Structure

5 acts 

• 1st half is structured around growing romance 
• 2nd half- events accelerate towards tragedy 

Stichomythia- short alternating lines, which increases the pace/ tension 

Verse and Prose

• Most of the play is written in iambic pentameters 

High-class characters talk in verse. Lower class character talk in prose (shows authority)

The use of the sonnet:

14 lines, 3 quatrains, rhyming couplet

• Shakespeare's time- lots of love poetry written in sonnet form
• Sonnets would have reminded audience of love and romance