ROMEO AND JULIET
by William Shakespeare
LIST OF MAIN CHARACTERS 
Lord and Lady Montague: Romeo’s parents. 
Lord and Lady Capulet: Juliet’s parents. 
Romeo: Lord and Lady Montague’s son. 
Juliet: Lord and Lady Capulet’s 14-year-old daughter.
Friar Laurence: a priest. 
The Nurse: Juliet’s nurse, helper and friend. 
Tybalt: Juliet’s cousin, an excellent swordsman with a violent nature.
PLOT SUMMARY 
Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy, in the 16th century. The Montagues and the Capulets are the two most important families in Verona. They are both very rich and powerful, but they are bitter enemies. 
One day, a fight breaks out between the servants and men of the two families, including Tybalt and Benvolio, Montague’s nephew, but the fight is stopped by the Prince of Verona. Romeo arrives and confides in Benvolio that he is in love with a woman called Rosaline but that she doesn’t love him. 
Lord Capulet is planning a masked ball. Capulet’s servant meets Romeo and Benvolio in the street and asks them to help him read the list of guests, as he can’t read. Although they are Montagues, Romeo and Benvolio decide to go to the ball with their friend, Mercutio. They arrive wearing masks and are allowed to enter. Romeo sees Juliet and falls in love with her immediately, but is dismayed to discover that she is a Capulet. Tybalt recognises Romeo’s voice and is angry that a Montague is at the ball.
He takes out his knife to kill Romeo, but Capulet stops him. A few moments later, Juliet notices Romeo and falls in love with him instantly. She, too, is dismayed when her nurse tells her that she is in love with a Montague. 
After the ball, Romeo sees Juliet on her balcony and hears Juliet say that she loves him. He climbs up to the balcony and tells Juliet he feels the same way. The next day, with the help of Juliet’s nurse and Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet are secretly married. Later that day, Benvolio and Mercutio see Tybalt in the street. Mercutio suspects that Tybalt wants to kill Romeo and decides to provoke Tybalt into fighting him, so that he can kill Tybalt. Romeo arrives but does not want to fight Tybalt, his new cousin. Mercutio challenges Tybalt. Tybalt kills Mercutio and in revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt.
The Prince of Verona arrives and exiles Romeo. Juliet cries bitterly when her nurse tells her about Tybalt and Romeo. The nurse feels compassion for Juliet, finds Romeo in Friar Laurence’s church and tells him how sad Juliet is. Friar Laurence tells Romeo to go to Juliet’s room that night. After that Romeo must go to Mantua and wait there until Friar Laurence can reconcile the two families.
Early the next morning, Romeo leaves for Mantua. Lady Capulet tells Juliet that she must marry a nobleman called Count Paris. Juliet goes to Friar Laurence for help. The Friar suggests that she tell her parents that she agrees to the marriage, but he also gives her a little bottle and tells her that if she drinks the liquid from the bottle, she will appear to be dead. He then sends a messenger to Mantua to tell Romeo of his plan. 
The night before the wedding, Juliet goes to bed, drinks the liquid from the bottle and falls into a deep sleep. The next morning, her nurse finds her and tells her parents that she is dead. Juliet is taken to the Capulet crypt, to be prepared for her funeral. 
That afternoon, Romeo’s servant arrives in Mantua and tells him that Juliet is dead. Romeo can’t live without Juliet, buys some poison and hurries back to Verona. Friar Laurence discovers that his message to Romeo has not been delivered. He rushes to get to the crypt before Romeo gets there, but he arrives too late to prevent the tragedy. 
Romeo enters the Capulet crypt, kisses Juliet, drinks the poison and dies. Juliet wakes up, finds Romeo dead beside her and kills herself with Romeo’s dagger. People gather at the Capulet crypt. Friar Laurence tells the Prince, the Capulets and the Montagues what has happened. The two families decide to live in peace to honour the memory of their children.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 
It is believed that William Shakespeare was born in 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. He was the eldest son of John Shakespeare, a merchant. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a local farmer, and she became the mother of his three children.
 It is believed that Shakespeare moved from Stratford-upon-Avon to London in 1588 because he was caught poaching deer. In Elizabethan England, writing plays was a good way to make a living. Shakespeare was truly gifted. He wrote easily and quickly, rarely crossing anything out. 
He soon became a successful actor and playwright. He made good business decisions and profited from his theatre company, which performed in the courts of both Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, who succeeded Queen Elizabeth after her death in 1603. Romeo and Juliet was written in 1595 and was one of Shakespeare’s first tragedies.
