William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Introduction

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and wrote plays for the rich,

poor, homeless, estate owners: the whole spectrum of society. He

started writing about 400 years ago, and wrote over 36 plays in his

life. They were performed in playhouses. These were built in a circle

shape with the stage on one of the walls of this circle. The playhouse

was 3 stories high. The higher you were the more you paid. At the top,

seats were for the rich people who could afford them. These were known

as the heavens. In the middle of the circle on the ground was the

standing area, were the poor people watched (called groundlings). All

kinds of people attended the plays. There were thieves, pick pockets

beggars and cripples. The play house could hold up to about 3000

spectators and had twenty sides that made it appear round. At the

front of the theatre was the stage. It was about 42 feet wide and 28

feet deep and was raised a few feet off the ground which was to

protect the actors of the crowd. There were trap doors in the floor of

the stage and in the heavens. These were used for "special effects.

The audience always interacted. This was unavoidable because of the

rowdy behaviour. Mostly in the groundling area. If there was a mock

fight then the crowd would immediately join in. In 1613 during a

performance of Henry VIII a canon was fired to mark the entrance of

the king and a stray spark set the roof of the globe house alight. The

roof was made of thatch and so burned quickly. In less than one hour

the theatre was completely destroyed. It was then quickly

reconstructed and was finished in 1614. In 1642 the Puritans thought

it was vulgar and shut it down. Then after two years it was pulled

down and levelled off to make way for tenement buildings.

The play of "Romeo and Juliet" was set in the cities of Verona and

Mantua, Italy, over the course of four short days.