Shakespeare writes the novel Romeo and Juliet in the XVI century.

Definition:

A prologue is the introduction to a story, here it's part pf the play.

Characteristic of the play:   The place where the story takes place is in Verona in Italy.

                     The time when it takes place is in middle age.

                                           The main charactères:Two lovers ( Romeo and Juliet ) and

                        Two household: Juliet's family ( The Capulet ) and Romeo's family ( The Montaigu )

The families are ennemies. Their quarrels are extremely violent.Yet their children fall in love but their parent's hatred will cause their death. This death will bring peace ( "mend" ).

The scene of balcony

The Vocabulary: 

The play is written in old english.  YOU = Thou/ Thee (old english) / YOUR = thy (old english)

The structure of the scene:

The turning point is when Romeo speak alone at Juliet and the second part is when Romeo and Juliet are speaking together.

The setting:

- The scene takes place in the garden.

- Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet's meeting at night because their families are ennemies and so they can't see the day.

- There are two part: The first is when Juliet is in lightened and the second part is when Romeo is in darkness. Moreover Juliet has a dominante role, too Juliet is above Romeo = a hig her position.

- The moon symbolize the femininity whereas the sun symbolize the strength, power ( male ).

- Shakespeare dramatise the fact that Romeo's love for Juliet was impossible, because the two lovers are separated. They are separated out of the balcony. The balcony is like a fence.

- Witch makes this setting particularly appropriate is the night because is dark, intimate whereas the day there are the poeple. There isn't more the magic of the night.

- In Shakespeare's play the brushes indicates the world wild, the balcony illuminated indicate the bright and going mad indicate the fact that two persons can't be together.

Vocabulary (2) : 

fence = barrière     cloak = cape     above = en hauteur     femininity = féminité

level = niveau        orchard = verger     on purpose = dans le but

a sin = un pêcher     ripe = mûr.     

Lien:

 Photorécit: (click on photorécit for see the video )

Daylimotion: "The Balcony scene":   http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xlkv2f_romeo-and-juliet-zeffirelli-the-balcony-scene_shortfilms 

Romeo and Juliet  

The characters:

Romeo = Montaigu's family

Juliet = Capulet's family

Mercutio = Best friend of Romeo

Tybalt = Juliet's cousin

Paris = Juliet's suitor

Friar Laurence = He has married secretly Romeo and Juliet

The nurse = She called Annon and she helps Romeo and Juliet to be together.

The Prince = The prince of Verona.

The setting:

It takes place at Verona, in Italy during the middle-age.

The plot:

There are two families: The Capulet (Juliet's family) and The Montaigu (Romeo's family). They hate each other because they are rival.

The lovers:

Romeo and Juliet come of wealthy families. Juliet has 12 years old and Romeo has 15 years old. They met for the first time at a bal.

The action:

-Tybalt killed Mercutio.

-Romeo killed Tybalt.

-Romeo killed his rival, Paris.

-Juliet make a suicide

West side story

The characters:

Tony = He is in love of Maria

Maria = She is in love of romeo

Riff = He is the friend of Tony

Bernado = He is the brother of Maria 

Chino = He is husband of Maria

Anita = She is the friend of Maria

The setting:

It takes place in the west side of New York in 1950.

The plot:

There are two groups: The Starks and the Jets. The gang "Jets" hates the Spanish-speaking poeple who have begun to move to the city from Puerto Rico. The young Puerto Ricans, menbers of the "Sharks" gang, hate the Jets in return. >>>>>> The two groups of teenagers fight each other for control of the streets.

The lovers:

Maria comes Puerto Rico and Tony is american. Maria has 17 years old and Tony has 20 years old. They met for the first time at a bal.

The action:

-Riff is killed by Bernado

-Maria's brother is killed by Tony

-Chino killed Tony

Link West Side Story : www.westsidestory.com                   

File the balcony scene: Raiponce

The official website of Doris Lessing:   http://www.dorislessing.org/

The Fifth Child talk about a woman and a man: Harriet and David. They are the main characters and they meet for the first time at the end of year at a party. This first extract is the beginning book. It talk about of the meeting between the two persons, so it talk about of the meeting at the party. 

Harriet is solidly built. She has a blue-eyes and curly dark hair, she merged. She works in the building but in the sale.  For David, him, has the brown hair and he has a round candid face. Moreover he has grey-blue eyes and he works in the same building Harriet. People look strangely because they dress with dark color all the time and no with full color. Too, they stay generally alone in their corner.

The two characters are linked by common points differentsd: they work in the same building, they remain alone in their corner , they wear dark clothes. In fact they are unfashionable !Also both are shy.

In the extract  different elements evoking life in the 60s as:

- "The pounding rtythm of a small band shook walls and floor"

-"bobbing up"

-"revolving"

-"The woman were dressed up dramatic, bizarre, full of color"

It's the period of rock'n roll. ( Women and men want like )                                                                 This party us learns that Harriet and David think that the people dancing of a in order forced. All is a comedy, all is false. They have others an opinion negative.                                                       Moreover the narator use a technical to introduce them. It's a cinematographic technical who name  " the scanning".  The travelling to reveal the scene progressively. The scene stop on Harriet and David and zoom on the couple. Harriet and David despise the dancers.

In this extract the narrator's tone is very ironique. We can see when Harriet was compared to dried grasses and easily forgotten notices.

The text you show by a sentence that Harriet and David were bound to fall in love, that the destiny is at work. It's " Both had found out who she other was "

We learn also that David had a very long love affair. It's a bad experience for him. The word "reluctantly"  we learn. Indeed David have already knew a story with a girl. For Harriet is different, she says: " I don't like all this sleeping aroud, it's not for me"

To finish the story evolve in this paragraph because they falling love at the first sight, at the party  and then they decided to marry in the spring !

Link for see this extract