Romeo and Juliet act 1 summary the prologue A Chorus or group of characters enters the stage in a 14-line sonnet they introduced two Noble households of Verona the capulets and montagues they reveal that these two families have an ancient grudge against each other which will bring about more fighting during the course of the play however from these warring families to star-crossed lovers will appear the two lovers will end the feud between the families through their deaths the story of their love and the hateful relations between the two families will be the topic of the play that follows when analyzing the prologue consider Shakespeare's introduction to Romeo and Juliet as star-crossed lovers this phrase simply means that the lovers are set against the Stars since the stars are used as a symbol for fate and the future Shakespeare essentially means that the two lovers Romeo and Juliet will betray fate to be with each other but it will lead to their deaths it is an interesting structural choice to reveal the tragic ending at the very beginning of the play however it links to the central theme of Fate which is echoed throughout the play Shakespeare cleverly lets the audience in on the fate of Romeo and Juliet so that they can watch the tragedy unfold this reinforces the tragic message that fate is inescapable and heightens the sense of tragedy in the play as a whole act one scene one two servants from house Capulet Samson and Gregory joke with one another in the streets of Verona they rudely brag about their Superior strength compared with the Montague men and also their ability to bed Montague women next to Montague servants enter and Samson provokes them by biting his thumb at them a highly offensive gesture the Montague men lose their temper and a fight breaks out Benvolio the nephew of Lord Montague and Romeo's cousin enters and attempts to stop The Fray instructing them to put up their swords however more capulets arrive on the scene and tibbled the hot-headed cousin of Juliet raises the temperature by professing that he hates peace as much as he hates the montagues the brawl continues and Lord Montague and Lord Capulet enter along with their wives who discouraged them from attacking one another finally Prince escalus arrives and orders for the fighting to stop he makes a frustrated speech to the crowd bemoaning the three civil brawls between the houses which have Disturbed the streets of Verona up to this point he threatens if it should happen again those responsible will be executed for their crimes the prince exits with capulets leaving Benvolio with Lord and Lady Montague lady Montague asks Benvolio if he has seen her son Romeo Benvolio expresses concern that he had seen Romeo pacing alone outside of the city and the montagues tell him that Romeo is often alone these days seemingly in depressed or Melancholy mood Benvolio sees Romeo and offers a talk with him Lord and Lady Montague depart in the final part of the scene Romeo reveals to Benvolio that he is in love with a beautiful woman who will not return his affection Benvolio advises Romeo to look for other women but Romeo is so obsessed with this woman who is later identified as Rosaline that he says he cannot love another Benvolio says that he will help Romeo to get over her to analyze this scene consider first the contrasting characterizations of Benvolio and tibbled Benvolio is identified as a trustworthy Peacemaker through his attempt to try to end the brawl his actions are juxtaposed with the fiery tibbles however whose vitriolic exclamation restarts The Fray what drawn and talk of peace I hate the word as I hate hell all montagues and thee this identifies tibble's character to the audience as an antagonist a character who opposes the desires of another Romeo is also introduced later in scene one and is characterized by Shakespeare as a hopeless romantic obsessed with the object of his affections Rosaline who is rejecting his advances he lyricizes his feelings in mysterious comments on the nature of Love such as oh brawling love o loving hate which uses oxymoron to place contradictory ideas together to Romeo love is brawling which suggests he feels like love is a fight which causes him suffering the contradictions in the phrase loving hate also hint at his future relationship with Juliet where they love each other passionately whilst knowing of the hateful feud between their families Shakespeare establishes Romeo's character as dramatic in his language passionate and highly emotional act 1 scene 2. this scene begins with Lord Capulet walking with another nobleman from Verona count Paris the pair discussed paris's desire to marry Juliet Capulet is pleased with paris's interest in his daughter but also suggests that they should be cautious as Juliet is not yet 14 and too young to be married however Capulet suggests that he will consider Juliet's feelings on the matter and invites Paris to a feast that is home instructing him to woo her gentle Paris get her heart so that Juliet may fall in love to seal the match Capulet sends his servant Peter to invite a list of people to his feast as Capulet in Paris exit Peter reveals he cannot read and will struggle to complete the task Romeo and Benvolio then enter still discussing Romeo's affections for Rosaline Peter asks Romeo to read out the invitation and Romeo notices rosaline's name is on the list Peter invites them to come to the feast assuming they are not montagues Benvolio tells Romeo it is a perfect opportunity for him to compare Rosaline with other beauties but Romeo assures him he will only attend because of Rosaline this scene is particularly important in establishing the idea of patriarchal power in the play it is set during the 14th century a time when European women had very few rights a woman was essentially considered the property of their father if unmarried and the property of their husbands when they were married capulet's decision with Paris partially conforms to these expectations since it was the father's role to choose a husband for his daughter his instructions are Paris to let two more Summers Wither in their pride air we may think her right to be a bride uses a rhyming couplet which creates a loving and gentle tone to his words displaying capulet's obvious affection for his daughter additionally