Literary Explorer
Presents
by
William Shakespeare
Prologue
Two households, both alike
in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, naught could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive
to mend.
Designed by
Carolyn O Burleson
© 1997
Permission is hereby granted for other educators to use this unit for non-profit educational purposes only. You may link to the Romeo & Juliet unit, but you may not post it on another server without express written permission from the author. If you use this unit, I would be interested in feedback as to how useful you found it to be. If you have suggestions for improvement, please feel free to email Carolyn O Burleson.