ROMEO AND JULIET - Stratford Festival

STUDY GUIDE 

Tools for 

Teachers 

sponsored by 

ROMEO 

AND JULIET 

Daniel Briere, Sara Topham 

FESTIVAL THEATRE 

Romeo and Juliet 

By William Shakespeare 

Directed by Tim Carroll 

MAY 1 TO OCTOBER 19 – OPENS MAY 27 

Production support is generously provided by 

Claire & Daniel Bernstein and M. Vaile Fainer 

Production Sponsor 

Additional funding generously provided by Members and patrons 

of the Stratford Festival and Stratford Festival of America.

Table of Contents 

The Place 

The Stratford Festival Story ........................................................................................ 1 

The Play 

The Playwright: William Shakespeare ........................................................................ 3 

A Shakespearean Timeline ......................................................................................... 4 

Cast of Characters ...................................................................................................... 6 

Plot Synopsis ............................................................................................................... 7 

Sources and Production History ................................................................................. 8 

The Production 

Artistic Team and Cast ............................................................................................... 10 

Lesson Plans and Activities 

Juliet’s Troubled Imaginations ........................................................................... 11 

Paris’ Soliloquy ..................................................................................................... 14 

The R & J Debates ............................................................................................... 16 

Discussion Topics ............................................................................................... 18 

Resources ..................................................................................................... 19

The 

Stratford 

Story 

That Stratford, Ontario, is the home of 

the largest classical repertory theatre 

in North America is ultimately 

attributable to the dream of one man, 

Stratford-born journalist Tom 

Patterson. 

In the early 1950s, seeing the 

economy of his home town 

endangered by the withdrawal of the 

railway industry that had sustained it 

for nearly 80 years, Patterson 

conceived the idea of a theatre festival 

devoted to the works of William 

Shakespeare. His vision won the 

support not only of Stratford City 

Council and an enthusiastic committee 

of citizens, but also of the legendary 

British actor and director Tyrone 

Guthrie, who agreed to become the 

proposed festival’s first Artistic 

Director. The Stratford Shakespearean 

Festival of Canada was incorporated 

as a legal entity on October 31, 1952. 

A giant canvas tent was ordered from a 

firm in Chicago, and in the parklands 

by Stratford’s Avon River work began 

on a concrete amphitheatre at the 

centre of which was to be a 

revolutionary thrust stage created to 

Guthrie’s specifications by 

internationally renowned theatrical 

designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch. 

discontent/ Made glorious summer by 

this sun of York.” Those words marked 

the triumphant end to what had 

sometimes seemed a hopeless 

struggle against the odds to turn 

Patterson’s dream into a reality – and 

the beginning of an astonishing new 

chapter in Canadian theatre history. 

The other production of that inaugural 

six-week season, a modern-dress 

version of All’s Well That Ends Well, 

opened the following night, confirming 

the opinion of celebrated novelist 

Robertson Davies that the new Festival 

was an achievement “of historic 

importance not only in Canada, but 

wherever theatre is taken seriously – 

that is to say, in every civilized country 

in the world.” 

Time proved the truth of Davies’ 

words, for the Festival’s pillared, 

porticoed thrust stage revolutionized 

the performance of classical and 

contemporary theatre in the latter half 

of the 20th century and inspired the 

design of more than a dozen other 

major venues around the world, 

including the Guthrie Theatre in 

Minneapolis, the Beaumont Theatre at 

Lincoln Centre and, in England, the 

Chichester Festival Theatre, the 

Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and the 

Olivier Theatre at the Royal National 

Theatre in London. Over the years, the 

Festival has made some amendments 

to the original design of Moiseiwitsch’s 

stage, without changing its essential 

format. 

From the balcony of that stage, on the 

night of July 13, 1953, actor Alec 

Guinness spoke the opening lines of 

Richard III: “Now is the winter of our 


Study Guide 

Stratford Festival 2013 1

At the 

end of the 

1956 season, the 

giant 

canvas tent that had housed the 

Festival’s first four seasons was 

dismantled for the last time 

to make 

way for a new and permanent facility 

to be 

erected around the existing 

stage. Designed by architect Robert 

Fairfield, the new 

building would be 

one of the most distinctive in the world 

of the 

performing arts: its circular floor 

plan and crenellated roof paying 

striking tribute to 

the Festival’s origins 

under canvas. 

