Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous and best-loved plays written by William Shakespeare. It is a tragedy in five acts as it was a common characteristic in Shakespeare’s plays. The play starts with a prologue which was a bit unusual. The prologue was pronounced by the chorus which consisted of a distinct group of actors whose job was to comment on the deeds of the characters and interpret the significance of events within the play for the audience.
The prologue in Romeo and Juliet takes the form of a sonnet with fourteen lines which is the shortest prologue in Shakespeare’s works. Its structure corresponds to a Shakespearean sonnet because it contains three quatrains and a couplet. Its purpose in the first quatrain is to set the scene in Verona, Italy; moreover, it informs us about the background information of the play and its basic family conflict: the action will indeed centre around two rival households. Then in the second quatrain we learn about the young lovers and their dilemma, they are presented as “star-crossed lovers”. In other words, their love is against the stars. In the third stanza, Shakespeare lays out the entire plot of the play, even the amount of time it will take. The death of the two lovers seems inevitable. Finally in the verse he encourages the audience to learn from his play and prevent similar tragedies from happening in their surroundings.
This prologue prepares the reader for the tragic story that’s coming and raises the tone of the play. Shakespeare innovates a new strategy in revealing the whole plot in its prologue and therefore spoiling us, yet it focuses on the fate of the two lovers, nothing can be done to prevent them from dying tragically.
As a matter of fact, in Shakespeare’s time, most of the audience knew about The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, published in 1562, which must have been a source of inspiration for the writer, although Shakespeare warns that his version will be different, more entertaining and surprising. In fulfilling this goal Shakespeare expanded the plot and introduced new characters such as Mercutio and Paris; he also chose to combine two opposite genres: comedy, thanks to Mercutio’s sense of humour, and tragedy. Yet, in the end, the reader is aware that tragedy will prevail.
The deeds : les actions
A household : une famille
Star-crossed lovers : les amants maudits
A stanza : une strophe
A plot : une intrigue
The fate : le destin
To prevail : l’emporter