Shakespeare's use of imagery of nature using the adjective ripe reminds the audience of his caution as a father Juliet is compared to an unripe fruit not mature enough to be ready for marriage therefore Shakespeare establishes Capulet as a strong but kindly father who seems to consider and take interest in his daughter's happiness act 1 scene 3. at capulet's house Lady Capulet calls for the nurse to help Juliet get ready for the feast Juliet enters and the nurse recalls a story from Juliet's childhood when she had fallen over and the nurse's husband had made an inappropriate sexual joke about her falling backwards when she gets older Lady Capulet tells the nurse to hold thy peace perhaps offended by her rude comments and she asks Juliet about her feelings towards marriage Juliet shows some caution here stating marriage is an honor that I dream not of but Lady Capulet and the nurse tried to encourage her towards marriage mentioning that The Honorable Paris will attend the feast in the evening Lady Capulet asks Juliet to consider him as a Suitor and Juliet dutifully agrees to do so then a servant enters to announce the beginning of the feast this scene is used by Shakespeare to establish the three main female characters in the play Shakespeare creates contrast and tension between Lady Capulet and the nurse Lady Capulet is presented as indecisive being unable to help Juliet without the nurse's presence it suggests that there is some distance in the relationship between her and Juliet in contrast the nurse's body jokes about Juliet's childhood present her as inappropriate but also having a closeness to Juliet which is not shared by Lady Capulet Juliet's comments on marriage recall the words of her father in the previous scene she says of Paris I'll look to like if looking liking move but no more deep will I in dark mine I than your consent give strength to make it fly hear the word consent Echoes capulet's statement my will to her consent is but apart suggesting that Juliet understands the restrictions forced upon her by Society yet there is a hint of subtle resistance in her words since she seems so confident that she will not marry someone she does not love this paves the way for Shakespeare to break the conventions and rules of traditional marriage and suggest a vision of true love unrestricted by obligations to family and property act 1 scene 4. Romeo Benvolio and Mercutio and others from the Montague household gather before attending the Capulet ball they have masks to conceal their identity Romeo continues to speak of his love sickness and Mercutio Romeo's friend mocks him making several sexually provocative jokes he then makes a bizarre and imaginative speech about Queen map of the fairies who attends people's dreams in his descriptions of mab Mercutio uses childlike fairy tale descriptions interspersed with darker Visions such as soldiers dreaming of cutting men's throats it identifies Mercutio as a talented Wordsmith who offers a differing pessimistic worldview to Romeo's idealistic visions of love Romeo stops Mercutio stating that talkest of nothing and as the mender part Romeo comments that he is concerned the night's activities will have negative consequences in the future a key quote in this scene is Romeo's foreboding admission my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the Stars a clear reference to the theme of Fate identified in the star-crossed lovers line of the prologue Shakespeare continues to foreshadow the play's tragic ending as if to remind the audience that we are all Mastered by Fate as symbolized by the imagery of the stars in space which will dictate Romeo's future act one scene 5. the Capulet ball begins and Lord Capulet encourages the guests to enjoy themselves and invites them all to dance Romeo catches a glimpse of Juliet dancing from across the room and is immediately transfixed by her appearance stating I never saw true beauty till this night tibble Juliet's cousin recognizes Romeo and asks for his sword before Lord Capulet intervenes commanding him to leave Romeo whom he says means no harm tibble obeys but vows not to forget this offense Romeo then approaches Juliet and the pair touch hands captivated by each other in a romantic exchange filled with religious metaphors Romeo asks Juliet for permission to kiss her initially she rebuffs him but eventually they kiss the nurse enters telling Juliet her mother requires her and Julia exits Romeo asked the nurse who Juliet is and the nurse replies Lady Capulet is her mother Romeo is shocked and devastated by the news as the feast draws to an end Romeo leaves with Benvolio and the others Juliet is equally infatuated with Romeo and States if he is married she will die she then asks the nurse to identify him and the nurse tells Juliet that Romeo is a Montague Juliet is also anguished and frustrated that she should love a loathered enemy an important moment for analysis in this scene is the first conversation between Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare uses the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet 14 lines of iambic pentameter with a b a b c d c d e f e f g g rhyme scheme to emphasize the strength of their feelings for one another the sonnet is the traditional form for a love poem and it was also Shakespeare's preferred form of poetry he published over 150 sonnets during his career by having Romeo and Juliet recite a sonnet conversationally Shakespeare hints to the audience at the depth of passion they are both feeling the lines use an extended metaphor of a pilgrim which means a holy traveler visiting a shrine or place of worship creating religious imagery which again hints at their love having a Divine or perfect quality as he takes Juliet's hand Romeo says if I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy Shrine the gentle sin is this my lips two blushing pilgrims ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss he Compares his lips to a pilgrim and Juliet to a shrine a clever way of saying he longs to kiss her just as a pilgrim longs to reach the shrine their place of worship with this metaphor Shakespeare displays that Romeo's affections are taking a deeper and more spiritual Direction and as they kiss it becomes clear his affections for Juliet are deeper than they ever were for Rosaline