romeo and juliet

1.      Fighting between houses in the street

2.      Capulet tells Paris he must wait to marry Juliet + Romeo etc find out about Capulet’s party

3.      Lady Capulet asks Juliet to consider marrying Paris

4.      Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio are talking, Romeo is miserable and Mercutio mocks him for ‘loving’ Rosaline

5.   Capulet’s party, Romeo and Juliet meet

1.      Benvolio and Mercutio still think Romeo is in love with Rosaline but he is now in love with Juliet

2.      Balcony scene

3.      Romeo asks Friar Laurence asks him to help him marry Juliet and F.L. agrees thinking it could help end the feud.

4.      Mercutio, Benvolio and Romeo are joking together in the street, Nurse arrives and they mock her but when alone Romeo is very different.

5.      Nurse teases Juliet by not telling her what happened but eventually tells her.

6.  Romeo and Juliet’s secret wedding

1.      Big fight scene. Mercutio and Tybalt are both killed. Benvolio carefully retells story of what happened and Romeo is banished.

2.      The Nurse tells Juliet what has happened and Juliet grieves and mentions suicide.

3.      Romeo is with Friar Laurence and says that banishment is a fate worse than death. Romeo and Juliet see each other for the last time alive (and consummate their marriage).

4.      Caplet says Juliet will marry Paris in 3 days

5.   Romeo leaves for Mantua. Juliet refuses to marry Paris, Capulet gets really angry.

1.      Friar Laurence helps Juliet make a plan to avoid her marriage to Paris and be reunited with Romeo.

2.      Romeo apologises to her father + Capulet moves the wedding forward a day.

3.      Romeo drinks the potion to fake her death.

4.      Nurse goes to wake Juliet.

5.   (Comic) grieving.

1.      Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet is dead. Romeo buys poison.

2.      Friar Laurence is told that Friar John could not deliver the message to Romeo.

3.      Romeo and Paris fight, Romeo lays Paris’ body in the tomb with Juliet, Romeo and     ……..Juliet both kill themselves, Capulet and Montague end the feud.

1.      Often in the upper classes, people got married for status instead of love

2.      Fathers often chose a suitable husband on their daughter’s behalf

3.      Women often got married at a younger age than most people do nowadays (but Juliet is very young even by those standards)

4.      Women were totally dependent on either their father or later their husband so many (e.g. Lady Capulet thought it was crucial to find a good husband to ensure safety)

5.  Dowry and jointures existed.

1.  Society was very patriarchal

2. Women were seen as men’s possessions 

1.    Courtly love was a custom that governed the way aristocratic lovers behaved.

2.      Men were to present themselves as melancholy, secretive and courteous while behaving  strangely e.g. writing poetry, wanting to be alone, walking alone in the early hours of the morning and staying in the dark etc.

3. The women were supposed to be cold, aloof, disdainful, pure, beautiful and held on a pedestal by the lover.

1.  Religion was a huge part of life in Elizabethan times and almost everybody was Christian.

2.       There was a lot of conflict between catholics and protestants (especially from monarch to

          monarch)

3.       Elizabeth I was protestant but Italy (and therefore Verona…) was Catholic so Shakespeare .was able to appeal to everyone through a combination of representation and ridicule of .‘hot-headed Italian’ etc,

1.      Men were supposed to be ‘master of their emotions’

2.      This meant no public displays of emotion including anger and violence etc so the fighting   ……..would not have been considered strong and manly by Elizabethan audiences.

1.  Male friendships were held in the highest regard above all else, including romantic relationships with a woman (patriarchy)

2.      Often male friendships had a higher level of intimacy than most friendships nowadays.