Romeo and Juliet (Audio Play)
Project Overview
"Welcome to the Romeo and Juliet Audio Play."
Summary (SparkNotes)
The prologue of Romeo and Juliet calls the title characters “starcrossed lovers”—and the stars do seem to conspire against these young lovers. Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet a Capulet. Their families are enmeshed in a feud, but the moment they meet—when Romeo and his friends attend a party at Juliet’s house in disguise—the two fall in love and quickly decide that they want to be married. A friar secretly marries them, hoping to end the feud. Romeo and his companions almost immediately encounter Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, who challenges Romeo. When Romeo refuses to fight, Romeo’s friend Mercutio accepts the challenge and is killed. Romeo then kills Tybalt and is banished. He spends that night with Juliet and then leaves for Mantua. Juliet’s father forces her into a marriage with Count Paris. To avoid this marriage, Juliet takes a potion, given her by the friar, that makes her appear dead. The friar will send Romeo word to be at her family tomb when she awakes. The plan goes awry, and Romeo learns instead that she is dead. In the tomb, Romeo kills himself. Juliet wakes, sees his body, and commits suicide. Their deaths appear finally to end the feud.
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- Male
Which are the children of an idle brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy, Which is as thin of substance as the air And more inconstant than the wind, who woos Even now the frozen bosom of the north And, being angered, puffs away from thence, Turning his side to the dew-dropping south.
He is wise And, on my life, hath stol’n him home to bed.
Nay, I’ll conjure too. Romeo! Humors! Madman! Passion! Lover! Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh. Speak but one rhyme and I am satisfied.
A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Kind, civic-minded, a proponent of moderation, and always ready with a plan, Friar Lawrence secretly marries the impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring peace to Verona. As well as being a Catholic holy man, Friar Lawrence is also an expert in the use of seemingly mystical potions and herbs.
- Male
What early tongue so sweet saluteth me? Young son, it argues a distempered head So soon to bid “Good morrow” to thy bed.
Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift. Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift.
Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell. But come, young waverer, come, go with me. In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, For this alliance may so happy prove To turn your households’ rancor to pure love.
Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet. At the beginning of the play, he is chiefly concerned about Romeo’s melancholy.
- Male
Thou villain Capulet!—Hold me not; let me go.
Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach? Speak, nephew, were you by when it began?
Many a morning hath he there been seen, With tears augmenting the fresh morning’s dew, Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs.
The patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet, and enemy, for unexplained reasons, of Montague. He truly loves his daughter, though he is not well acquainted with Juliet’s thoughts or feelings, and seems to think that what is best for her is a “good” match with Paris. Often prudent, he commands respect and propriety, but he is liable to fly into a rage when either is lacking.
But Montague is bound as well as I, In penalty alike, and ’tis not hard, I think, For men so old as we to keep the peace.
And too soon marred are those so early made. Earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she; She’s the hopeful lady of my earth. But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart; My will to her consent is but a part. And, she agreed, within her scope of choice Lies my consent and fair according voice.
Ah, my mistresses, which of you all Will now deny to dance? She that makes dainty, She, I’ll swear, hath corns. Am I come near you now?
A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. Vain, fashionable, supremely aware of courtesy and the lack of it, he becomes aggressive, violent, and quick to draw his sword when he feels his pride has been injured. Once drawn, his sword is something to be feared. He loathes Montagues.
- Male
What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy death.
It fits when such a villain is a guest. I’ll not endure him
Patience perforce with willful choler meeting Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting. I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, Now seeming sweet, convert to bitt’rest gall.
Away, Tybalt!
Run!
Strike him down!
- Male
By ’r Lady, thirty years.
’Tis more, ’tis more. His son is elder, sir.
A servant of the house of Capulet, whose, like his master, hate the Montagues. At the outset of the play, he successfully provoke some Montague men into a fight.
- Male
Gregory, on my word we’ll not carry coals.
A dog of that house shall move me to stand. I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague’s.
’Tis true, and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall.
A servant of the house of Capulet, whose, like his master, hate the Montagues. At the outset of the play, he successfully provoke some Montague men into a fight.
- Male
No, for then we should be colliers.
That shows thee a weak slave, for the weakest goes to the wall.
