Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Project Lecture) (Patreon)

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite."

Our journey through the works of William Shakespeare continues with one of the bard's most iconic plays: Romeo and Juliet.

We’re discussing tragedy vs comedy, strong characterisation, time distortion, harvest anxiety, expressions of true love, and much more.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 the popularity of Romeo and Juliet
• 2:00 my personal experience with this play
• 3:00 the aesthetic quality of this work
• 5:00 Shakespeare’s source material
• 6:00 pleasing the Elizabethan audience
• 7:30 is this play tragedy or comedy?
• 8:45 who do we watch this play for?
• 9:30 the wisdom of Friar Laurence
• 10:20 the character of Juliet’s Nurse
• 12:00 Shakespeare as Mercutio
• 15:00 ‘you shall find me a grave man’
• 18:00 why the play belongs to Juliet
• 19:00 how to recognise strong characters
• 20:00 ‘wherefore art thou Romeo?’
• 22:00 Juliet teaches Romeo to love
• 24:00 those early married are marred
• 27:00 why do the lovers need to die?
• 29:00 the dying sun & harvest anxiety
• 30:00 how time passes in this play
• 32:00 how love influences time
• 33:00 the greatest description of love?
• 38:00 ‘parting is such sweet sorrow’
• 40:30 appreciating Will’s glorious rise
• 42:20 my personal response to Richard II
• 44:00 your thoughts on Romeo and Juliet?

Recommended Resources:

• Film Appreciation: The two most famous film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet are the 1968 Franco Zeffirelli and the 1996 Baz Luhrmann. These two directors took drastically different approaches to Shakespeare's play, and viewers typically have a marked preference for one aesthetic over the other. If radio dramatisation is more your thing, you might enjoy Kenneth Branagh, Samantha Bond, John Gielgud, and Judy Dench in this production.
• Arden Edition: The Arden edition of the play has a superb introduction, which contains a temporal map of the play. Well worth consulting throughout your reading to get a sense of just how swiftly everything moves.
• Exploring Chaucer: We've spoken about Ovid's influence on Shakespeare, and you may find it a great time to explore another of the bard's influences. I recommend using 'The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale' as entrance to The Canterbury Tales. Penguin have a fine edition with good annotations here, and Peter Ackroyd has a delightful retelling in modern English here.
• Shakespeare's Characters: If you can manage to get your hands on copies, Barbara Everett has a study of the Nurse in Young Hamlet, whilst Joseph Porter analyses the history of one of Shakespeare's greatest scene-stealers in Shakespeare's Mercutio.
• Musical Appreciation: This lyrical play has certainly inspired many a musical response. You might wish to enjoy listening to works by Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, and Prokofiev. And I must say that I find myself greatly moved by the troubadour's song at the Capulet ball in the Zeffirelli film: What Is A Youth?

Questions for You:

1) What does this story teach us about love?

2) Who is your favourite character in the play? Why?

3) Why do you think this play is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works?

Happy reading, Bardolators!