The Prologue

Understanding The Prologue.

Romeo and Juliet opens with a prologue.

The prologue is a very important as it offers an essential summary of the big ideas and key themes in the play as a whole.

The key points:

• The audience are told of a long-standing quarrel between two families in Verona, Italy.

• The families are the Montagues and the Capulets.

• The ‘ancient grudge’ has continued for many years.

• The quarrel has become increasingly violent.

• Within this backdrop, two innocent children have been born into this bitter, hostile world.

• Their love is doomed to fail from the start: the theme of fate is introduced here – Romeo and Juliet are “star crossed” lovers

• They die and choose to take their lives to ‘exit’ this hateful world based on the strength of their love.

• Their death stops the fighting and brings peace and unity to the two families.

Why is the prologue important to the play as a whole?

The main idea of the prologue is the power of external forces: family, fate and strong emotion. Opening the play, the prologue offers the audience a ‘road map’ which foreshadows the destructive events to come: the ultimate death of the two children who are ‘death marked’, whose deaths are controlled by the powers of fate as ‘star crossed lovers’. It is significant that the prologue gives away the main storyline before the play has begun, as it reinforces the idea that neither Romeo or Juliet can escape fate: their death is a certainty.

We also see the powerful tensions between two strong opposite ideas: love and hate which are presented as strong forces. To reinforce the ideas of the power of love in the play, Shakespeare uses a sonnet form (traditionally associated with love) to frame the strong relationship between the two lovers. This strong emotion is clearly dominated and overthrown by the intensity of negative emotion and hatred in the references to anger and violence in the prologue: “rage”. “death” “foes’ “overthrow” “mutiny” “grude”, which set a strong tone of conflict to darken the events of the play even before they have begun. The idea of hatred as an external force controlling the young lovers is clear in the reference to ‘fatal loins’ which shows how much they are controlled by their family feud; this underpins the idea of conflicted love in the play: the innocent love between two children can never stand a chance against the external forces of hatred which has fuelled the feud; love and duty to their families also fuels them to hate who they are, and forces them to break free from their connections.

Ultimately, love wins the struggle: the death of the children brings about the agreement of love of the two families, who agree to reunite through the moral reflection of the consequences of their actions. The prince, the voice of authority and judgement in the play, reinforces this tone and final message by the end. Overall, the prologue shows glimpses of a positive outcome, revealing the story to have a moral purpose: Shakespeare reminds us of perspective and balance; reason and judgement; love over hatred; and finally that adults should be setting a clear example in their actions and behaviours, otherwise innocent victims become trapped in this hateful world.

Your revision task:

Write a response to the question: Why is the prologue important to the play as a whole?

• Consider why Shakespeare choses to give away the main storyline at the start of the play (how this links to the ideas of fate).

• Closely analyse the language of the prologue and discuss the importance of at least three quotes.

• Make links and connections to other parts of the play.

• discuss its importance to the play as a whole

• Consider how it supports our understanding of the themes of: love, hate, conflict, family, individual versus society, external forces.

Extra challenge - aim to develop your range of vocabulary in your response to discuss key ideas / concepts in the prologue / across the whole play: