The next four lines of the prologue tell us how the problem is solved, the plot of the play, and what kind of play it is:
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventure piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The "cross'd" in "star-cross'd" means hindered, frustrated, thwarted, and defeated. Such will be the love of Romeo and Juliet, because of the stars. In the stars is the destiny that causes "misadventure piteous overthrows." An "adventure" is a happenstance, a piece of luck, good or bad. When an airplane falls out of the sky or a drunk driver wipes out an innocent family, the victims have suffered "misadventure piteous overthrows." Today, we still feel pity for the victims of such an event and call it a "tragedy," and that is the sort of tragedy that Romeo and Juliet is. Because of the kind of tragedy it is, our pity is greater if we know from the beginning how it's going to turn out, as in movies from Casa Blanca to Titanic. Against the dark background of death, Romeo and Juliet's love shines bright, and in the end triumphs by ending the feud between their families.
The rest of the prologue repeats the message that the lovers will die and their deaths will stop the feud, and then tells us that all this will be shown in “ the two hours' traffic of our stage.” If modern actors tried to cram all the words of Romeo and Juliet into two hours, they would have to talk so fast that no one could understand a word, but maybe all the words in the present text weren't delivered in Shakespeare's time either, because the last line of the prologue promises that “ What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend” which means that if the audience doesn't like something, the actors will try to fix it in a future performance.
2.The Fight Scene
Very quickly, the fight develops into a riot. Benvolio appears and tries to stop the fight. Crying , Benvolio draws his sword to beat down the swords of the four men. But Benvolio has scarcely gotten his sword out of its scabbard before Tybalt shows up and calls out, . "Heartless hinds" are cowardly servants, and Tybalt thinks that Benvolio should be ashamed to draw his sword among such lowly creatures. Benvolio asks Tybalt to help him keep the peace, but Tybalt answers, . "Have at thee" is what you say as you attack, and Tybalt attacks Benvolio. Instead of stopping the fight, Benvolio has to join it. As soon as Tybalt and Benvolio begin fighting, some citizens, who are sick of both the Capulets and Montagues, join in. They shout, . "Clubs, bills, and partisans" was a cry used by London apprentices to call everyone out for a riot.
3.The princes Warning
In the middle of this mess comes Prince Escalus with his train. A prince's "train" is his followers; in this case they act as riot police. As the Prince's train is busy separating the various brawlers from one another, the Prince tries to make himself heard: . "Steel" -- the swords being used by the combatants -- should be dedicated to the defence of the city; instead, citizens who are staining it with the blood of their neighbours are profaning the steel. Despite the prince's words, no one is listening and the swords are still flying.
