act 1 The Prologue R1 Read texts with fl uency, understanding and competence


A prologue is a speech from the stage before the action begins. The prologue to Romeo and Juliet tells the audience that a feud between two families caused the deaths of two of their children. These deaths brought the feud to an end.


THE PROLOGUE TELLS US HOW THE STORY ENDS – IS IT A SPOILER?


No, it isn’t a spoiler. In


Shakespeare’s time, the story of young lovers dying because of a family feud was well known. The audience wants to see how Shakespeare will tell the tale.


Shakespeare’s plays are written in blank verse, i.e. the lines have a rhythm, but the ends of the lines do not rhyme.


SO IF IT DOESN’T RHYME, WHAT MAKES IT VERSE?


It has a poetic rhythm, which is


called iambic pentameter, i.e. a 10- beat line with 5 stressed beats.


In iambic pentameter, you can count out 10 beats in every line. The beats are arranged in 5 sets of double syllables. The fi rst syllable is soft and short, the second syllable is long and stressed.


1 2 1 2 1 2 1 In


short soft


FAIR Ver- stressed


short soft


In fair Verona where we lay our scene -na WHERE we


-O- long stressed


short soft


long stressed


short soft


2 1 2


LAY long


our SCENE


ba BOOM ba BOOM ba BOOM ba BOOM ba BOOM long


stressed For


short soft


NE- long


stressed


short soft


-ver WAS long


For never was a story of more woe a


stressed


short soft


STO- long


stressed -ry


short soft


Than


short soft


4


THIS long


stressed of


short soft


Than this of Juliet and her Romeo -iet


JUL- long


stressed


short soft


JUNIOR CYCLE ENGLISH


AND long


stressed


short soft


short soft


long stressed


OF long stressed


short soft


more WOE long


stressed


her ROM- long


stressed


-e-


short soft


-O long stressed


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