The Opening Scene in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

The Opening Scene in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

The Prologue

The prologue is the first thing that is said in the play, and it's

point is to tell you what the play is about. It is written in sonnet

form giving a brief outline of the play, that is the first four lines

are leading you into the play, setting the scene, giving you the

background information you need so you can understand the play. This

is so the first scene is not spent describing life up until that

point. The rest of the prologue is spent telling you what you should

expect in the play, this is so you can understand it better when it

happens. Then on the last line it says,

"What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend."

This means that what you have not understood from the prologue, the

play shall try to explain, again this is a reason for the prologue.

You have the basic outline in the prologue but it is explained fully

in the actual play, so in the end you come out with a better overall

understanding.

Act One, Scene One

The play begins straight away with two of Capulet's servants, Sampson

and Gregory. The two are in good spirits, joking of how they are far

more brave and superior to the Montague's, the Capulet's sworn enemy.

Then two more servants enter, from the house of Montague, insults are

flying around so the mood becomes very tense, and all it needs is a

spark to set the whole thing into a big fight. This happens when

Tybalt arrives (Juliet's cousin, a Capulet), he has only five lines

but in those lines we get a clear idea of what Tybalt's character is.

"What, Drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word,

As I hate hell, all Montagu...

... middle of paper ...

...o is Melancholy.

When Romeo enters he is left talking with Benvolio, he says that he is

miserable because of love,

"Out -

Of love?

Out of her favour where I am in love."

But is he actually in love, or is he, as his father said, just

melancholy. His language is very elaborate, maybe they are artificial

emotions he talks of, maybe he thinks he is in love, when really he is

not, he is only a teenager, can he really have true love? I think that

he is not in love, just infatuated, he wants to think that he is in

love but really he isn't.

Overall I think that this is a good opening to the play, lots of

characters have been introduced and already we know the nature of some

of them. It gets straight into the plot, without needing to go through

back up information that leads you in to the play very well.