Romeo and Juliet

If you stood in the grand public square of Verona on a midsummer afternoon, you would feel a heavy, baking heat pressing down on the red tiled roofs. But the air does not just shimmer with the sun, it simmers with anger. For longer than anyone can remember, two of the city's grandest families, the Capulets and the Montagues, have been locked in a bitter, breathless hatred. Nobody knows how it started, but the feud has infected the whole city. If you wear Capulet blue, you glare fiercely at Montague red. In 1595, a playright named William Shakespeare wrote this story to show how easily a beautiful world can be broken by old, foolish anger. On this hot afternoon, that anger boils over. Two Capulet servants, Samson and Gregory, are loitering in the shade, when two Montague servants, Balthazar and Abram, walk by. Seeking trouble, Samson bites his thumb, a gesture of great insult. After a tense, ridiculous exchange of words, swords are drawn and steel clashes. Benvolio, a gentle Montague, whose name means goodwill, rushes in to beat down their blades. "Part, fools!" he cries. But peace is easily crushed in Verona. Tybalt, a fiery Capulet nobleman who lives for the fight, steps out of the crowd. Mocking Benvolio's talk of peace, Tybalt draws his sword and attacks. The brawl spreads like spilled oil. Citizens wave clubs, and the old lords, Capulet and Montague, try to join the fight before being held back by their wives. Suddenly, trumpets sound. Prince Escalus, the weary ruler of Verona, rides through the crowd. Furiously, he declares that this is the third time their feud has disturbed the quiet of the streets. He issues a terrifying decree. If they ever fight again, their lives will pay the forfeit. The crowd disperses, leaving only Benvolio with Lord and Lady Montague. Anxiously, Lady Montague asks where her son, Romeo is. Benvolio explains he saw Romeo walking alone at dawn in a sycamore grove, looking deeply sad. Lord Montague sighs, explaining that Romeo has been weeping and locking himself in his darkened room, shutting out the beautiful daylight. Benvolio promises to find out why. When he meets his cousin, the truth comes out. Romeo is desperately in love with Rosaline, a young woman who has sworn to live a quiet life and wants nothing to do with him. To Romeo, this rejection is the end of the world. He speaks in miserable riddles, calling love a choking gall. Benvolio gently urges him to forget her by looking at other beautiful girls. Romeo insists he never could, but fate is already preparing to prove him wrong. On the other side of Verona, inside the grand stone walls of the Capulet Palace, Count Paris asks Lord Capulet for his daughter Juliet's hand in marriage. Juliet is not yet 14 years old, so Capulet asks Paris to let two more summers wither before they wed, but invites him to a grand masquerade feast that very night to woo her. Indoors, Juliet's mother and her wonderfully loud, talkative nurse urge her to consider Paris, whom the nurse calls a man of wax. Juliet obediently promises to look at him at the feast, but nothing more. Meanwhile, a Capulet servant, unable to read, wanders the streets and asks Romeo and Benvolio to read the guest list. Romeo spots the name of his unrequited love, Rosaline. Grateful, the servant invites them to the party, unaware they are Montagues. Benvolio urges Romeo to go, promising that seeing other beauties will make Rosaline look like a crow compared to a swan. Romeo agrees to go, solely to gaze at his love. As night falls, Romeo, Benvolio, and their brilliant, unpredictable friend Mercutio make their way to the palace. When Romeo complains that a heavy dream has made him fearful, Mercutio mocks his anxiety with a dazzling, wild tale of Queen Mab, the fairy's midwife who delivers empty dreams. Though Romeo silences his friend, a cold shiver of dread warns him that this night will set a dark destiny in motion. Still, he puts on his velvet mask and steps inside. The palace is a blur of music and light. Romeo's eyes search for Rosaline,…

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