Prologue Translations
For Acts I and II of "Romeo and Juliet", students must read the prologue and do multiple things with the writing. They must:
1. Translate the prologue into modern English
2. Count the number of syllables per line
3. Count the number of lines within the prologue
4. Label the rhyme scheme
Below is an example of what I am expecting. This is the prologue from Act I.
1. Translate the prologue into modern English
2. Count the number of syllables per line
3. Count the number of lines within the prologue
4. Label the rhyme scheme
Below is an example of what I am expecting. This is the prologue from Act I.
Romeo and Juliet Act I Prologue:
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
This is the prologue with the rhyme scheme labeled, syllables counted and lines numbered:
1. Two households, both alike in dignity, 10 syllables
2. In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, 10
3. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, 10
4.Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. 10
5. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes 10
6. A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; 10
7. Whole misadventured piteous overthrows 10
8. Do with their death bury their parents' strife. 10
9. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, 10
10. And the continuance of their parents' rage, 10
11. Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, 10
12. Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; 10
13.The which if you with patient ears attend, 10
14. What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. 10
Rhyme Scheme: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG
Modern Day Translation:
In the beautiful city of Verona, where our story takes place, a long-standing hatred between two families erupts into new violence, and citizens stain their hands with the blood of their fellow citizens. Two unlucky children of these enemy families become lovers and commit suicide. Their unfortunate deaths put an end to their parents' feud. For the next two hours, we will watch the story of their doomed love and their parents' anger, which nothing but the children’s deaths could stop. If you listen to us patiently, we’ll make up for everything we’ve left out in this prologue onstage.
Why is this important?
The very beginning of Romeo and Juliet (the prologue) is a Shakespearean Sonnet. His sonnets are all 14 lines long, 10 syllables per line written in iambic meter, and all have a very strict rhyme scheme. The sonnets are important because they serve as an overview for what is going to be read. He basically gives us the plot in just 14 lines that rhyme! If we understand the parts of a sonnet, we will understand poetry in a whole new way.