In the 

years since its first season, the 

Stratford Festival has set benchmarks 

for the production not only of 

Shakespeare, Molière, the ancient 

Greeks and other great dramatists of 

the past, but also of such 20th-century 

masters as Samuel Beckett, Bertolt 

Brecht, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, 

Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee 

Williams. In addition to acclaimed 

productions of the best in operetta and 

musical theatre, it has also 

showcased–andd in many cases 

premièred– works by outstanding 

Canadian and other contemporary 

playwrights. 

Its artists have included the 

finest 

actors, directors and designers in 

Canada, as well as many from abroad. 

Among the internationally renowned 

performers who 

have graced its stages 

are Alan Bates, Brian Bedford, Douglas 

Campbell, Len Cariou, Brent Carver, 

Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Colm 

Feore, Megan Follows, Lorne Greene, 

Paul Gross, Uta 

Hagen, Julie Harris, 

Martha Henry, William Hutt, James 

Mason, Eric McCormack, Loreena 

McKennitt, Richard Monette, John 

Neville, Nicholas Pennell, Christopher 

Plummer, Sarah Polley, Douglas Rain, 

Katee Reid, Jason Robards, Paul 

Scofield, William 

Shatner, Maggie 

Smith, Jessica Tandy, Peter Ustinov 

and Al Waxman. 

Drawing audiences of more 

than 

400,000 each year, the Festival 

season now runs from April to 

November, with 

productions being 

presented in four unique theatres. It 

offers an extensive program 

of 

educational and 

enrichment activities 

for students, teachers and other 

patrons, and operates its own in-house 

school of professional artist 

development: The Birmingham 

Conservatory for Classical Theatre. 

Stratford Festival Behind the Scenes 

App. Contains interactive set models, 

exclusive images and slideshows, 

special audio and video content and 

photos, stories and animations and 

insights into the 

world of theatre at the 

Festival. For more information see 

www.stratfordfestival.ca/explore. 

For interactive classroom activities 

related to the Stratford Festival, go to 

the CBC Digital Archives: 

http: ://bit.ly/Yy7eK6 


Study Guide 


The Playwright: 

William Shakespeare 

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small 

Warwickshire town, in 1564, William 

Shakespeare was the eldest son of John 

Shakespeare, a glover, and Mary Arden, 

the daughter of a wealthy farmer. The 

exact date of his birth is unknown, but 

baptismal records point to it being the 

same as that of his death, April 23. He 

probably attended what is now the Edward 

VI Grammar School, where he 

would have studied Latin literature, and 

at 18, he married a farmer’s daughter, 

Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three 

children: Susanna, born in 1583, and, 

two years later, the twins Hamnet (who 

died in childhood) and Judith. 

Nothing further is known of his life until 

1592, when his earliest known play, the 

first part of Henry VI, became a hit in London, 

where Shakespeare was now working 

as an actor. Soon afterwards, an outbreak 

of the plague forced the temporary 

closure of the theatres, and Shakespeare 

turned for a while to writing poetry. By 

1594, however, he was back in the theatre, 

acting with the Lord Chamberlain’s 

Men. He quickly established himself as 

one of London’s most successful dramatists, 

with an income that enabled him, in 

1597, to buy a mansion back in Stratford. 

In 1599 he became a shareholder 

in London’s newly built Globe Theatre. 

his death on April 23, 1616. He is buried 

in the town’s Holy Trinity Church. 

In the first collected edition of his works 

in 1623, fellow dramatist Ben Jonson 

called him a man “not of an age, but for 

all time”. Not only did Shakespeare write 

some of the most popular plays of all 

time, but he was a very prolific writer, 

writing 38 (canonically accepted) works 

in 23 years. His work covered many 

subjects and styles, including comedies, 

tragedies, histories and romances, all 

bearing his hallmark expansive plots, extraordinary 

language and humanist 

themes. Shakespeare enjoyed great popularity 

in his lifetime, and 400 years later, 

he is still the most produced playwright 

in the world. 

In 1603, Shakespeare’s company was 

awarded a royal patent, becoming known 

as the King’s Men. Possibly as early as 

1610, the playwright retired to his home 

in Stratford-upon-Avon, living there – and 

continuing to invest in real estate – until 


Study Guide 


A SHAKESPEAREAN TIMELINE 

1558 Elizabeth I crowned. 

1564 William Shakespeare born. 

1572 Actors not under the protection of a patron declared rogues and vagabonds. 

1576 “The Theatre”, the first public playhouse in London, opens. 

1577 “The Curtain”, London’s second playhouse, opens. 

