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Frequently Asked Questions
The prologue of Romeo and Juliet (1) sets the scene in Verona, Italy; (2) introduces the ill-fated relationship of Romeo and Juliet; and (3) tells of the conflict between their families that led to their deaths.
"Chorus" says the prologue of Romeo and Juliet. A reference to Greek Drama, "the chorus" is essentially the narrator of the story.
The prologue of Romeo and Juliet is a 14-line sonnet.
The "Chorus," or, in other words, the narrator speaks the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, in which both Romeo and Juliet, as well as their parents, appear.
Full Romeo & Juliet Prologue
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THE PROLOGUE
Enter Chorus.
Two households, both alike in dignity
(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.
The fearful passage of their death-marked love
And the continuance of their parents’ rage,
Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove,
Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage;
The which, if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
Chorus exits.
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Analysis of Romeo & Juliet Prologue
The Romeo and Juliet Prologue is a 14-line sonnet that sets the stage for the tragedy to come, fully advising the reader that the forthcoming love story ends in the lovers' double suicide, due to the longstanding violent relationship between the lovers' families. These deaths end the conflict.
The Prologue also reveals the setting as the small town of Verona, Italy, and refers to the lovers as "star-crossed." This remains a theme in Romeo and Juliet -- that the lovers' fates are destined by the stars to end in death. The questions that remain, then, are how the characters get there, and what happens afterward.
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Romeo and Juliet is also on the Rory Gilmore book list and can be read as part of my Gilmore Girls reading challenge!
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