William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

I have been studying Romeo and Juliet in class and I have watched a

production on television. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet for an

audience used to sixteenth century stage conventions, we must

appreciate that these conventions are very different from our own. The

Elizabethan theatre was very distinctive, when a play was performed

thousands of people would pack inside the theatre, the rich would be

able to pay for seats in the stand sheltered from the wind and rain,

while the poor had to stand and brave the elements as the theatre had

no roof.

One advantage of standing was that you would have been very near the

stage and almost feel as if you were part of the performance.

The original theatre was made out of wood and eventually it was

destroyed by fire, nowadays a replica of the theatre has been built

and it is the only wooden building in London, it is called The Globe.

In Elizabethan days the words were as important as the acting and many

people went to listen rather than watch plays. Shakespeare was aware

of this and used words to create images, to describe his characters

and to express feelings to the audience.

The plays were held during the day, as there were no lights to perform

under at night. Shakespeare's words would transport his audience to

other lands and imaginary places away from the dreary lives that most

people had at that time.

Shakespeare wrote in iambic rhythm which is based on ten syllables to

a line, this poetry does not normally rhyme it is called blank verse.

The use of this rhythm in presenting the play is similar to modern day

rap.

As we can see the production is quite different, but I shall show that

the actual subject matter of Shakespeare's play is still very relevant

to us today and these themes still surround us.

Romeo and Juliet is a love story and we are first introduced to their

characters by the other characters, we are told Romeo is dreamy and