Cleopatra. She was renowned for her beauty,
while gypsies were not.
Paris, a prince of Troy, abducted Helen, the wife of the Greek King Menelaus. This event
contributed to the start of the Trojan War.
Hero was a priestess of the goddess Aphrodite. Her lover Leander would swim the waters of the
Hellespont, which separated Asia and Europe, every night to be with her. To light his passage,
she would place a torch on a watchtower that overlooked the sea. Once during Leander’s
nightly swim a huge storm overtook him and he drowned. When Hero discovered his body she
killed herself.
The story of Thisbe and her love Pyramus are one of the mythological stories in Ovid’s
Metamorphoses. Pyramus and Thisbe were young lovers who communicated through a hole in
the wall separating their properties. Their parents forbade their union. The story ends badly.
Therefore do nimble-pinioned doves draw love
The Roman goddess, Venus, is often pictured being drawn on a chariot pulled by a pair of doves.
Venus is the goddess of love and female beauty.
Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives;
Tybalt (Tibalt, Tybert) is a variation of the name of the Prince of Cats featured in the popular
12th century animal outlaw storybook written in verse called, Reynard the Fox.
A plague o’ both your houses!
Plagues have affected human societies for centuries. The Black Plague (1347-1351) devastated
Europe and caused millions of deaths. One-fourth of European men, women and children died
after being bitten by infected rodents
or fleas carrying the virus “Pasteurella pestis.” During 1349, England lost more than one
million people during the Black Plague. This accounted for nearly a third of its population. In
1361, England experienced another outbreak of the plague that extended into the 1440’s. In
1443, the English government issued a plague order that outlined procedures for quarantine and
18cleansing. Just before Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, the playhouses in London were
closed for nearly two years because of the plague.
O, I am fortune’s fool
Fortune was often represented as a goddess holding a turning wheel, symbolizing the
changeableness of human destiny or fate. Although Fortune’s wheel was a familiar image to the
Elizabethans, it does not mean that they necessarily believed human beings were victims of
Fortune or Fate.
Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds,
Towards Phoebus’ lodging: such a wagoner
As Phaeton would whip you to the west,
And bring in cloudy night immediately
Phoebus (see Helios) was the sun god in Greek mythology that drove a chariot of fire across the
sky. According to mythology, when his son Phaeton was allowed to drive the chariot, he lost
control and plunged from the heavens to his death.
I’ll say yon grey is not the morning’s eye,
‘Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia’s brow;
The Greek moon goddess Artemis was also called Cynthia (Roman: Diana). She is the goddess
of reproduction, hunting and chastity. The name Cynthia derives from the Greek word Kyntia.
Artemis has this name in reference to her birthplace. Artemis and her twin brother Apollo were
born on the mountain Kynthos.
Shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth
Mandrakes are herbs with large fleshy roots that resemble men. Due to this resemblance, certain
superstitions arose. The mandrake was believed to make women fertile. It was also believed that
the mandrake, if torn from the ground, would “emit a bloodcurdling shriek- so horrible a shriek
as to madden or even kill those who heard it.”
(Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare, Vol. 1, p. 496)
Shall I believe
That unsubstantial death is amorous,
And that the lean abhorred monster keeps
Thee here in dark to be his paramour?
Thanatos was the Greek god who personified death and lived in the underworld. He appears in
the Iliad as the twin brother of sleep, Hypnos. On the temple of Artemis at Ephese in Greece
(built around 4th century BCE) he is depicted with large wings and carrying a sword.
19TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING EVENTS
5 Ovid writes Metamorphoses
43 London founded
50 Gauls teach Romans about the use of soap
140 Roman theatre built at Verubalium (St. Albans), England
285 Alexandrian writer Pappus describes the use of four simple machines: lever, wedge,
cogwheel and screw
304 Genesius, an actor, dies a martyr’s death during performance in Rome
410 Start of Alchemy and the search for the “Elixir of Life”
452 Venice founded by refugees from Attila’s Huns
500 Xenophon writes Ephesiaca
543 Disastrous earthquakes shake the world
615 Petroleum used in Japan
1026 Guido D’Arezzo introduces solmisation in music (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la )
1174 Leaning Tower of Pisa built
1200 Engagement rings come into fashion
1202 The first court jesters at European courts
1256 Hundred Years War (feuding families) between Venice and Genoa
1304 Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) the Italian poet born
1307 Dante composes Divinia Commedia
1412 Joan of Arc born
1476 Massuccio Salerno writes II Novellino
1512 Copernicus writes Commentariolus, which theorizes a heliocentric (sun at the center)
universe
1530 Luigi da Porto’s narrative is published
201531 Henry VIII recognized as the supreme head of the church in England
1533 Future Queen Elizabeth I born
1536 Michelangelo paints “Last Judgment” on the altar of the Sistine Chapel
1538 Mercator uses the name America for the first time
1542 Pope Paul III establishes the Inquisition in Rome
1546 Michelangelo designs the dome that completes St. Peter’s Church in Rome
1547 French Astrologer, Nostradamus makes his first predictions
1550 Game of billiards played for the first time in Italy
1554 Matteo Bandello’s novella is published
1555 Michelangelo’s Pieta sculpture, Florence
1557 Influenza epidemic all over Europe
1558 Queen Elizabeth ascends the throne
1559 Pierre Boiastuau adapted and translated Bandello’s novella into French
1562 Arthur Brooke’s long poem, The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, published
Matteo Bandello dies
1563 General outbreak of plague in Europe – kills more than 20,000 people in London
1564 William Shakespeare born on April 23
Galileo Galilei, scientist, born Feb. 15
Michelangelo dies
1592 Plague kills 15,000 in London
1593 Christopher Marlowe, playwright, is murdered in a bar brawl
London theaters are closed due to plague
1594 First opera performed: Dafne by Jacopo Peri
1595 Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
21Mercator’s Atlas published
1596 Galileo invents the thermometer
First water closets (indoor bathrooms) installed at Queen’s Palace, Richmond
1597 An Excellent conceited Tragedie of Romeo and Iuliet is printed. This is the First Quarto
of Shakespeare’s play.
