AP Literature Romeo and Juliet Review Grant Johnson and Helen Kontopanos Title: ​
Romeo and Juliet​
tells the tale between star­crossed lovers and their feuding families. The tragic love between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet is a challenging, new, and sweet love that attempts to conquer the long, hate­filled history between their families. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” ­ Romeo Author and Background:​
The play was written by William Shakespeare, who lived from 1564 to 1616 during the Elizabethan era. He was born and died in Stratford­upon­Avon, England, which is south of Birmingham. Shakespeare was born into a well­off family; his mother was the daughter of a wealthy landowner/farmer while his father was a prosperous glover. Shakespeare, while being a playwright, was also a poet and an actor. Due to his many successful pieces, he is known as England’s national poet. At the age of twenty to twenty­five, Shakespeare joined a playing company called the King’s Men/the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, thus starting his success as an actor and writer. Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” was quite revolutionary since romance had never been seen as a subject worthy for tragedy. He also wrote this play during his phase of writing more complex plays that quickly switched from serious to comedic scenes. Setting​
: The story takes place in Verona, Italy as the reader soon discovers. The play begins with a prologue: “Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean…” This is where the play starts, and it is where Romeo and Juliet meet. While Verona is the starting scene, Romeo is banished from Verona after killing Tybalt. He escapes to Mantua, another Italian city, making that the second setting of the play. Friar Lawrence says “Welcome from Mantua. What says Romeo?”; he is asking if there is any news from Romeo who is situated in Mantua after his banishment. In terms of time for setting, the play took place during the Renaissance era thus making it a fairly contemporary play. Characters: ​
Describing Juliet: “​
O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art As glorious to this night, being o'er my head As is a winged messenger of heaven”. Romeo is declaring that Juliet represents goodness and purity. She is a winged blessing sent to him from above. “She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair, To merit bliss by making me despair,” Again, Romeo states that she is wise, but also so very beautiful. She is so gorgeous that it brings his despair. Describing Romeo: “You are a lover; borrow Cupid's wings,And soar with them above a common bound.” Mercutio is alluding to the depth of Romeo’s love. Borrow Cupid’s wings so that you may be with Juliet. “​
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” Romeo uses to describe himself. Here, we can see his charm, but also the context of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. The one obstacle standing in the way of their love is their family histories, but the name they have changes nothing of their affections. This quote is also a great look at Romeo’s tenacity and passion to preserve his love. Mercutio: “​
If love be rough with you, be rough with love;Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.” This quote describes Mercutio’s attitude toward the world. While when others die during the play, they blame their deaths on fate and destiny. Mercutio, however, curses the Capulets and believes certain people played a role in his death more than anything else. He does not perceive things the same as the other characters. So here, he tells Romeo to grab love by the horns, and wrestle it to the ground. “Alas poor Romeo! he is already dead; stabbed with a white wench's black eye; shot through the ear with a love­song; the very pin of his heart cleft with the blind bow­boy's butt­shaft”. Mercutio also plays an important part of comic relief throughout the work and proves to have a sarcastic, clever voice. Friar Laurence: “So smile the heavens upon this holy act, That after hours with sorrow chide us not!” Friar Lawrence is alluding to the possible scolding from either Romeo and Juliet’s families. He wants to assure them that this love does not need to fear disapproval. He plays a mighty amount of meddling throughout the play and is marrying Romeo and Juliet to end this feud and hopefully establish peace in the city. “Hence from Verona art thou banished: Be patient, for the world is broad and wide.” Here again, we see the Friar push Romeo into a certain course of action. He advocates a huge decision to leave with Juliet. Plot Summary:​