1578 James VI (later James I of England) takes over government of Scotland. 

1579 Publication of North’s English translation of Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and 

Romans. 

1580 Francis Drake returns in triumph form his voyage around the world; travelling players perform 

at Stratford. 

1582 Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway; Susanna is born six months later and the twins 

Hamnet and Judith in 1585. 

1587 “The Rose” theatre opens in London. Mary Queen of Scots is executed. 

1588 Spanish Armada defeated. 

1589 Shakespeare finds work as an actor in London; he lives apart from his wife for 21 years. 

1590-1591 The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew. 

1591 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI. 

1592 Thousands die of plague in London; theatres closed. 1 Henry VI, Titus Andronicus, Richard III. 

1593 The Comedy of Errors. 

1594 Shakespeare becomes a shareholder of his theatre company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. 

1594 Love’s Labour’s Lost. 

1595* Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

1596 Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, dies. 

1596-1597 King John, The Merchant of Venice, 1 Henry IV. 

1597-1598 The Merry Wives of Windsor, 2 Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing. 

1598 “The Globe” theatre built. 

1598-1599 Henry V, Julius Caesar. 

1599-1600 As You Like It. 

1600-1601 Hamlet, Twelfth Night. 

1601 Shakespeare’s patron arrested for treason following the Essex rebellion; he is later pardoned. 

1602 Troilus and Cressida. 

1603 Queen Elizabeth dies and is succeeded by James I; Shakespeare’s theatre company becomes 

the King’s Men. 

1603 Measure for Measure, Othello. 

1604 Work begins on the King James bible. 

1604-1605 All’s Well That Ends Well, Timon of Athens, King Lear (Q) 

1606 Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra. 


Study Guide 


1607 Pericles, Prince of Tyre. 

1608 Coriolanus. 

1609 The Winter’s Tale. 

1610 King Lear (F), Cymbeline. 

1610 Shakespeare retires to Stratford-upon-Avon. 

1611 The Tempest. 

1611 King James version of the bible published. 

1613 Henry VIII (All is True), The Two Noble Kinsmen. 

1613 “The Globe” theatre burns down. 

1616 Shakespeare dies in Stratford-upon-Avon. 

1623 The first folio of Shakespeare’s collected plays is published. 

* some dates are approximate 


Study Guide 


CAST OF CHARACTERS 

Escalus, Prince of Verona 

Mercutio, a young gentleman and kinsman to the Prince, friend of Romeo 

Paris, a noble young kinsman to the Prince 

Page to Paris 

The Montagues 

Montague, head of a Veronese family at feud with the Capulets 

Lady Montague 

Romeo, Montague’s son 

Benvolio, Montague’s nephew and friend of Romeo and Mercutio 

Abram, a servant to Montague 

Balthasar, Romeo’s servant 

The Capulets 

Capulet, head of a Veronese family at feud with the Montagues 

Lady Capulet 

Juliet, Capulet’s daughter 

Tybalt, Lady Capulet’s nephew 

Cousin Capulet, an old gentleman 

Nurse, a Capulet servant, Juliet’s foster-mother 

Peter, a Capulet servant attending on the Nurse 

Sampson 

Gregory 

Anthony 

of the Capulet household 

Potpan 

Other Servingmen 

Friar Laurence 

Friar John of the Franciscan Order 

Apothecary of Mantua 

Musicians 

Members of the Watch, citizens of Verona, masquers, torchbearers, pages, servants 


Study Guide 


PLOT SYNOPSIS 

Two families of Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets, are embroiled in a long-standing 

feud. One night, Romeo, a Montague, gatecrashes a party being given by the Capulets, in 

hopes of encountering Rosaline, with whom he is infatuated. Thoughts of her are driven from 

his mind, however, when he catches sight of Juliet, the daughter of Lord Capulet. Juliet, who 

has been promised in marriage to Paris, is equally smitten with Romeo, and, with the help of 

Friar Lawrence, the two are secretly married. No sooner is the ceremony concluded, however, 

than Romeo is drawn in to a brawl, in which he kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. Under sentence of 

banishment, Romeo spends the night with Juliet before going into hiding; meanwhile, Capulet 

orders Juliet to marry Paris within three days. Friar Lawrence devises a plan: Juliet will take a 

potion that will make her appear to be dead, allowing Romeo to steal into her family vault 

and rescue her when she revives. But the message informing Romeo of the plan goes astray 

and, believing Juliet to be truly dead, he commits suicide over her seemingly lifeless body. 

