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READ THIS
The prologue is the introduction to the story. A choir or perhaps a single narrator appears on the stage
and presents a summary of the story and characters so that, when the events start to unfold, the audience
is not in the dark.
PURPOSE OF THE PROLOGUE:
Part of the reason for a prologue was that the bulk of the audience in Shakespeare's day consisted of
illiterate urban labourers who were slow in thought. They could not read about the play and could not
understand a billboard.
The prologue therefore helped them to get up to speed with the story quickly. Today we are given
brochures to read ahead of the play to acquaint us with the plot and characters.
It is also possible that this prologue did not originally form part of the play at all but was performed
repeatedly in public places -- like the market -- as an advert for the play.
In other words, it took the place of our modern pasting up of posters around the town to advertise the play.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
What is the purpose of the prologue? (2)
[Need help?]
The Elizabethan writers often began their plays with a prologue to inform their audience of the plot.
In our modern theatrical productions, the audience can buy programmes and read about the play, but this
would have been impossible for the largely illiterate Elizabethan audience.
They had to be told about the play -- hence the need for prologues.
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Explain what form this prologue takes. (4)
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The prologue is in fact a short poem and follows the form of the Shakespearian sonnet. It has fourteen
lines which consist of three quatrains plus a rhyming couplet.
The first quatrain speaks of the ancient feud between the families.
The second refers to the fact that fate, seizing hold of this feud, will bring about the destruction of the love
affair.
The third quatrain refers to the theme of the play itself while the rhyming couplet reminds the audience
that, should they miss the meaning of this sonnet, they will nevertheless be reminded of it throughout the
play.
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"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."
- Name the "two households"? (2)
[Need help?]
The "two households" or families are the Montagues and the Capulets.
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- Why should they have been "both alike in dignity"? If you know the play, would you
agree? (4)
[Need help?]
The prologue sets the scene where both families are equal to one another.
Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story portrayed the "families" as two gangs but
Shakespeare's original version presents them as old families which were stately except for the young
firebrands of children who were forever on the look-out for a fight.
On the other hand, one could argue that the Capulet family is much more dignified than the Montague
household. Indeed, it's difficult to argue that Mercutio represents anything that is dignified -- although,
on the other hand, one could perhaps say the same about Tybalt.
To a point, one could also argue that Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 movie portrays the Capulets as more regal
in their purple costuming than the Montagues in their strident orange -- although one then needs to
question Capulet's selling young Juliet into marriage in order to raise funds for his economically
languishing family.
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- Comment on the meaning of "ancient grudge" and "mutiny". (4)
[Need help?]
The prologue tells us that, although the families had "dignity", they were nevertheless each
harbouring a deep-seated resentment or feud which went back many generations.
This feud, however, was not so much a conflict between the families as it was a rebellion against the state
itself -- probably because, when the friction overflowed into open conflict, it brought instability to the city
state of Verona.
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- Explain what is meant by, "Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean". (3)
[Need help?]
This is a play on the word "civil", a word which is used twice.
Its first usage refers to civilian blood that is shed in the feuding. The second usage, however, would refer
to the fact that, not only does the civilian population get tarnished by the conflict, but the state itself is
deeply affected.
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"A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love."
- A major theme of this play is the intervention of fate into the lives Romeo and Juliet. List the three
phrases by which the prologue introduces this theme? (3)
[Need help?]
The prologue uses three phrases which refer to fate:
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- What is meant by the term "star-cross'd lovers"? (3)
[Need help?]
Fate and the stars are often synonymous.
It is an ancient belief that the stars control one's destiny. If you think that this is outdated, just ask yourself
why every daily newspaper and glossy magazine carries a column entitled "Your stars foretell".
What the prologue is suggesting is that, even before Romeo and Juliet are brought together, the stars
have already conspired against them.
The stars have crossed their paths, bequeathing a fatal conclusion to their heated love affair. Their love
therefore has no future but is doomed to failure even from its very conception.
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- How could Romeo and Juliet "with their death bury their parents' strife"? (2)
[Need help?]
It is accepted that the parents, as head of their respective families, also represent these families.
The two families in this play have been feuding with one another for centuries. This feuding, of course,
means that it is unacceptable for Romeo and Juliet to fall in love and marry.
This is the reason for the tragedy. By their deaths, however, they have forced their respective families to
bury their strife and live amicably. Or is this actually possible?
Notice that, in a tragedy, we are told right up front that the leading characters are going to die.
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"The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend."
- What does the narrator mean by this? (4)
[Need help?]
Remember that, in Shakespeare's day, the vast majority of the audience would have been uneducated
people. Although they enjoyed a good story, they would nevertheless often miss the subtleties of the
spoken word.
The narrator therefore tells them that, although they might be listening to this opening speech with care
and concentration, they might nevertheless miss a point here and there.
In that case, says the narrator, they need not worry because the actors will endeavour to unfold the plot
through their good acting.
Notice how the rhyming couplet introduces a bit of immediate humour into what is intended will be a most
serious play.
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