Lyrics

http://www.letras4u.com/dire_straits/romeo_and_juliet.htm

Video clips

Here you have two videos with versions of songs dedicated to the two most important characters in the play. One is by Dire Straits and the other one by The Killers.
I will also give you the lyrics of the songs in a different post, in case you are interested.
ENJOY!

Adaptations of the play

"Romeo and Juliet" is a timeless play. It exploits such universal themes that nowadays it continues being performed everywhere.

Besides, many adaptations have been made of this play, not just in cinema (the film we are watching in class is an example, but before this version many more had already been made, including the fantastic musical "West Side Story"), but also in music (famous bands have written songs which talk about these two characters, like "Dire Straits" or "The Killers").

As usual, I leave some links so you can read more about adaptations and I'll try to post a video clip of the song by the previously mentioned bands to see what you think.

http://library.thinkquest.org/19539/randj.htm?tqskip1=1#rjfilm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Story

Activities on "Romeo and Juliet"

Now that you have finished reading the play and you have read all the information I have left on this blog, try to do the following activities.
HAVE FUN!!!

http://www.isabelperez.com/webquest/romeo/critic.htm
http://www.quia.com/pp/8615.html?AP_rand=1564621644
http://www.quia.com/cb/13306.html
http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/romjul/Characters.htm
http://shakespeareinslang.com/report%20card.htm
http://shakespeareinslang.com/like.htm

Useful links

I leave some links here so you can read more about this wonderful play.
http://www.cyberessays.com/English/139.htm
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/danielle.esposito/R&J.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/19539/randj.htm?tqskip1=1#char

Romeo and Juliet

This is the most famous of all Shakespeare's plays, first performed in 1597. It is a story of passionate young love, in the Italian city of Verona. Romeo and Juliet are the star-crossed lovers, who meet, fall in love, and promise to be true to each other forever.

Love is strong, but not as strong as family tradition, or hate or even revenge.

What's in a name? Does it matter if you are called Montague or Capulet?

When Romeo falls in love with Juliet he finds out that it does matter. It makes all the difference in the world, because both families hate each other bitterly.

Revenge? Hate? Family? Love? It's like if we are watching the news, right? William Shakespeare explored the inner souls of his characters and exploited universal themes which could make the plot of a 21st century's film.

In fact, many adaptations have been made of this play, not only in the cinema but also in other fields like music.

I hope you find the following posts with their links very useful and, above all, interesting.

Activities

Now, before we move on to study "Romeo and Juliet", I'm going to give you some activities you can try to do. If you've got doubts or want me to correct them, either ask me on the blog or bring them to class. I'll try to solve them.
I strongly recommend you to do the activities. It will make it easiesr for you to pass the exam in May.
http://isabelperez.com/webquest/romeo/biography.htm

The Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre was the theatre where Shakespeare's most important plays were performed.

Everyone could go to see these plays and depending on the social class you belonged to you would sit in one place or another (usually lower social classes would stand up and the seats were kept for those who could afford them).

"The Globe" was rebuilt in 1999 and nowadays you can enjoy the pleasure to go to see Shakespeare's plays being performed here.

Here is a link so you can read more about this emblematic theatre.

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/Globe.html

Elizabethan England

As well as knowing the biography of the author we also need to know something about the period in which he lived and wrote.

The age of Shakespeare was a great time in English History.The reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) saw England emerge as one of the most powerful nations in the Western World.

At this time, London was the heart of England, reflecting all the vibrant qualities of Elizabethan Age. London was a leading centre of culture. Its dramatists and poets were among the leading literary artists of the day. In this heady environment, Shakespeare lived and wrote.

The Queen's taste in fashion set the standard for the aristocracy and the rest of the society; her love of music, drama and poetry fostered an atmosphere in which many of England's greatest writers found encouragement and financial support. Under Elizabeth's leadership, England experienced the true cultural reawakening or renaissance of thought, art and vision which had begun in Italy a century earlier.

In this era, the theatre was a true common denominator. Everyone, regardless of social class, enjoyed the spectacle of Elizabethan theatre.

At that time, one of the most popular theatres was "The Globe", for which Shakespeare himself was a shareholder. Shakespeare's most successful plays were performed here.

William Shakespeare

Obviously, it's almost impossible to try to understand any literary work without knowing anything about its author and about their lifetime.

William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in the history of universal Literature ever. Not only did he write plays (comedies, historical plays and tragedies), but also poetry (some of his sonnets are also quite famous).

You might not know much about this great English playwright. That's why I'm going to leave two links on this blog so you can read and find out more.

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/ShakespeareBiog.html

http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/life.htm

Introduction

This blog has been created to help all the students in Secondary Education, compulsory and not compulsory who,for whatever reason, are reading or have read "Romeo and Juliet", the most famous tragedy by William Shakespeare.
I will include information about the tragedy itself as well as the author.
I hope this will be useful for all my students in 4ºESO. If you have got any doubts you can also use this blog to ask me. I will try to solve them, either here or in class.