Awakening to find her lover dead beside her, Juliet too kills herself, leaving both families to 

mourn their children and abandon their feud. 

Check out this fun game and help Romeo rescue Juliet from the balcony 

http://www.kokogames.com/free-games/124/featured-games/149/romeo.htm 


Study Guide 


The Story of the Play 

Sources and Production History 

ABOUT THE PLAY 

One of the most famous love-stories of all time, Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy about an illfated 

romance between two young people caught in a bitter feud between their two families. 

Shakespeare is believed to have written the play between 1594 and 1595. It was popular 

enough in his own time to have spawned a printed, pirated version in 1597, whose title page 

proclaims it to be “An excellent conceited tragedy” that had “been often (with great 

applause) played publicly.” 

SOURCES AND ORIGINS 

The story was already well-know by Shakespeare’s time. His direct source was The Tragicall 

History of Romeus and Juliet (1562), a long narrative poem by Arthur Brooke, based on a 

prose fiction by Bandello (1554), which was itself derived from an earlier Italian story by Luigi 

da Porto (1530). 

ROMEO AND JULIET IN PERFORMANCE 

Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film version starring Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey is one of the 

most popular Shakespearean movies ever made. Other versions include George Cukor’s 

1936 film starring Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard. 

The famous Stephen Sondheim/Leonard Bernstein Broadway musical West Side Story was 

based on Romeo and Juliet. The film version of the musical (1961) starred Natalie Wood and 

Richard Beymer. 

1996’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom, 

Moulin Rouge), stars Claire Danes and Leonard DiCaprio as the lovers. 

STRATFORD FESTIVAL PRODUCTION HISTORY 

This is the ninth production of Romeo and Juliet at the Stratford Festival. 

1960 (Festival Theatre): directed by Michael Langham and designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch. 

The cast included Bruno Gerussi as Romeo, Julie Harris as Juliet, William Needles as 

Benvolio, Christopher Plummer as Mercutio, Douglas Rain as Tybalt and Kate Reid as Nurse. 

1968 (Festival Theatre): directed by Douglas Campbell and designed by Carolyn Parker. The 

cast included Christopher Walken as Romeo, Louise Marleau as Juliet, Leo Ciceri as 

Mercutio, Amelia Hall as Nurse and Christopher Newton as Paris. 

1977 (Avon Theatre): directed by David William and designed by John Ferguson with Richard 

Monette as Romeo, Marti Maraden as Juliet, Florence Patterson as Nurse and Nicholas 

Pennell as Mercutio. 


Study Guide 


1984 (Festival Theatre): directed by Peter Dews and designed by John Ferguson. The cast 

included Colm Feore as Romeo, Seana McKenna as Juliet, Lewis Gordon as Friar Laurence, 

Elizabeth Leigh-Milne as Nurse, Stephen Russell as Paris and Richard Monette as Mercutio. 

1987 (Tom Patterson Theatre): directed by Robin Phillips and designed by Patrick Clark. The 

cast included Albert Schultz as Romeo, Susan Coyne as Juliet, Peter Donaldson as Capulet, 

and Nancy Palk as Nurse. 

1992 (Festival Theatre): directed by Richard Monette and designed by Debra Hanson. The 

cast included Antoni Cimolino as Romeo, Megan (Porter) Follows as Juliet, Barbara Bryne as 

Nurse, Colm Feore as Mercutio, Lewis Gordon as Capulet, Bernard Hopkins as Friar 

Lawrence and Kate Trotter as Lady Capulet. 

1997 (Festival Theatre): directed by Diana Leblanc and designed by Douglas Paraschuk (set) 

and Dany Lyne (costumes). The cast included Jonathan Crombie as Romeo, Marion Day as 

Juliet, Graham Abbey as Paris, Benedict Campbell as Friar Laurence, Diane D’Aquila as 

Nurse, Geordie Johnson as Mercutio, and Michael Mawson as Montague. 

2002 (Festival Theatre): directed by Miles Potter and designed by Patrick Clark. The cast 

included Graham Abbey as Romeo, Claire Jullien as Juliet, Wayne Best as Mercutio, Lally 

Cadeau as Nurse, Keith Dinicol as Friar Laurence, Sarah Dodd as Lady Montague, Caleb 

Marshall as Benvolio, Raymond O’Neill as Chorus/Escalus, Nicolas van Burek as Tybalt and 

Scott Wentworth as Capulet. 

