Romeo and Juliet Group

Question:

fatty123
fatty123
Student
High School - 9th Grade

What was the pupose of the prologue in "Romeo and Juliet"?

like why was there a prologue

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Posted by fatty123 on Friday May 1, 2009 at 11:49 AM and tagged with prologue, purpose, romeo and juliet.

Answers:

  1. herappleness
    herappleness Teacher
    Graduate School

    eNotes Editor

    In the prologue is when we are introduced to the problem of the story, the setting, the characters, and even the ending: The lovers whose houses are divided and in quarrel.

    The prologue tells the entire story, so that the audience can in a way expect the tragic ending. However, the setup is also for the purpose of tuning into the story, and feeling the circumstances throughout the play that prevent the ending from being any different.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/romeo/themes

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    Posted by herappleness on Friday May 1, 2009 at 12:04 PM

  2. gowolves
    gowolves Student
    High School - 9th Grade

    like to set the stage for the rest of the play

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    Posted by gowolves on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 5:46 PM

  3. kendraleo
    kendraleo

    In those times, many of the people that attended the theater to watch one of Shakespeare's plays found that they seemed humorous in ways that they were not meant to be humorous. Also, many people thought things were in there and meant to be funny, when they really were something tragic. So, the prologue was put in there to inform people that "Romeo and Juliet" was not a humorous play, and that in fact, it was a big tragedy.

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    Posted by kendraleo on Monday October 26, 2009 at 5:01 PM