The plot was based on a true story about teenage lovers who were innocent victims caught in a bitter fight between their two families. Although the lives of Romeo and Juliet end in suicide, the tragedy finishes on a note of hope, a feeling that some good may come out of all the terrible suffering. 
In 1608, at the end of his career, Shakespeare entered into semi-retirement and bought a large, expensive house in Stratford-upon-Avon for his wife and children. He returned to live there until his death in 1616.
He was buried in Stratford Church. William Shakespeare is known as one of the greatest writers of all time. The reason his work is so popular is that he wrote about human nature and behaviour and his ideas are as relevant today as they were 400 years ago. 
Ballets, operas and musical shows have been based on Shakespeare’s works. A modern version of Romeo and Juliet is the musical West Side Story, which is set in New York in the 1960s. 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
 • Elizabethan England: Queen Elizabeth I was the Queen of England from 1533-1603.
This period of British history became known as the Elizabethan era. During her reign, the government encouraged foreign trade, which was highly profitable. After England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, it became a great maritime power and coloniser of the New World. Sailors and merchants introduced new customs, there was a new world to explore and people were excited by the idea of travel. 
Throughout Elizabeth’s reign, her duty to her people was her main concern. Parliament repeatedly requested her to marry in order to provide an heir to the throne, but she believed that her duties as Queen were far more important than marriage. She became known as the Virgin Queen. Towards the end of her reign, her popularity decreased and she died in London in 1603.
• Elizabethan Theatre: Shakespeare, like many other Elizabethan playwrights, didn’t invent new plots. He took existing stories or historical accounts and rewrote them for the stage. He wrote for everyone and his theatres were filled with royalty, the aristocracy, wealthy ladies, soldiers and sailors, students and ordinary people. 
During his time, plays were performed in open-air, circular theatres. The most famous of these was the Globe Theatre. The Globe could hold 3,000 people and there were two performances daily. Women weren’t allowed to act on the stage, so young men had to play the female roles. The plays were between three to four hours long so the audience would eat and drink during the performances. This is probably the reason that Shakespeare’s characters often repeat what has happened earlier in the play. 
• Teenage marriage: During this period of history it was common for teenagers to marry. Usually, the parents arranged the marriage. 
• Swordsmanship: Most young gentlemen of that era were skilled swordsmen. They were trained at an early age to use the sword and to defend their honour. 
• Servants: Wealthy families kept many servants in their homes. The nanny – or the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet – played an important part in bringing up the children. Teenage girls often told their nannies their secrets and used them as allies. 
ACTIVITIES 
In pairs, students ask and answer the following questions. Alternatively, the teacher can ask the questions and elicit the answers from the whole class. 
1. Describe a book you have read or a film you have seen about tragic heroes. 
(Titanic, West Side Story)
2. Why do you think people become bitter enemies? 
(They disagree about something that means a lot to them, one person hurts the other badly, there is a quarrel between their families, they have a disagreement in business, they are in love with the same man or woman.)
3. In the 16th century, it was common for parents to arrange marriages for their children. What are the advantages and disadvantages of an arranged marriage? 
(Advantages: no conflict with parents, no unreasonable expectations; Disadvantages: marrying someone you don’t love, the possibility of an unhappy marriage, you might be in love with someone else.) 
4. It is not uncommon for teenagers to have problems with friends, at school, with family members or in the community. When you have a problem, who do you talk to and how do you try to solve the problem? 
KEY VOCABULARY 
1. Pre-teach the following key vocabulary on the theme of family, love and fighting. fall in love dagger uncle sword soldier nephew wedding cousin kiss daughter enemy marry kill son marriage.
2. Tell the students to write the words related to the vocabulary below. 
FAMILY:
LOVE:
FIGHTING:

ACTIVITIES (with possible answers)
 1.	Look at the pictures and illustration on the Internet images of the book and answer the following questions:
- Do you think this is a modern story? Why? / Why not? 
(No, because of the clothes they are wearing.)
- When do you think the story takes place? 
(in the 16th century) 
-How old do you think the characters are? 
(between 14-18 years old) 
 2.	What are the names of the two families? 
(The Capulets and the Montagues) 
 3.	What do we find out about them? 
(They are two important, powerful families in Verona. They are great rivals and they hate each other.) 
 4.	Look at the pictures of the book on the Internet and try to guess what the story is about. 
(love, hate, family, fighting, marriage, death) 
 5.	What do you think happens at the end? 
(Two young people die and everybody is very sad.)