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Answers must be in complete sentences. Follow the R.A.C.E.S. response format linked below.
R.A.C.E.S. response formatting (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain, Summarize)
Enter CHORUS
CHORUS
Two households, both alike in dignity
(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil bl*** makes civil hands unclean.
(5) From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their life ending-marked love
(10) 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
Question #1 (5 points)
If you had to rewrite the second stanza of the prologue (lines 5-9) to make it a comedy rather than a tragedy, what would you change and why?
(answer in a minimum 4-5 sentences)
Question #2 (5 points)
In the prologue, the Chorus tells the audience the ending before the play begins.
If you were sitting in the audience of the Globe Theater in 1599, how would this “spoiler” affect your experience while watching the first act?
(answer in a minimum 3-4 sentences)
All Answers 1
Answered by
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AI
Question #1
Restate: If I had to rewrite the second stanza of the prologue (lines 5–9) to make it a comedy rather than a tragedy, I would change the outcome and the tone so the stanza promises reconciliation and merry mishaps instead of death.
Answer: I would replace words that imply doom (for example, “fatal” and “take their life”) with playful or restorative language and make the lovers’ misadventures lead to marriage and their parents’ reconciliation rather than death. For example, the stanza could read: “From forth the hopeful loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross’d lovers find their way, / Whose misadventured piteous merry shows / Doth with their wit and wedding bury parents’ strife. / The joyful passage of their life ending-marked love…” This revision changes the expected ending from death to a happy union and keeps some of the original poetic flavor while signaling comedy.
Cite: The original lines 5–9 state, “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.” These lines directly announce the tragic fate I would alter.
Explain: By removing the word “fatal” and the phrase “take their life” and replacing them with language about finding their way and wedding, the audience’s expectations shift from sorrow to amusement. Comedy often relies on misunderstandings, reconciling conflicts, and a restored social order; the proposed wording emphasizes misadventure and merry resolution rather than irreversible loss. Changing the outcome also changes tone—where the original creates pity and fear, the revision creates anticipation of humorous obstacles and a satisfying reconciliation.
Summarize: In short, I would change the stanza’s diction and outcome so that the lovers’ misadventures culminate in marriage and parental reconciliation rather than death, because those changes convert the prologue’s tone and promise from tragic inevitability to comedic restoration.
Question #2
Restate: If I were sitting in the audience of the Globe Theater in 1599, the Chorus’s “spoiler” that reveals the lovers’ death before the play begins would affect my experience by shifting my focus from “what will happen” to “how and why it happens.”
Answer: Knowing the ending in advance would create dramatic irony and a sense of tragic inevitability; I would watch the first act looking for the small choices and misunderstandings that set the doomed path in motion. Rather than being surprised by the outcome, I would likely feel a growing tension and sadness as events unfold toward the foretold conclusion.
Cite: The Chorus explicitly tells the audience, “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parents' strife,” which makes the final fate clear before the action begins (lines 6–8).
Explain: Because the ending is revealed, every comedic or romantic moment in Act I would be shaded with foreknowledge; tender scenes would be bittersweet and apparent conflicts would seem ominous rather than merely incidental. Also, Elizabethan audiences expected the Chorus’s summary and often valued seeing how plot and character choices lead to the foretold result, so the “spoiler” increases attention to craftsmanship and moral lessons rather than reducing enjoyment.
Summarize: Therefore, the Chorus’s preface would change my experience from suspense about the outcome to engaged observation of how the tragedy unfolds, enhancing dramatic irony and emotional investment in the characters’ choices.
Restate: If I had to rewrite the second stanza of the prologue (lines 5–9) to make it a comedy rather than a tragedy, I would change the outcome and the tone so the stanza promises reconciliation and merry mishaps instead of death.
Answer: I would replace words that imply doom (for example, “fatal” and “take their life”) with playful or restorative language and make the lovers’ misadventures lead to marriage and their parents’ reconciliation rather than death. For example, the stanza could read: “From forth the hopeful loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross’d lovers find their way, / Whose misadventured piteous merry shows / Doth with their wit and wedding bury parents’ strife. / The joyful passage of their life ending-marked love…” This revision changes the expected ending from death to a happy union and keeps some of the original poetic flavor while signaling comedy.
Cite: The original lines 5–9 state, “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.” These lines directly announce the tragic fate I would alter.
Explain: By removing the word “fatal” and the phrase “take their life” and replacing them with language about finding their way and wedding, the audience’s expectations shift from sorrow to amusement. Comedy often relies on misunderstandings, reconciling conflicts, and a restored social order; the proposed wording emphasizes misadventure and merry resolution rather than irreversible loss. Changing the outcome also changes tone—where the original creates pity and fear, the revision creates anticipation of humorous obstacles and a satisfying reconciliation.
Summarize: In short, I would change the stanza’s diction and outcome so that the lovers’ misadventures culminate in marriage and parental reconciliation rather than death, because those changes convert the prologue’s tone and promise from tragic inevitability to comedic restoration.
Question #2
Restate: If I were sitting in the audience of the Globe Theater in 1599, the Chorus’s “spoiler” that reveals the lovers’ death before the play begins would affect my experience by shifting my focus from “what will happen” to “how and why it happens.”
Answer: Knowing the ending in advance would create dramatic irony and a sense of tragic inevitability; I would watch the first act looking for the small choices and misunderstandings that set the doomed path in motion. Rather than being surprised by the outcome, I would likely feel a growing tension and sadness as events unfold toward the foretold conclusion.
Cite: The Chorus explicitly tells the audience, “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parents' strife,” which makes the final fate clear before the action begins (lines 6–8).
Explain: Because the ending is revealed, every comedic or romantic moment in Act I would be shaded with foreknowledge; tender scenes would be bittersweet and apparent conflicts would seem ominous rather than merely incidental. Also, Elizabethan audiences expected the Chorus’s summary and often valued seeing how plot and character choices lead to the foretold result, so the “spoiler” increases attention to craftsmanship and moral lessons rather than reducing enjoyment.
Summarize: Therefore, the Chorus’s preface would change my experience from suspense about the outcome to engaged observation of how the tragedy unfolds, enhancing dramatic irony and emotional investment in the characters’ choices.
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