Analysis of the Prologue in The Tragedy of Romeo and...

Analysis of the Prologue in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeares classical play The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet begins with a prologue. Unlike most prologues this one is in the form of a sonnet. Sonnets usually consist of 14 lines, the prologue of Romeo and Juliet follows this structure. In this sonnet the 14 lines are divided up into 3 sections of 4 lines and the last section is made up of 2 lines. This sonnet uses three different methods to separate the 4 sections from one another. The first method is that the sections beging and end as sentences (at the end of the first 3 lines there are commas, but at the end of the fourth line of the section there is a full stop.) This is†¦show more content†¦Just as the 1997 film Romeo and Juliet uses a news bulletin to present the prologue because modern audiences are used to information being interpreted this way, Shakespeare used a sonnet because his audience would be used to these. There is a stage direction just before the prologue begins, it reads Enter Chorus. The job of the chorus was not to act but to go onto the stage and read out the prologue. The chorus wasnt an actual character in the play, just as the newsreader is not a character in the film version. The job of the chorus (and the prologue) is to inform the audience of the main storyline of the play, because the play is a tragedy not a mystery so it doesnt matter if the audience know what happens anyhow. The prologue had to stand out and gain the audiences attention because when the play was originally acted out there were no special effects or computer graphics. So when deaths or fights occured in a play it was difficult to make them look realistic without actually hurting or killing the person. If the audience is told what is going to happen, they will be able to visualise it for themselves. When people see a play for the first time they interpret it in their own way, which is fine but can cause a misunderstanding of whatShow MoreRelatedThe Adaption of William Shakespeare ´s Romeo and Juliet1235 Words   |  5 PagesThe Adaptation of Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare, is a world-known tragedy. Torn between two enemy households, Romeo and Juliet try to keep their love alive. The passionate story of their love has been adapted into several movies. While each movie has its own charm, Baz Luhrmann’s modern adaptation has its noteworthy features that dissociate it from Franco Zeffirelli’s adaptation. 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