2008 (Festival Theatre): directed by Des McAnuff and designed by Heidi Ettinger (set) and 

Paul Tazewell (costumes). The cast included Gareth Potter as Romeo, Nikki M. James as 

Juliet, Evan Buliung as Mercutio, Peter Donaldson as Friar Lawrence, Gordon S. Miller as 

Benvolio, Lucy Peacock as Nurse, John Vickery as Capulet and Sophia Walker as Lady 

Capulet. 


Study Guide 


THE PRODUCTION 

Festival Theatre 

May 1 – October 19 

Artistic Team 

Director. ........................ Tim Carroll 

Set Designer ................ Douglas Paraschuk 

Costume Designer ....... Carolyn M. Smith 

Lighting Designer ......... Kevin Fraser 

Composer ..................... Claudio Vena 

Sound Designer ........... Jim Neil 

Movement .................... Shona Morris 

Fight Director ............... John Stead 

Cast 

Escalus, Prince of Verona ............................................... Michael Blake 

Mercutio, friend of Romeo, kinsman to the Prince ....... Jonathan Goad 

Paris, a noble young kinsman to the Prince .................. Antoine Yared 

Page to Paris. ................................................................... Sara Farb 

The Montagues 

Montague, head of the family at feud with the Capulets .......... Wayne Best 

Lady Montague, his wife .............................................................. Gabrielle Jones 

Romeo, Montague’s son .............................................................. Daniel Briere 

Benvolio, Montague’s nephew .................................................... Skye Brandon 

Abraham, a servant to Montague ................................................ Robert King 

Balthasar, Romeo’s servant ........................................................ Andrew Lawrie 

The Capulets 

Capulet, head of the family at feud with the Montagues ......... Scott Wentworth 

Lady Capulet, his wife ................................................................. Nehassaiu deGannes 

Juliet, Capulet’s daughter ........................................................... Sara Topham 

Tybalt, Lady Capulet’s nephew ................................................... Tyrone Savage 

Old Capulet, an old gentleman ................................................... Sam Moses 

Nurse, a Capulet servant, Juliet’s nurse .................................... Kate Hennig 

Peter, a Capulet servant attending on the Nurse ...................... Mike Nadajewski 

Sampson, servant........................................................................ Brad Rudy 

Gregory, servant .......................................................................... Victor Ertmanis 

Friar Laurence .............................................................................. Tom McCamus 

Friar John ..................................................................................... Roy Lewis 

Musicians 

Apothecary, Citizens, Lords, Ladies: Jacquelyn French, Barbara Fulton, Valerie Hawkins, 

André Morin, Andrew Robinson, Sabryn Rock 

For more information and company bios visit: www.stratfordfestival.ca. You can also check 

out our Stratford for Students magazine at: 

http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/education/teachers.aspx?id=8609 


Study Guide 


Imaginative Ways to Approach the Text 

JULIET’S TROUBLED IMAGINATIONS 

Grade Level Grades 6-12 

Subject Areas Language Arts, English, Drama 

Ontario 

Curriculum 

Expectations 

By the end of the lesson students will be able to: 

Extend understanding of the text by connecting the ideas in them to 

their own knowledge, experience, insights and world around them. 

& 

Analyse the text, focusing on the ways in which they communicate 

Learning 

information and ideas and influence the listener’s/viewer’s 

Outcomes 

response. 

Use role play and characterization to explore issues in the play. 

Further develop the following: 

Speaking to Communicate 

Listening to Understand 

Reading for Meaning 

Drama: Creation 

Time Needed One class period 

Space 

Open space in the classroom 

Materials Handout 

Setting Up the Exercise: 

In this lesson, the students take a closer look at Juliet’s soliloquy in Act IV, scene 3. 

Review as a class what a soliloquy is and the reasons why Shakespeare employed 

this device in his plays. 

The Exercise: 

Hand out the one-page worksheet with Juliet’s speech already divided into nine 

sections. 

Choose nine people or divide the class into nine sections, each group responsible for 

a particular “troubled imagination.” 

Each group will devise a way to interpret and present their lines. They may do it as a 

choral piece or have one person saying the lines while the rest of the group forms a 

tableau to illustrate that particular troubled imagination. 

The rehearsal process will be two-tiered. At the beginning, each group will be given 

some time to rehearse their section. After that, have the students come together and 

inform student or group #1 that they will be up first and will present their section in 

the centre and are to remain there after they have completed their turn. The other 

students or groups will take their cues and position themselves in and around the 

circle according to what the last student or group has done and where they have 

positioned themselves in the circle. 

