The language used in the prologue has a lot of words to make it clear it will be tragic. It tells us of an “ancient grudge” and that death will “bury their parents strife”
Because of the serious sonnet the audience are in the right frame of mind to start the play. Another example of a sonnet is one used in Act 1 Scene 5 between Romeo and Juliet. It is the first time they have met. It starts on line 92 and finishes on 105.
The opening scene is a drastic change in theme though. With the audience in a serious state of mind Shakespeare starts with comedy. Sampson and Gregory produce this. They try to use puns to explain their rank but cannot perform them correctly. The first pun used is in the first three lines when they say they are too higher of a rank of servant to carry coals.
Shakespeare also uses other characters to bring comedy into the play like the nurse. The nurse brings humor when talking about Juliet’s childhood later on in the play. Shakespeare uses comedy to lower the intensity then he will start with a fiery scene to take it back. The comedy provides sufficient breaks from the high intensity scenes.
This first scene is a lot different to the prologue, because with the audience in a serious mood he starts of with a comedy scene.
With the introduction of Tybalt the mood is again changed. It now becomes more serious and it a first view on how bad the grudge between the families. Benvolio, a peacemaker, is drawn into the fight because of Tybalt. This is the first scene of violence in the play.
This is repeated in Act 3 Scene 1 when another fight takes place. Again Tybalt begins the offers of fighting, this time to Romeo, for gate crashing a Capulet's party. Romeo refuses to fight, so Mercutio offers to fight Tybalt. Mercutio suffers bad wounds and dies.
Romeo, looking for revenge for the death of his best friend, slays Tybalt and flees. After the first act of fighting the Prince is introduced. This adds another bit of seriousness to the story. The introduction of the Prince changes the pace from the fighting. He threatens the feuding family with death if they are caught fighting in Verona’s streets. This adds anxiety to the audience, because they start t think whether the fighting will continue and if the threats will be carried out.
Again in Act 3 Scene 1 the tone and pace is again changed with the introduction of the Prince once again. This provides the proof to the audience that that the anger and threats are meant. After finding out that Romeo slew Tybalt, he banishes Romeo from Verona.
Although we know that Romeo and Juliet are the main characters, neither has been introduced. In line 107 Romeo is first mentioned when Lady Montague, Benvolio and Lord Montague talk him about. Benvolio tells of the love-stricken Romeo and his parents question his strange behavior, like staying out all night.
When Romeo returns we finally get to see one of the main characters. Romeo tells Benvolio that he is love with Rosaline.
This makes the reader think “Wait a minute, I thought this was Romeo and Juliet not Romeo and Rosaline”. You have to keep watching to find out what this means and were Juliet comes into the play.
And what some may feel is the main theme and carried on from the prologue is Tragedy. This happens in the very last scene of the play. With Juliet seeming dead Romeo pours out his heart and drinks a potion, bought from an Apothecary to kill himself.
When Juliet awakens from her temporary death to find her love dead, she cannot bear to live without him and stabs herself with Romeo’s dagger.
Romantic signs become clear from Romeo, especially at the balcony scene. Where he says, “With love’s light wings I did o’erperch these walls”.
All together Shakespeare includes everything a story would hope for in his first scene. Sadness in the prologue, Comedy with Sampson and Gregory, Rivalry and fighting between the two families and the seriousness of the Prince. Romeo can be seen as romantic, Benvolio a peacemaker and Sampson and Gregory as cowards. All these uses of Shakespeare’s audience helps to keep the audience interested all the way through. Each different idea is successful in its own way and this is proven with the success of the play.