A Capulet servant who invites guests to Capulet’s feast and escorts the Nurse to meet with Romeo. He is illiterate, and a bad singer.
- Male
I saw no man use you at his pleasure. If I had, my weapon should quickly have been out. I warrant you, I dare draw as soon as another man, if I see occasion in a good quarrel, and the law on my side.
Musicians, O musicians, “Heart’s ease,” “Heart’s ease.” O, an you will have me live, play “Heart’s ease.”
No money, on my faith, but the gleek. I will give you the minstrel.
- any
Where’s Potpan that he helps not to take away? He shift a trencher? He scrape a trencher?
Away with the joint stools, remove the court cupboard, look to the plate.
- any
We cannot be here and there too. Cheerly, boys! Be brisk awhile, and the longer liver take all.
- any
Faith, we may put up our pipes and be gone.
Not a dump, we. ’Tis no time to play now.
An you re us and fa us, you note us
Montague’s servant, who fights with Sampson and Gregory in the first scene of the play.
- Male
Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
Quarrel, sir? No, sir.
Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. A woman who herself married young (by her own estimation she gave birth to Juliet at close to the age of fourteen), she is eager to see her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on the Nurse for moral and pragmatic support.
- female
A crutch, a crutch! Why call you for a sword?
Nurse, where’s my daughter? Call her forth to me.
This is the matter.—Nurse, give leave awhile. We must talk in secret.—Nurse, come back again. I have remembered me, thou ’s hear our counsel. Thou knowest my daughter’s of a pretty age.
- any
Pray you, put up your dagger and put out your wit.
I say “silver sound” because musicians sound for silver.
Hang him, Jack. Come, we’ll in here, tarry for the mourners, and stay dinner.
- any
Faith, I know not what to say.
- any
Which way ran he that killed Mercutio?
Up, sir, go with me. I charge thee in the Prince’s name, obey.
Clubs, bills, and partisans! Strike! Beat them down! Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!
A Franciscan friar charged by Friar Lawrence with taking the news of Juliet’s false death to Romeo in Mantua. Friar John is held up in a quarantined house, and the message never reaches Romeo.
- Male
Holy Franciscan friar, brother, ho!
Going to find a barefoot brother out, One of our order, to associate me, Here in this city visiting the sick, And finding him, the searchers of the town, Suspecting that we both were in a house Where the infectious pestilence did reign, Sealed up the doors and would not let us forth, So that my speed to Mantua there was stayed.
I could not send it—here it is again.
An apothecary in Mantua. Had he been wealthier, he might have been able to afford to value his morals more than money, and refused to sell poison to Romeo.
- any
Who calls so loud?
Such mortal drugs I have, but Mantua’s law Is death to any he that utters them.
My poverty, but not my will, consents
The Prince of Verona. A kinsman of Mercutio and Paris. As the seat of political power in Verona, he is concerned about maintaining the public peace at all costs.
- Male
Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, Profaners of this neighbor-stainèd steel— Will they not hear?—What ho! You men, you beasts, That quench the fire of your pernicious rage With purple fountains issuing from your veins: On pain of torture, from those bloody hands Throw your mistempered weapons to the ground, And hear the sentence of your movèd prince.
Where are the vile beginners of this fray?
Benvolio, who began this bloody fray?
A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet. Once Capulet has promised him he can marry Juliet, he behaves very presumptuous toward her, acting as if they are already married.
- Male
Of honorable reckoning are you both, And pity ’tis you lived at odds so long. But now, my lord, what say you to my suit?
Younger than she are happy mothers made.
These times of woe afford no times to woo.— Madam, good night. Commend me to your daughter.
- any
I am almost afraid to stand alone Here in the churchyard. Yet I will adventure.
O Lord, they fight! I will go call the watch.
This is the place, there where the torch doth burn.
Extra.
- Male
Lead, boy. Which way?
The ground is bloody.—Search about the churchyard. Go, some of you; whoe’er you find, attach.
Hold him in safety till the Prince come hither.
- Male
Here’s Romeo’s man. We found him in the churchyard.
- Male
Here is a friar that trembles, sighs, and weeps. We took this mattock and this spade from him As he was coming from this churchyard’s side.
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