During the class presentation, have all nine students or groups stand in an open 

space in the classroom in a large circle. Have student or group #1 go to the centre 

and begin their piece using movement and/or incorporating choral speaking and 

finally becoming frozen sculptures at the end, followed by students or groups #2 – 9 

interweaving their interpretation of the text around student or group #1. (OPTIONAL: 

Have the students choose a piece of music to underscore the performance to help 

set the mood.) 


Study Guide 


For discussion: 

After the presentation, have the class discuss the questions listed below. 

o What did you discover after physically representing Juliet’s troubled 

imaginations? 

o Do you think Juliet’s troubled imaginations were real and she was right to be 

afraid? If so why or why not? 

o In performing Juliet’s dark fears, did you learn something new about her and 

her circumstances? 

Extensions: 

Write a letter in response to Juliet’s dark fears and offer some helpful suggestions to 

lessen her fear and comfort her. 

Draw, paint or create a collage of one of the dark fears that Juliet mentions. Write a 

caption to go with your visual presentation. 

Stage the soliloquy with one student playing Juliet and voicing section #1 while the 

rest (#2-9) voice her fears as ghosts haunting her troubled mind. 


Study Guide 


Romeo and Juliet - Act IV, scene 3 

Juliet’s Troubled Imaginations 

1. Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again. 

I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins, 

That almost freezes up the heat of life: 

I'll call them back again to comfort me: 

Nurse! What should she do here? 

My dismal scene I needs must act alone. 

Come, vial.______________________________ 

2. What if this mixture do not work at all? 

Shall I be married then to-morrow morning? 

No, no: this shall forbid it: lie thou there. 

3. What if it be a poison, which the Friar 

Subtly hath ministered to have me dead, 

Lest in this marriage he should be dishonoured, 

Because he married me before to Romeo? 

I fear it is: and yet, methinks, it should not, 

For he hath still been tried a holy man. 

4. How if, when I am laid into the tomb, 

I wake before the time that Romeo 

Come to redeem me? There's a fearful point! 

Shall I not, then, be stifled in the vault, 

To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in, 

And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes? 

5. Or, if I live, is it not very like, 

The horrible conceit of death and night, 

Together with the terror of the place,-- 

As in a vault, an ancient receptacle, 

Where, for these many hundred years, the bones 

Of all my buried ancestors are packed: 

6. Where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth, 

Lies festering in his shroud; where, as they say, 

At some hours in the night spirits resort;-- 

7. Alack, alack, is it not like that I, 

So early waking, what with loathsome smells, 

And shrieks like mandrakes' torn out of the earth, 

That living mortals, hearing them, run mad:-- 

O, if I wake, shall I not be distraught, 

Environed with all these hideous fears? 

8. And madly play with my forefather's joints? 

And pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud? 

And, in this rage, with some great kinsman's bone, 

As with a club, dash out my desperate brains? 

9. O, look! methinks I see my cousin's ghost 

Seeking out Romeo, that did spit his body 

Upon a rapier's point: stay, Tybalt, stay! 

Romeo, I come! this do I drink to thee. 

Laying down her dagger 

She falls upon her bed, within the curtains 


Study Guide 



PARIS’S SOLILOQUY 



Ontario 

Curriculum 

Expectations 


Develop and explain interpretations of the text, using evidence from the 

text. 

& 

Make and explain inferences, supporting their explanations with stated 

Learning 

and implied ideas from the text. 

Outcomes Use role play and characterization to explore issues in the play. 






Time Needed Two class periods 

Space 

Open space in the classroom upon presentation 

Materials Pencil/pen and notebook 

Romeo and Juliet script 


In this lesson, the students will have the opportunity to create/write a soliloquy, using 

knowledge they have gained from either reading or seeing the production of Romeo 

and Juliet at the Stratford Festival. 

Review as a class what a soliloquy is and the reasons why Shakespeare employed 

this device in his plays. 

The Exercise: 

Review Act III, scene 4 and as a class, discuss the following: Paris has a very high 

status in Verona as he is related to Prince Escalus. The Capulets’ social standing, 

already significant, would be even more elevated if Juliet marries Paris. We know 

then that the Capulets would gain from this marriage, but what are Paris’s 

reasons/motives for this hasty marriage? 

Write a soliloquy for Paris, spoken upon his departure from the Capulets after having 

asked them for Juliet’s hand in marriage. Give reasons in this soliloquy why he wants 

to marry Juliet and soon. 

Have each student read or dramatically present their soliloquies to the class. 

