This line, taken from the Prologue , warns audiences that the young lovers will defy the status quo Shakespeare shows courtly love as superficial and fleeting when Romeo falls instantly in love with Juliet on the same day Juliet’s rhetorical question in this soliloquy asks Elizabethan audiences to challenge values about family honour Here, the contrast of “ancient” and “new” represents old and young, meaning the young will attempt a mutiny on the old

Both Romeo and Juliet employ contrasting images in their expression of appreciation and admiration for each other. Elaborate. Juliet’s oxymoron , reflected in other lines that liken her marriage to a grave, suggests an awareness of the danger of loving her enemy

According to Romeo, Juliet seems to hang upon the cheek of night, like a jewelled earring hanging against the cheek of an Ethiopian lady.

Act 1, scene 5 Capulet welcomes the disguised Romeo and his friends. Romeo, watching the dance, is caught by the beauty of Juliet. Overhearing Romeo ask about her, Tybalt recognizes his voice and is enraged at the intrusion.Romeo then meets Juliet, and they fall in love. Not until they are separated do they discover that they belong to enemy houses. Next, we learn that Lord Capulet has given his servant a list of guests whom he has to see and ensure that they are invited to the Capulets’ party that evening. But the servant cannot read the names in the list and hence asks two strangers in the street to read. The two strangers are none other than Romeo and Benvolio. Romeo reads out the names of the guests and incidentally learns that fair Rosaline, with whom he is madly in love, is also one of the guests in the party. Romeo and Benvolio decide to ‘crash’ the party. As planned, Romeo and Benvolio gain entry into the party along with a retinue of masked entertainers and torchbearers. Act 5, scene 2 Friar John enters, bringing with him the letter that he was to have delivered to Romeo. He tells why he was unable to deliver the letter. Friar Lawrence anxiously goes to the tomb to be there when Juliet comes out of her trance.

The m etaphor of being on a boat and allowing nature to direct his way symbolises a fatalistic attitude which audiences know will be punished

Many of these plays were very successful both at court and in the public playhouses. In 1613, Shakespeare retired from the theatre and returned to Stratford-upon-Avon. He died and was buried there in 1616.Act 5, scene 1 Romeo’s man, Balthasar, arrives in Mantua with news of Juliet’s death. Romeo sends him to hire horses for their immediate return to Verona. Romeo then buys poison so that he can join Juliet in death in the Capulets’ burial vault.

Lady Capulet calls to her daughter. Juliet wonders why her mother would come to speak to her so early in the morning. Unaware that her daughter is married to Romeo, Lady Capulet enters the room and mistakes Juliet’s tears as continued grief for Tybalt. Lady Capulet tells Juliet of her deep desire to see “the villain Romeo” dead (3.5.80). In a complicated bit of punning every bit as impressive as the sexual punning of Mercutio and Romeo, Juliet leads her mother to believe that she also wishes Romeo’s death, when in fact she is firmly stating her love for him. Shakespeare challenges his audience to consider the impact of violence in the name of love and honour The chorus tells audiences that something the town is holding on to from the past will lead to the spilling of blood

Wealthy Elizabethans often employed nurses who would raise the family’s children until the age of marriage The nurse serves as comedic relief in the play as a b awdy and unsophisticated character, representing the class divisions of the time It could likely refer to the disruptions of Elizabethan life by contagious diseases, mentioned later in the play Later, Mercutio delivers a s oliloquy about Queen Mab; the speech suggests daydreams and fantasies about love are a waste of time Juliet’s s oliloquy is spoken alone, making this scene dramatic and highlighting its serious themes