Introduction

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is an excellent introduction to Shakespearean drama; teenagers can relate to its plot, characters, and themes. The play's action is easily understood, the character's motives are clear, and many of the themes are as current today as they were in Shakespeare's time. Therefore, it can be read on a variety of levels, allowing all students to enjoy it.

Students can experience the swash-buckling action and investigate the themes of parent-child conflict, sexuality, friendship, and suicide. Because of the play's accessibility to teenagers, students can view the play from a more literary perspective, examining the themes of hostility ad its effect on the innocent, the use of deception and its consequences, and the effects of faulty decision making. They can study how the characters function within the drama and how Shakespeare uses language to develop plot, characters, and themes. They can develop skills involved in literary criticism by delving into the play's comic and tragic elements and its classically tragic themes: the role of fate and fortune, the inevitable nature of tragedy, and the isolation of the tragic hero.

This web site includes a synopsis and commentary on the play, activities, discussion questions, and essay topics to be used before, during, and after reading of the play; ideas to extend the students' learning beyond the play, including ways to address its themes, literary analysis, techniques for using the play as a bridge to other works, exploration of its film adaptations, ways to use the play as part of an interdisciplinary study; and links to other web sites including historical materials, other works of literature addressing similar themes, and interdisciplinary sources.