In fair Verona, Romeo Montague is heartbroken by Rosaline, and thus is convinced by his cousin Benvolio to attend a Capulet masquerade ball, a family that is feuding with the Montague family, in hopes to cure his depression. Romeo instead finds and falls in love with Juliet Capulet from his enemesis family. Juliet’s cousin Tybalt is enraged when spotting Romeo, but he does not kill Romeo because Juliet’s father does not want there to be fighting at the ball. Juliet, who also notices and falls in love with Romeo, pledges her undying love for Romeo at her balcony, which Romeo hears since he sneaked into Capulet grounds to see her again. Knowing the love each one has for the other, Romeo and Juliet get married the next day by Friar Laurence, who bonds them together in hopes of making peace between this two feuding families. Following the wedding, a duel caused Tybalt to kill Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, which thus causes Romeo to kill Tybalt despite his efforts to maintain peace with his new kin. Due to Romeo slaying Tybalt, he is exiled from Verona, but spends a night with Juliet to consummate the marriage. Juliet, in order to avoid marrying Paris, is given a drug that will instill a sleep­like state, allowing her to fake her death. A message is being sent to Romeo, who is in Mantua, about the plan. The message does not make it to Romeo, thus when he arrives in Verona, he thinks Juliet is dead. Romeo precedes to commit suicide; Juliet awakes only to find Romeo dead, thus taking her life to join him in heaven. Conflict:​
Love as a cause for violence. After Romeo crashes the dinner party, Tybalt vows to kill him, but instead takes the life of Mercutio. Romeo’ love for his dear friend takes hold in a vengeful passion and leads to Romeo killing Tybalt. The outcome only amplifies the hatred between the two families. The individuals versus society. Romeo and Juliet's love is a forbidden one. Only a few select individuals like Friar Lawrence and Mercutio can be trusted with this secret. Because of this they remain very isolated from everything else in their lives and pour the entirety of their energy into their love for one another. That is why when Romeo believes Juliet to be deceased he takes his own life also. Then when Juliet awakes, she cannot bear to live without her sweet Romeo and stabs herself. Fate and Free Will. In the prologue, Shakespeare states that the love Romeo and Juliet share will end in tragedy, however, we watch as they both do everything in their power to be happy and safe together. The inevitability of their deaths plays a bitter but expected note to end the play. Friar Lawrence and Mercutio both tried to help them be together also, but fate conquered all their efforts. Literary Devices:​
In Act 2 Scene 2, Juliet uses hyperbole when saying goodbye to Romeo: “Juliet: What o’clock tomorrow/ Shall I send to thee? Romeo: By the hour of nine. Juliet: I will not fail. ‘Tis twenty year till then”. Here Juliet is showing her impatience to seeing Romeo by saying that tomorrow is twenty years away. Romeo uses several metaphors in Act 2 Scene 2 to describe Juliet; he states that “Juliet is the sun” saying that she is beautiful and brilliant. He later says “O, speak again, bright angel!” which compares her to an angel which stands for innocence, goodness, purity, and other positive characteristics. In Act 1 Scene 1, Romeo uses oxymorons to discuss his depression caused by Rosaline breaking his heart: “O brawling love, O loving hate, O anything of nothing first created! O heavy lightness…” Love cannot be brawling (fighting is the opposite of loving), hating is the opposite of loving, and heaviness is the opposite of lightness. Theme:​
Being secretive can lead to more problems than if the truth were told; Romeo and Juliet died due to their secret relationship, which was far worse than their probable consequences for openly confessing their love for each other, which could have been simply banishment. Sometimes the world will be against you and your wishes just like how it was Romeo and Juliet against the world. Despite Romeo and Juliet loving each other, no one else supported their relationship; moreover, some people like Tybalt, made the relationship much more difficult. Relevance​
: The love that Romeo and Juliet share is too rare for me to have discovered at this point in my own life, but I can relate to their rebellious, youthful nature towards their families and society. This play is perhaps the most famous of all time and has been compared to thousands of other works. The most obvious reason for the success and immortality of this classic is the powerful themes and dark ending. The power of love and the supremacy of fate leave this play with a memorable and remarkable outcome. Distinguishing Characteristics​
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Romeo and Juliet​
is written in Iambic pentameter which has five sets of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables.This is unique to Shakespeare's works. Another unique, but not completely rare, characteristic of the piece is when Shakespeare reveals the ending in the beginning. This is why the piece is so majestic and entertaining. The reader knows from the very start not to get connected to Romeo or Juliet since they will most likely perish at the end, but they cannot help but fall in love with the italian couple and wish only for them to have lasting happiness.