Drama Extensions: 

Have students perform Act III, scene 4 and include their soliloquies. 

For Discussion: 

Why do you think Shakespeare did not give us a soliloquy or some form of further 

explanation as to Paris’s motives? 

Would you prefer that Paris had stated his motives in the play? Explain in detail and 

state why or why not. 


Study Guide 


Would you place your soliloquy at the beginning of Act III, scene 4 or at the end? 

Does it make a difference where it is placed? Note: The students may want to 

experiment with the placement of the soliloquy during their performance 

presentations. 

As you heard/saw each classmate’s soliloquy, were there common points or 

divergent points of view? Did some of the reasons given for wanting to marry Juliet 

surprise you, make you look at Paris in a more sympathetic light or less 

sympathetically? 


Study Guide 



THE R & J DEBATES 



Ontario 

Curriculum 


Identify and explain the important information and ideas of the text. 

Expectations Use a variety of drama conventions to establish a distinctive context or 

& 

role. 

Learning Analyse drama works to determine how they communicate ideas about 

Outcomes 

issues, culture and society. 






Time Needed Two class periods 

Space 

Open space in the classroom upon presentation 

Materials Pencil/pen and notebook 

Romeo and Juliet script 


In this lesson, the students will have the opportunity to debate on a variety of 

controversial issues surrounding The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet after reading 

and/or seeing the Stratford Festival production. 

Some of the topics that the class may choose from are listed below (or they may 

choose to come up with their own) [Note: Some of these are specific in nature and 

others are general.] : 

o A daughter must honour the wishes of her father at all times. 

o Juliet should marry Paris. 

o Banishment is preferable to death. 

o Mercutio is the superior swordsman to Tybalt. 

o Romeo and Juliet’s love was merely an infatuation. 

o Mercutio and the Nurse were unnecessary characters in the play. 

o Both Romeo and Juliet were too immature to get married. 

o The deaths of Romeo and Juliet were necessary to bring about the 

reconciliation between the Capulets and the Montagues. 

o Friar Laurence’s well-meaning interference caused more harm than good. 

The Exercise: 

For each topic, choose two teams: one team will be “for” the argument, and the other 

team will be “against” the argument put forth. 

As a class, decide on the length of each debate and number of rounds. For the rest of 

the class not involved in that particular debate, have them create a score card that 

rates each round for each team (e.g. from 1 to 5 with 1 being “weak argument” and 

5 being “exceptionally clear argument,” followed by one sentence stating the reasons 

for that score). 


Study Guide 


Each team will be responsible for creating an opening statement and supporting 

arguments, using evidence found in the text or production you have seen. 

Present each debate, with the rest of the class listening and filling out their score 

cards. Make sure to give sufficient time for the teams to confer before presenting 

their rebuttals. NOTE: The students may wish to debate as a character from the play 

or as themselves addressing the particular issues. 

For Discussion: 

After viewing/listening to the debates, have the class discuss questions listed below. 

o Were all of the arguments put forth, supported by the evidence from the text? 

o Do we get a sense of what is relevant to the plot by debating some of these 

issues? 

o What insights have you gained through these debates? 

o By looking at the pros and cons of various issues, what does this reveal about 

the characters? 

o If you were to stage a production of Romeo and Juliet what issues would you 

emphasize and highlight over others? 


Study Guide 


Discussion Topics for Your 

Class 

For classes reading the play before seeing it: 

1. What do you expect to see on stage at the Stratford Festival? Have each student 

make a list of predictions about what they expect. Save these predictions. After your 

Stratford trip, revisit them to see how they compared to the actual production. 

2. Have your students make a story map or a story board outlining the main events of 

the play. (This may be used later in group activities.) 

After your Stratford trip: 

1. Romeo and Juliet has appealed to artists and audiences around the world for 400 

years. What do you think the play’s message is? 

2. What parts did you respond to most? 

3. Were there parts you wished were different? How? 

4. Have your students create a character web showing how all the characters are 

connected to each other. Discuss the complexity of these relationships and how they 

affect the progression of the play. 

For more classroom activities, complete with instructions, materials and Ontario 

curriculum expectation links, visit stratfordfestival.ca/teachingmaterials. 

You can also check out the following: 

The Forum, a series of remarkable events to enrich the play-going experience: 

www.stratfordfestival.ca/forum/ . 