1599 The Most Excellent Lamentable Tragedie of Romeo and Iuliet. This is the Second
Quarto.
1609 Third Quarto reprinted from the Second Quarto.
1616 Shakespeare dies on April 23.
1622 A Fourth Quarto is reprinted from the Third Quarto.
1623 Shakespeare’s First Folio is published by his friends, John Heming and Henry Condell. It
includes Romeo and Juliet.
1662 Earliest documented performance of Romeo and Juliet, staged by William
Davenant, a poet and playwright who insisted he was Shakespeare’s illegitimate son.
Source: The Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events, by Bernard
Grun, based upon Werner Stein’s Kulturfahrplan; New York: Simon &Schuster, 1991.
22WORDS AND PHRASES COINED BY SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare is credited with adding nearly 2,000 new words to the English language. These
words appear in print for the first time in his plays and poems. Many of these words are still
commonly used today. The following is a brief list of words and phrases that first appear in
Romeo and Juliet.
Alligator (noun) a reptile closely related to the crocodile
During the last act of the play, a grieving Romeo plans his own death after hearing news from his
servant Balthasar of Juliet’s supposed death. He decides to procure poison from the apothecary
who keeps “in his needy shop a tortoise hung, /An alligator stuff’d, and other skins.”
Bump (noun) swelling or raised spot on the surface of the skin
The Nurse recalls how when Juliet was a very young child she fell and struck her head. As a
result of the fall, the Nurse remembers that Juliet had “A bump as big as a young cockre’rel’s
stone.”
Denote (verb) to define or designate; to indicate
Romeo and Juliet provides the first known printed usage of this word in English.
Friar Lawrence reprimands Romeo’s considerations of suicide by stating, “thy wild acts denote/
the unreasonable fury of a beast.”
Film (noun) thin skin membrane
In Act I, Mercutio describes a tiny, fairy queen (Queen Mab) who steers a small wagon with “her
whip of cricket’s bone, the lash of film.”
Hurry (verb) to rush or move quickly
When Romeo purchases poison from the apothecary he asks for a poison that will work “as
violently as hasty powder fir’d/doth hurry from the fatal cannon’s womb.”
Juiced (adjective) containing juice or fluids
At his entrance during Act II, Friar Lawrence says that he is filling his basket “with baleful
weeds and precious-juiced flowers.”
Switch (noun) a slender whip or twig
Romeo and Mercutio engage in some quick-witted wordplay during Act II. Romeo encourages
Mercutio to increase the pace by employing a riding expression: “swits and
Spurs, swits and spurs, or I’ll cry a match.”
23Wild-goose chase (phrase) complicated and fruitless pursuit or search
As Romeo and Mercutio continue their word play in Act II, Mercutio responds, ”nay, if our wits
run the wild-goose chase, I am done; for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits
than...I have in my whole five.” Mercutio alludes to a horseback riding game where several
riders follow the-leader. Each rider is attempting to closely follow the lead rider. The game
originates from its similarity to flying geese formations, where a group of geese follows a leader
who sets the path
Source: Coined by Shakespeare: Words and Meanings First Penned by the Bard, by
Jeffrey McQuain and Stanley Malless; Springfield, MA: Merriam Webster, 1998.
Also, here is a list of commonly used phrases from Romeo and Juliet:
Star-crossed lovers
Parting is such sweet sorrow
What’s in a name?
I will not budge
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet
As gentle as a lamb
Go like lightning
A plague on both your houses
Past help
What must be shall be
Fortune’s fool
If love be blind
24DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Of the many themes running through Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the most striking to the
audience or reader would have to be LOVE, VIOLENCE and FATE. We think there is even another
underlying theme, one that Shakespeare was examining indirectly and subtly throughout the play, but
that we will leave for you to discover as we examine the most obvious and compelling three.
Expressions of Love
There are a myriad of examples of expressions and images of love in this play. One of the most
compelling would have to be this one, from the balcony scene.
JULIET My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite (Act II, scene ii)
Late at night, on a balcony outside her room, Juliet declares her newly experienced love to Romeo.
There are scarcely any other lines in all dramatic literature to match them.
When Juliet uses the image of her “bounty” – what about herself is she attempting to express?
What does the expression, “the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite” mean to you?
Why do you imagine she might say this to Romeo?
Is it possible to “give” more love and simultaneously “have” more love? How would you explain this?
FRIAR LAWRENCE Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!
Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear,
So soon forsaken? young men's love then lies
Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes. (Act II, scene iii)
Friar Lawrence is well aware of Romeo’s former lovesickness for Rosaline.
The morning immediately following the balcony scene, Romeo declares his newfound love for Juliet.
The Friar notes how Romeo has changed.
Why do you think Friar Lawrence reacts so strongly to Romeo’s declaration of love for Juliet?
Why doesn’t Shakespeare have the Friar express an opinion of Romeo’s new love, Juliet?
How does Friar Lawrence characterize Romeo’s love for Rosaline?
Why do you think Shakespeare starts the play with Romeo being in love with Rosaline?
ROMEO I do protest, I never injured thee,
But love thee better than thou canst devise,
Till thou shalt know the reason of my love:
And so, good Capulet,--which name I tender
As dearly as my own,--be satisfied. (Act III, scene i)
Immediately following his secret marriage to Juliet, Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, confronts Romeo in public.
His response to Tybalt takes everyone by surprise.
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