Romeo and Juliet facts for kids
Romeo and Juliet is a famous play written by William Shakespeare. It takes place in Italy and tells the story of two young people who fall in love. The problem is, their families are bitter enemies. Romeo and Juliet has always been one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. It has been made into operas, ballets, television shows, and many movies.
Contents
Main Characters
Here are some of the main characters in the play:
- Romeo Montague
- Juliet Capulet
- Nurse (Juliet's helper)
- Mercutio (Romeo's friend)
- Friar Laurence (a kind priest)
- Tybalt (Juliet's cousin)
- Prince Escalus (the ruler of Verona)
- Lord and Lady Capulet (Juliet's parents)
- Lord and Lady Montague (Romeo's parents)
- Benvolio (Romeo's cousin)
The Story of Romeo and Juliet
The story is set in the city of Verona, Italy. Two powerful families, the Montagues and the Capulets, have been fighting for a very long time. This fight has made them bitter enemies. Even their servants get into fights in the street. Because carrying a sword was common back then, these fights sometimes led to serious injuries.
Prince Escalus, who rules Verona, tells both families they must stop fighting. He warns them that if they continue, they will be punished. But it is hard to control the young men from both sides.
Lord Montague has one son, a teenager named Romeo. Lord Capulet has one daughter, a beautiful 14-year-old named Juliet. Romeo and Juliet do not know each other at first. Juliet rarely leaves her home without her nursemaid.
One night, Romeo and his friends decide to go to a masked party at the Capulet's house. It is there that Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time. They fall in love right away.
Because they know their families are enemies, they try to keep their love a secret. Juliet also knows her parents want her to marry someone else. Despite this, Romeo and Juliet decide to get married in secret.
Their secret marriage leads to many sad events. These events cause several deaths, and in the end, both Romeo and Juliet tragically take their own lives.
About the Play's Language
Romeo and Juliet was written in the 1500s. This means the English language used in the play is different from how we speak today. Some parts of the play are even written like poetry.
Old English Words
- Today, we use "you" for one person or many people. But in Shakespeare's time, "thee" and "thou" were used when talking to just one person.
* For example, Juliet says: "If they do see thee, they will murder thee!" (Meaning: If they see you, they will kill you!)
- Many words are used differently now, and some old words are only found in poetry.
* Examples: "morn" meant "morning," "morrow" meant "tomorrow," and "woe" meant "unhappiness."
How the Play is Written
Like many of Shakespeare's plays, Romeo and Juliet uses different ways of writing.
- Some parts are written in prose. This is like normal everyday talking. The servants in the play usually speak in prose.
* For example, two Capulet servants plan to cause trouble with Montague servants: * Sampson: "Let us take the law of our side! Let them begin!" * Gregory: "I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list!" (Meaning: however they like) * Sampson: "I will bite my thumb at them, which is a disgrace to them, if they bare it!"
- Some parts of the play are written as poetry that rhymes at the end of the lines.
* For example, when Friar Laurence goes to his garden in the morning, he says: * "The grey eyed Morn smiles on the frowning Night * Checkering the eastern clouds with streaks of light." * (Here, "Morn" means morning, used in a poetic way.)
- Most of the play is written in a type of poetry called blank verse. This kind of poetry does not usually rhyme, but it has a strong rhythm. The rhythm is often the same throughout the play, like this:
* de-dah de-dah de-dah de-dah de-dah, * de-dah de-dah de-dah de-dah de-dah.
* For example, Juliet, waiting for a message from Romeo, says: * "The clock struck nine when I did send the nurse! * In half an hour, she promised to return!"
- The play often ends with two lines that rhyme. This is called a rhyming couplet.
* The Prince says to the families at the end: * "A glooming peace this morning with it brings; * The sun for sorrow will not show his head. * Go hence to have more talk of these sad things; * Some shall be pardoned and some punish-ed: * For never was a story of more woe * Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
The Most Famous Scene
One of the most famous scenes ever written in plays is in Romeo and Juliet. It's known as the balcony scene.
After Romeo and Juliet meet at the party and fall in love, Juliet goes to her room. She can't sleep, so she stands at her window, wishing she could talk to Romeo.
Romeo happens to be walking by and sees her. He says: "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? ...It is my Lady! O, it is my Love!"
Juliet, not knowing he is there, says: "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" (Meaning: Romeo, Romeo, why do you have to be a Montague?) She wishes he had a different name so he wouldn't be her family's enemy.
Romeo then climbs up to her balcony. Juliet tells Romeo that her love for him is as deep and endless as the sea. They say goodbye with these famous words:
- "Good night! Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
- That I shall say Good night till it be morrow." (Meaning: tomorrow)
This romantic scene has been performed and copied many times. Sometimes it's serious, and sometimes it's for fun. A well-known scene that got its idea from this play is in West Side Story. This musical by Leonard Bernstein has the lovers, Tony and Maria, singing their love song Tonight on a fire-escape.
Movies and Music Based on the Play
Romeo and Juliet has been performed on stage countless times. It has also been made into many movies.
Movies
- 1908 - A silent movie called Romeo and Juliet was made by Vitagraph Studios in the US.
- 1936 - Romeo and Juliet, produced by Irving Thalberg. Some critics thought the actors were too old for the parts.
- 1968 - Romeo and Juliet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli. This movie was filmed in Italy. Olivia Hussey, who was 15, played Juliet, and Leonard Whiting, 17, played Romeo. The costumes in this movie won an Oscar.
- 1996 - Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann. This version stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo and Claire Danes as Juliet. It's very colorful and set in modern times.
- 2013 - Romeo + Juliet, directed by Carlo Carlei. Douglas Booth played Romeo and Hailee Steinfeld played Juliet.
Music
- 1839 - Hector Berlioz wrote a symphony called Romeo and Juliet.
- 1867 - Charles Gounod wrote an opera called Roméo et Juliette.
- 1869 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote a symphonic poem also called Romeo and Juliet.
- 1936 - The first performance of Sergei Prokofiev's ballet, Romeo and Juliet.
- 1978 - Madero Richard Costandinos, a French composer, created a disco opera titled Romeo & Juliet.
Images for kids
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Title page of the first edition
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The title page from the First Folio, printed in 1623
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Watercolor by John Masey Wright of Act II, Scene ii (the balcony scene).
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Richard Burbage, probably the first actor to portray Romeo
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Mary Saunderson, probably the first woman to play Juliet professionally
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The American Cushman sisters, Charlotte and Susan, as Romeo and Juliet in 1846
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John Gielgud, who was among the more famous 20th-century actors to play Romeo, Friar Laurence and Mercutio on stage
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In 2018, independent theater company Stairwell Theater presented Romeo & Juliet with a basketball theme
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Romeo at Juliet's Deathbed, Henry Fuseli, 1809
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Leslie Howard as Romeo and Norma Shearer as Juliet, in the 1936 MGM film directed by George Cukor
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Title page of the Second Quarto of Romeo and Juliet published in 1599
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Act I prologue
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Act I scene 1: Quarrel between Capulets and Montagues
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Act I scene 2
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Act I scene 3
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Act I scene 4
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Act I scene 5
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Act I scene 5: Romeo's first interview with Juliet
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Act II prologue
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Act II scene 3
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Act II scene 5: Juliet intreats her nurse
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Act II scene 6
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Act III scene 5: Romeo takes leave of Juliet
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Act IV scene 5: Another depiction
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See also
In Spanish: Romeo y Julieta para niños