Stratford Festival’s YouTube channel for behind-the-scenes videos, photos 

and interviews: www.youtube.com/user/stratfordfestival 

Stratford Festival’s Flickr pages: www.flickr.com/photos/stratfest/ 

Stratford Festival Twitter: twitter.com/stratfest 

Stratford Festival Facebook: www.facebook.com/StratfordFestival 

Stratford Festival Behind the Scenes App.: www.stratfordfestival.ca/explore. 


Study Guide 


Resources 

SHAKESPEARE: HISTORY, CRITICISM and BIOGRAPHY 

Beckerman, Bernard. Shakespeare and the Globe, 1599-1609. 1962. 

Bentley, G.E. Shakespeare: A Biographical Handbook. 1951. 

Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z. 1990. 

Brown, Ivor. Shakespeare and the Actors. 1970. 

Brown, John Russell. Shakespeare and his Theatre. 1993. 

Burgess, Anthony. Shakespeare. 1970. 

Campbell, Oscar James, ed. The Reader’s Encyclopedia of Shakespeare. 1966. 

Dobson, Michael, ed. The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. 2001. 

Epstein, Norrie. The Friendly Shakespeare. 1992. 

Frye, R. M. Shakespeare’s Life and Times: a Pictorial Record. 1968. 

Gurr, Andrew. The Shakespearean Stage, 1574-1642. 1980. 

Hodges, C. Walter. Shakespeare and the Players. 1948. 

Muir, Kenneth and Samuel Schoenbaum, eds. A New Companion to Shakespeare 

Studies, 1985. 

Nagler, A. M. Shakespeare’s Stage. 1985. 

Schoenbaum, Samuel. William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life. 1975. 

Taylor, Gary. Reinventing Shakespeare. 1989. 

Thomson, Peter. Shakespeare’s Theatre. 1983. 

Tillyard, E. M. W. The Elizabethan World Picture. 1943. 

Wells, Stanley, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Studies. 1986. 

TEACHING SHAKESPEARE 

Asimov, Isaac. Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare. New York, 1970. 

Edens, Walter, et al. Teaching Shakespeare. New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1977. 

Gibson, Rex. Secondary School Shakespeare. Cambridge: 1990. 

Gibson, Rex. Stepping into Shakespeare. Cambridge: 2000. 

Gibson, Rex and Field-Pickering, Janet. Discovering Shakespeare’s Language. 

Cambridge: 1998. 

O’Brien, Veronica. Teaching Shakespeare. London, 1982. 

ROMEO AND JULIET 

Garfield, Leon. Shakespeare Stories. Puffin Books: 1985. 

Gibson, Rex. Teaching Shakespeare. 1998. 

Gibson, Rex & Field-Pickering, Janet. Discovering Shakespeare’s Language. 

Cambridge: 1998. 

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet, Arden (Third Series). 2012. 

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Cambridge School, 2nd Ed. 2007. 

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Oxford University Press, 1994. 


Study Guide 


Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. The Royal Shakespeare Company (The 

Modern Library). 2009. 

ONLINE RESOURCES 

BookRags.com Homepage, http://www.bookrags.com 

Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet, shakespeare.palomar.edu 

Sh:in:E Shakespeare in Europe, www.unibas.ch/shine 

Encyclopaedia Britannica presents: Shakespeare and the Globe: Then and Now, 

search.eb.com/Shakespeare 

MIT Shakespeare Homepage: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, thetech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/ 

Shakespeare’s Life and Times, 

web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLT/intro/introsubj.html 

Shakespeare Online, www.shakespeare-online.com 

Movie Review Query Engine, www.mrqe.com 

Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com 

ROMEO AND JULIET ON FILM, VIDEO AND DVD 

1968 (UK): Romeo and Juliet. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli; starring Leonard 

Whiting and Olivia Hussey. 

1978 (UK-TV): Romeo and Juliet. Directed by Alvin Rakoff; starring Patrick 

Ryecart, Rebecca Saire, John Gielgud and Alan Rickman. 

1993 (CDA): Romeo and Juliet. Directed by Richard Monette; starring Antoni 

Cimolino, Megan Follows and Colm Feore. [The Stratford Festival’s 

production on film.] 

1994 (documentary film / PBS, CBC, NFB, WDR): Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo. 

Directed by John Zaritsky. The tragic story of real-life lovers BoŠko Brkič 

and Admira Ismić, who died in Sarajevo during the civil war in Yugoslavia. 

1996 (USA): Romeo + Juliet. Directed by Baz Luhrmann; starring Leonardo 

DiCaprio and Claire Danes. 


Study Guide

ROMEO AND JULIET - Stratford Festival

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