Riassunto Romeo e Giulietta in inglese

ROMEO E GIULIETTA: IL RIASSUNTO IN INGLESE

Uno dei testi più studiati a scuola, soprattutto in Letteratura Inglese, è Romeo e Giulietta di William Shakespeare. Nonostante le opere del Bardo siano numerose, Romeo e Giulietta (The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet è il titolo originario) è la sua tragedia più conosciuta e letta. Composta tra il 1594 e il 1596, è ambientata nella città di Verona e segue le vicende di due innamorati sfortunati, i giovani Romeo e Giulietta, appartenenti a due famiglie potenti e rivali della città, rispettivamente i Montecchi e i Capuleti.
L’odio delle famiglie sarà la causa scatenante della tragedia che si consuma nel finale. Vero capolavoro, è una delle storie d’amore più popolari mai scritte e gli adattamenti cinematografici, teatrali e musicali sono tantissimi. Se per la scuola dovete svolgere un riassunto dell’opera e non avete avuto tempo di leggere tutta la tragedia, ecco per voi un riassunto di Romeo e Giulietta in inglese svolto per voi.

ROMEO E GIULIETTA: STRUTTURA DELL’OPERA

Prima di procedere con il riassunto generale dell’opera, vediamo insieme come è strutturata la tragedia. Romeo e Giulietta è divisa in cinque atti, composti dalle seguenti scene:

• Atto I: 5 scene
• Atto II: 6 scene
• Atto III: 5 scene
• Atto IV: 5 scene
• Atto V: 3 scene

Il testo è scritto in prosa e conta anche un prologo, composto in forma di sonetto elisabettiano, che introduce la vicenda.

Per il riassunto in italiano leggi qui: Romeo e Giulietta, riassunto dell’opera di William Shakespeare

RIASSUNTO ROMEO E GIULIETTA IN INGLESE SVOLTO

Streets of Verona: the first act begins with a brawl between the servants of the feuding noble families of Capulet an Monatague. The citizens of the Italian town are outraged by the constant violence between the two sworn enemy families, so Prince Escalus, the ruler of Verona, attempts to prevent any further conflicts between the families declaring any further breach of the peace punishable by death. Benvolio, Montegue’s nephew, meets his cousin Romeo (Montegue’s son) and they talk about Romeo’s recent depression: he feels an infatuation for a girl named Rosaline, one of Capulet’s nieces. Persuaded by Benvolio and Mercutio, Romeo agrees to go with Benvolio to a Capulet’s feast in order to see Rosaline.

In the meantime, in Capulet’s household, young Juliet (Capulet’s daughter) talks with her mother, Lady Capulet, and her nurse about the possibility of marrying Count Paris who asked Juliet’s father the permission to marry her. Capulet, despite being happy at the match, asks Paris to wait two years, since Juliet is not yet fourteen, and invites him to Capulet’s ball. Juliet has not yet considered marriage, but promises her parents to look at Paris during the feast to see if she thinks she could fall in love with him.

Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline; however, he meets and falls in love with Juliet. Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, recognises Romeo and wants to kill him for sneaking into the feast but he is stopped by Juliet’s father who doesn’t want to shed blood in his house. Romeo then sneaks into the Capulet orchard where he overhears Juliet at her window vowing her love to him: the boy makes himself known to her and they agree to get married despite their families’ hatred towards one another (it is the famous “balcony scene”). With the help of Friar Laurance, they got secretly married the next day.

In the meanwhile, Tybalt, still upset by Romeo’s outrage (for sneaking into the ball), meets and challenges him to a duel, but Romeo refuses. Mercutio, instead, who is offended by Tybalt’s insolence, accepts the duel on Romeo’s behalf: when Mercutio is fatally wounded, Romeo attempts to break up the fight, but ends killing Tybalt.

The Prince decides to exile Romeo from Verona, under penalty of death if he ever returns. The lad, before moving to Mantua, secretly spends the night with Juliet and they consummate their marriage. The next day, Juliet learns that her father, affected by the recent events, intends for her to marry Paris in just three day. She tried unsuccessfully to stop the marriage.

Juliet then goes to Friar Lawrence asking for help and they concoct a plan to reunite her with Romeo in Mantua. The night before her wedding to Paris, Juliet must drink a potion that will make her appear to be dead. After she is laid to rest in the family’s crypt, the Friar and Romeo will secretly retrieve her, and she will be free to live with Romeo, away from their parent’s feuding. Juliet drinks the potion and when discovered apparently dead, she is laid in the family crypt.

The messenger, in charge of going to Romeo to get him acquainted of the plan, never reaches him, so Romeo learns only about Juliet’s death. Heartbroken, Romeo buys poison and goes to the Capulet crypt. He meets Paris, they confronts and Romeo kills Paris. Believing Juliet to be dead, he then drinks the poison. Juliet then awakens and, finding Romeo dead, stabs herself with his dagger.

Montague, Capulets and the Prince meet at the tomb to find all three dead and Friar Laurence tells the story of the two “star-cross’d lovers”. Montague and Capulet, having lost their children, reconcile and agree to end their violent feud, making Verona peaceful again. At the end of the play, the Prince makes an elegy for the two unlucky lovers: “For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo”.

Da non perdere: Romeo e Giulietta: trama, personaggi, riassunto e storia vera

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: VITA, OPERE E RIASSUNTI

Ecco altre risorse per studiare al meglio Shakespeare:

• William Shakespeare: appunti in inglese
• Shakespeare the dramatist: la produzione drammaturgica di Shakespeare, in inglese con traduzione.
• Mappa Concettuale: La poetica di Shakespeare
• Tragedie di Shakespeare, quali sono e sintesi
• Amleto, riassunto in inglese dell’opera di Shakespeare
• Macbeth: riassunto in inglese dell’opera di Shakespeare
• The Merchant of Venice: riassunto in inglese de Il Mercante di Venezia
• The Tempest: riassunto in inglese de La Tempesta
• Winter’s Tale di Shakespeare, riassunto in inglese
• Frasi di Shakespeare: aforismi e citazioni

COMPITI PER LE VACANZE DI NATALE

Hai bisogno di altri appunti, riassunti e, magari, anche di qualche tema per finire in fretta i compiti e goderti le vacanze di Natale? Allora leggi qui:

• Compiti per le vacanze di Natale: riassunti, schede libro e temi svolti
• Canto di Natale riassunto in inglese A Christmas Carol
• Tema svolto sul Natale
• Tema sul Natale in inglese
• Tema in inglese sul Natale in Italia
• Riassunti libri: tutto per i compiti

(Foto: Romeo + Giulietta di William Shakespeare; Courtesy: 20th Century Fox)