Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
● Baptized 26th April 1564, died 23rd
April 1616
● He occupies a unique position in
world literature.
● He was considered the greatest
dramatist of all time and was best
known for his plays though he was an
accomplished poet and actor.
● He is believed to have written 39
plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long
narrative poems.
● He was often called England’s
National poet or The Bard of Avon.
● His most popular plays are ‘Romeo
and Juliet’, ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Much Ado
About Nothing’.
Why study Shakespeare?
Shakespeare’s contemporary , poet and dramatist Ben Jonson quoted that
Shakespeare was not of an age but for all time .
Here are some reasons why the works of Shakespeare are popular though it
has been more than 400 years since he died.
● His themes are universal- Themes of love, loss, grief , revenge etc are
present in his plays and the modern day reader can identify with them.
● His writing is masterful- He understood the power of language and its
ability to bring alive compelling characters.
● His contribution to the English language- We still use hundreds of words
and phrases coined by him in our everyday conversations. For example-
radiance , bedroom, lonely , countless, all that glitters is not gold, dead as a
door nail, for goodness’ sake
● His plays have been translated into every major living language.
● His writings capture the range of human thought using rich imagery and
powerful emotion
Romeo and Juliet
● Romeo and Juliet is considered to be one of the greatest love stories of all
time.
● The play has become an enduring symbol of romanticism in popular culture
and the names of the protagonists have been associated with young and
enthusiastic love.
● The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse called The
Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke and the prose
version called Palace of Pleasure by William Painter.
● It is the tragic story of two star crossed lovers that unfolds against the
backdrop of the Montague – Capulet rivalry. Their deaths ultimately
reconcile their feuding families.
● It had been widely adapted into films , musicals and various stage versions.
Verona
Lord and
Lord and
Lady Lady
Capulet Montague
Juliet Capulet
Romeo Montague
Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin)
Mercutio( Romeo’s friend)
Friar Lawrence
Juliet’s nurse Paris (Juliet’s suitor) Benvolio( Romeo’s cousin
Act 1 Scene 5
Introduction- Old Lord Capulet had organized a grand supper. Romeo attended the
party in disguise to see Rosaline. When he saw Juliet for the first time , he was struck
by her extraordinary beauty and instantly fell in love with her.
O, she doth teach the Her beauty surpassed the brightness
torches to burn bright of the torches in the hall
It seems she hangs upon Her dazzling beauty shines against the
the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an darkness like a rich jewel on the ear of
Ethiope’s ear; a person of African descent
Her beauty was too cherished to be
Beauty too rich for use, used during this lifetime or buried
for earth too dear!
with her after her death
Act 1 scene 5 continued
So shows a snowy dove He compares her to a snowy white
trooping with crows, dove while her fellow dancers are
As yonder lady o’er her
fellows shows. compared to crows.
After the completion of the dance
The measure done, I’ll watch her he wishes to watch her place of
place of stand, stand and touching her hand wants to
And, touching hers, make bless his own rough hand.
blessed my rude hand.
He wonders if he had loved till then.
He thinks his eyes had been liars
Did my heart love till now? because he had never seen true beauty
forswear it, sight!
For I ne’er saw true beauty till that night
till this night.
Act 3 scene 2
Introduction- Juliet and Romeo are married in a secret ceremony by Friar Lawrence. In
an unfortunate turn of events, Tybalt kills Romeo’s friend Mercutio. Romeo kills
Tybalt in a fit of rage for which he is sentenced to exile. Juliet waits in anticipation for
Romeo’s visit before he is forced to flee to Mantua.
Come, night. Come, Romeo. Come, Juliet invites night bring
thou day in night, Romeo to her as she eagerly
awaits his visit. She refers to him as day
in night.He is the bright spot of her
otherwise dark situation.
For thou wilt lie upon the wings of
night She wishes him to be swiftly brought to
Whiter than new snow upon a her. She compares Romeo’s pure
raven’s back. charm to new white snow on a raven’s
back
Act 3 scene 2 continued
Come, gentle night, come, loving, S he further makes sweet appeals to
black-browed night, Give me the night to bring Romeo referring
my Romeo. to it like a person.
She urges the night to cut him into
And when I shall die, little stars after her death so that
Take him and cut him out in little he would adorn the night sky, making
stars,And he will make the face it exquisitely beautiful.
of heaven so fine
This act would immortalize Romeo
That all the world will be in love
with night to the world . The people would fall in
And pay no worship to the garish love with Romeo who brightens their sky.
sun. They would forget the
obtrusively bright sun and look
forward to the end of the day.
Use of literary devices
● A Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken
literally.
Example from the text- ‘O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright’
The writer uses light imagery and hyperbole- Romeo says she shines brighter
than a torch to emphasize Juliet’s beauty.
We make use of hyperbole in our everyday conversations.
Eg:- I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
I have a million things to do today.
Use of literary devices
A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities
between two different things. It draws resemblance with the help of words
‘like’ or ‘as’.
Example from the text:
● ‘It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night, like a rich jewel in an
Ethiope’s ear.’-
The writer compares her dazzling beauty in the darkness to a rich jewel in the
ear of a person of African descent using the word Like.
● So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,
As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows .
He compares Juliet to a snowy dove and her fellow dancers to crows using the
word As .
Other examples: He is as gentle as a lamb.
They are fighting like cats and dogs.
Use of literary devices
A Metaphor is used to compare two dissimilar things. ( no like or as is used)
Example from the text – ‘Come, night, come, Romeo, come, thou day in night;
This beautiful metaphor draws a contrast Romeo's shining brightness and the
deep black of the night. He is the bright spot of her otherwise dark situation.
Examples: The snow was a white blanket.
Life is a rollercoaster.
Use of literary devices
● Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal
is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a
way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings.
Examples: The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.
The fire swallowed the entire forest.
Example from the text - ‘Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-browed night,
Give me my Romeo’.
Juliet refers to night like a person , attributing qualities like gentleness and love.
Glossary
● Doth (archaic) : does
● Ethiope : an African
● Yonder : over there
● Measure done : dance ended
● Thou (archaic) : you
● Rude : roughly formed
● Garish : lurid , obtrusively bright
Thank you
