Shakespeare, William, Thomas Creede, Elihu Dwight Church, Frederick Locker-Lampson, and John Davis Batchelder Collection. The most excellent and lamentable tragedie, of Romeo and Juliet: newly corrected, augmented, and amended, as it hath bene sundry times publiquely acted, by the Right Honourable the Lord Chamberlaine his seruants. London: Printed by Thomas Creede for Cuthbert Burby, 1599. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/96218859/.
This first authenticated publication of Romeo and Juliet gives students insights into the rich history of the text and offers a glimpse into Shakespearian history. Students can see how the text was published during the time period in which it was written and analyze how modern publications compare. Students can also view the artistry of the publication and analyze the impact artistic and publication choices have on the text.
This source is the second quarto edition of William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. This source was published in 1599 and was considered to be the most complete and accurate version of the play at the time.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1594 and 1596. It was first published in 1597 in an unauthorized quarto. It was published again in 1599 in an authorized quarto that is believed to be more accurate and reliable.
- What stylistic choices of the publishers impact the understanding of the text?
- How was the text treated differently by publishers in 1599?
- Has the play changed since its original publication?
Alabama State Standards
ELA21.9.1: Read, analyze, and evaluate complex literary and informational texts written from various cultural perspectives.
- Students will look at Romeo and Juliet published in two different time periods and compare and contrast the texts.
ELA21.9.3: Analyze how an author’s cultural perspective influences style, language, and themes.
- Students will look at Romeo and Juliet published in two different time periods and compare and contrast the texts to analyze how the culture of England in 1599 and the culture of today impacted publication decisions.
ELA21.9.16: Interpret how an author’s grammar and rhetorical style contribute to the meaning in both fiction, including poetry and prose, and nonfiction, including historical, business, informational, and workplace documents.
- Students will look at the style of words as well as the stylistic choices of publication to determine how they contribute to the meaning of the work.
This source can be paired with a more recently published version of Romeo and Juliet and be used to supplement a teacher’s unit on Shakespearean Tragedy. Students can view this source after reading the prologue and compare and contrast the 1599 publication to their modern version.
Suggested Questions:
- Look at the title page (page 9) of the 1599 publication. What do you notice about the title? How is this different from the modern title of the play? Make an inference about why this difference exists.
- Look at the prologue (page 11) of the 1599 publication. Consider the art at the top of this page. How does the art contribute to the text? Now, look at the prologue in your modern publication. Is there any art on this page? If so, how does the art contribute to the text? If not, why do you think art was omitted? Do the art of the modern text and the 1599 text convey the same message?
- Look at the text on the word level. Are the 1599 text and the modern text identical? Make an inference about what you notice.
- Consider the font of the 1599 text. Does the font help to convey a tone? Why or why now? Infer: Why do modern publications choose simpler fonts?
Suggested Teaching Strategies:
- Have students work in pairs. One student will be in charge of the modern text and one will be in charge of the 1599 version. Students will work together to answer the questions.
- Think, Pair, Share: Have students answer the questions individually. Then, students share their answers with a partner. Finally, they share their answers with the class.
- Jigsaw: Stragretically group students. Have each group discuss one question. This group becomes the “expert” on this question. Then, each group shares their analysis with the class.
- Romeo and Juliet is a Shakespearean tragedy, and while it is widely taught in high school settings, some may argue that the themes of violence are too mature for younger readers.
Links to resources for approaching those topics
- Cambridge University Press published an article on why it is important to teach Shakespeare. https://assets.cambridge.org/97813166/09873/excerpt/9781316609873_excerpt.pdf
- https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666879/. This source is a PDF version of Shakespeare’s First Folio published in 1623. It includes the full text of 36 plays giving teachers options about which play they choose to teach.
- https://www.folger.edu/
- The Folger Shakespeare Library offers numerous resources for teaching Shakespeare.
- https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/tragic-love-introducing-shakespeare
- This lesson from ReadWriteThink helps teachers introduce the play Romeo and Juliet.
- https://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/professional-library/reading-shakespeare-young
- This lesson from ReadWriteThink helps teachers better understand not just how to teach the Bard’s work, but also why. By celebrating the collaborative reading of Shakespeare’s plays, Dakin explores different methods for getting students engaged—and excited—about the texts as they learn to construct meaning from Shakespeare’s sixteenth-century language and connect it to their twenty-first-century lives.