Appunti su Romeo and Juliet, Temi di Inglese

Scarica Appunti su Romeo and Juliet e più Temi in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! THE PROLOGUE The prologue of the tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” is a very quick summary of the story. The plot speaks about two young lovers that own to two family who hates each other because of an old feud. The destiny is against the lovers: only after their death, the two family erase the conflict. The play is opened with a sort of speech of the chorus which is play by a person. This actor must be impartial and not concern with one or other family. Apparently there are no motives for the rivalry and if we think about that we can say that is absurd killing innocent people. Actually Shakespeare doesn't care about the reason for the feud because the audience, if she knows it, would take side with one of the the families. He wants that the listeners stay to the part of real love between Romeo and Juliet, that's because the chorus must be impartial. The prologue also told the crucial information that Romeo and Juliet will fall in love and then die. It increases the suspense of the audience, it gives a sort of feelings of faith (star-crossed) they were born under opposing stars. Unlike many Shakespeare's play, in Romeo and Juliet there's a hero, but there is no villain: the faith is the villain. The prologue is a sonnet composed by three quatrain and one couplet. The first quatrain explains the initial situation, the second presents the protagonists of the tragedy and the third quatrain tells what the actors are going to show. In the quatrains are told three different information, whereas the couplet summarizes, speaking with the public, what the chorus has just said. This sonnet is a poem, namely a single poetical composition whose words create a particular rhythm. The three quatrain show an alternating rhyme scheme and the couplet a rhyming couplet. The basic use of metre is syllable; this poem has a iambic pentameter, typical of Shakespeare, that reproduces an usual English speech: each line contains 10 syllables that alternate unstressed syllables and stressed syllables. ( the opposite of the iambic pentameter is the trochaic pentameter that alternate stressed and unstressed syllables) Prologues and chorus date back to ancient Greek drama. Plays began with a prologue: a character, often a god, explained events that had taken place before the beginning of the tragedy. The chorus, on the other hand , was a group of characters who commented on – and sometimes took part in – the events in the play. The Romans took over the use of a prologue and a chorus from the Greeks. In Elizabethan drama a prologue was used quite often, while the chorus was used less, and was reduced to just one character. Shakespeare occasionally combines both conventions. In some plays he uses a prologue , sometimes spoken by an unnamed chorus. Sir Thomas Wyatt introduced the Petrarchan sonnet form into English. Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey developed the form, changing the rhyme scheme into the form later used by Shakespeare. By the time Romeo and Juliet was written, the sonnet was the most popular form of love poetry in England. One of Shakespeare's innovations was to extend the use of the sonnet: in the prologue it is not used for love poetry. ROMEO Romeo is a round character: he changes during the story. At the beginning he's very superficial, he's in love with the idea to be in love. He says: “ this love feel I, that feel no love in this”. He doesn't want to get physical, but he wants only imagine the beautiful woman he thinks to love. He talks about it with many oxymorons, an expression composed of two contrary ideas and states of mind. This is the typical Petrarchan love which is not real and not concrete: it is an infatuation. The behaviour and language of the lover was widely imitated, and had a great influence on early Elizabethan poetry in England. The typical Petrarchan lover adores a chaste, unattainable lady, is devastated if she ignores him and overjoyed if she smiles at him, and pours out his heart in elaborate imagery, love is seen as a cult. At the Capulet's prom Romeo sees Juliet for the first time and he talks himself describing her beauty. He compares her to a jewel in the night, that is bright and precious; to a snowy dove among the crows, that convey the idea of purity among the darkness, because of the chromatic contrast; and she teaches to the torches how to burn bright. She is a sort of goddess full of light, she is not common or usual but more like a saint. She is able to bless, in fact a lover can reach heaven and perfection thank to the love of a woman. During the prom Romeo comes near Juliet and they dialogue. Romeo's intention is to touch Juliet, and against what he thought, she is not untouchable. She uses the religious imagery suggested by Romeo to flirt very clearly. Love is like religion and Romeo says that Juliet's hand is holy because it prays like pilgrim's hands; so she answers that also lips prays, and like pilgrims pray palm to palm, he can do it lips to lips. Romeo kisses Juliet. (finally) This dialogue make us understand that Juliet is a real and practical woman: she flirts clearly and she is not worried about it. This dialogue is a sonnet with the same construction of that of the prologue.