When working with this text I highly recommend not watching any productions or film adaptations!
In order to get the best production we can get it is going to require doing the work and the research. I very much so suggest having a translation handy when reading through (link below).
https://www.sparknotes.com/nofear/shakespeare/romeojuliet/page_2/
https://www.litcharts.com/shakescleare/shakespeare-translations/romeo-and-juliet/act-1-scene-1
Shakespeare wrote the majority of “Romeo and Juliet” in iambic pentameter. In poetry, iambic pentameter refers to the type of foot in a line of poetry and the meter, which is the number of feet in a line. An iamb foot consists of a syllable that’s not accented, followed a syllable that does have an accent. A line with iambic pentameter has 10 syllables with five iamb feet. Shakespeare wrote the opening prologue of “Romeo and Juliet” using this foot and meter: “Two households, both alike in dignity.” When he used this poetic style, the lines didn’t always rhyme.
https://www.audioshakespearepronunciationapp.com/scanning-the-verse/
https://education.seattlepi.com/examples-rhyme-scheme-romeo-juliet-5212.html
Shared Lines
Shared lines are when two or more characters share a line of iambic verse between them. You will usually see this laid out on the page and it can often show a connection between characters.
A shared line tells us a lot about the relationship between two characters. Friar Laurence’s first greeting to Romeo in Act 2 Scene 3 and Romeo’s response is shared ‘Good morrow, father. Benedicite!’ (2:3) A shared line can also demonstrate an urgency in a character.
Sonnet
A sonnet is a poem of 14 lines, written in iambic pentameter. It has three stanzas of four lines, with an ABAB rhyme scheme, and ends with a rhyming couplet. They are traditionally love poems.
The play opens with a sonnet spoken by the chorus, the prologue. But the most famous sonnet in the play is in Act 1 Scene 5 when Romeo and Juliet meet, beginning with the line 'If I profane with my unworthiest hand' (Romeo, 1:5). Unusually, this sonnet is shared by two people but still follows the set rules, ending with a couplet that Romeo and Juliet share.
Prose and Verse Shakespeare writes in a combination of prose and verse. Prose is a conversational way of speaking which doesn’t have a set rhythm or structure. Verse always has a set rhythm and structure. Most of Romeo and Juliet is written in verse, so it’s interesting to watch out for when it isn’t used. You can tell by looking at the page in the script. Where it looks like a poem, Shakespeare is using verse. When it looks like writing in a book that goes the whole way across the page, he is writing in prose. Prose is often used by servants or characters with lower status in the play. Interestingly, Mercutio speaks in prose when he’s with his friend Benvolio in Act 3 Scene 1, but switches to verse when Tybalt arrives.
Antithesis Antithesis happens when two opposites are put together. For example, hot and cold or light and dark. In Romeo’s ‘Banished’ speech in Act 3 Scene 3, he uses antithesis to describe how it feels to be separated from Juliet. ''Tis torture and not mercy’ (Romeo, 3:3) is just one example. Opposites like light and dark and heaven and hell are used a lot in Romeo and Juliet.
When a poem contains blank verse, the lines use iambic pentameter, but don’t always rhyme. The characters in higher social classes, including Romeo, Juliet and Lady Capulet, speak in verse. However, Shakespeare used rhyming couplets or quatrains when a character spoke in blank verse, to signify an important action or the end of a scene. In a rhyming couplet, the words at the end of two lines rhyme in an AA style. A rhyming quatrain is when the words at the end of four lines rhyme in an AAAA or ABAB style.
Rhyming couplets are two lines written in iambic pentameter that end in the same sound, or a rhyme. They are often used to sum up the end of a character’s speech.
Many characters use rhyming couplets to finish thoughts and speeches in Romeo and Juliet. For example, Romeo uses them in speeches when he’s talking about Juliet. When he first sees Juliet In Act 1 Scene 5 his speech is written entirely in rhyming couplets: 'O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright. / It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night' (Romeo, 1:5). The play also ends with a rhyming couplet. Why do you think this is?
https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeare-learning-zone/romeo-and-juliet/language/analysis