Romeo and Juliet Group
Question:
amazona0125
Student
High School - 9th Grade
Why do you think Shakespeare chose to indicate the sad conclusion of the play at the beginning of "Romeo and Juliet"?
Answers:
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amethystrose Teacher
High School - 9th GradePosted by amethystrose on Thursday May 8, 2008 at 4:48 AMThe title of the play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, already gives it away. The Prologue in Act I acts as an element of foreshadowing, and so the audience gets the basic background of the plot. Afterwards, they are to watch how the plot unfolds, all the while knowing that the two are doomed. I think it heightens the drama for the audience to be aware of the overshadowing gloom right from the start, especially since Romeo and Juliet are characterized as "star crossed lovers", indicating that fate has something to do with the outcome. It is similar to Homer's technique of telling the reader of The Odyssey that Odysseus returns to Ithaca alone, with no crew and no ships, to face a host of suitors vying for his wife's hand. Homer then goes to the point in the tale where Odysseus and his men leave Troy for home, although the reader knows that only Odysseus will make it there.
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