Romeo & Juliet (The Opening Scene)

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Liam Hughes         7104        39409

Romeo & Juliet

Romeo & Juliet was a play written by William Shakespeare when plays were the main source of entertainment, which if disliked by audiences would end up in actors being hit by rotten fruit and vegetables.

With that in mind Shakespeare devised openings to his play’s, which gripped the audience immediately with drama, action or humour.

For Romeo & Juliet he chose to capture his audience’s with humour, which is set during a conversation between two Capulet servants Sampson & Gregory. They discuss the hatred they share for their rival family the Montague’s.

The Montague’s & Capulet’s are two equal families with a history of blood and violence, destroying the civilisation of Verona.

However the teenagers of both families’ fall in love in a relationship, which could never be because of the rivalry.

Thus beginning the story of Rome & Juliet.

The prologue of the play is just a basic introduction to the play, which gives an outline of the family’s history and sets the scene for the play. In the prologue the families are described as ‘…two households both a like in dignity’ showing that however much hate there is between them they will always be the same. It also mentions ‘…an ancient grudge’ and that ‘…civil blood makes civil hands unclean.’ Telling us for years the blood and violence shared between them has destroyed the civilisation of Verona.

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It also introduces the love, of Romeo & Juliet, that could never be. Their love in the prologue is described as ‘… a pair of star crossed lovers take their lives’ thus giving away the ending of the story and completing the full title ‘THE TRADGEDY OF ROMEO & JULIET’

At the start of Act 1 Scene 1 Samson & Gregory the servants of the Capulet’s grip the attention of the audience with a conversation consisting of a string of sexual innuendoes. In the conversation they refer to acts of a sexual nature, which they would bestow upon ...

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