Page:Romeo and Juliet (1917) Yale.djvu/131



That the speaker of this prologue and of that before Act Second appears as 'Chorus' is due to the influence which the classic tradition had upon English drama. A chorus, which often served to interpret the author's meaning, was an integral part of Greek and Latin plays, and was employed by some early English dramatists. Shakespeare used the old word to designate the actor who recited prologues.

star-cross'd. The pseudo-science of astrology taught that human destinies were affected by the stars. Similar phrases throughout the play suggest the influence of Fate upon the fortunes of Romeo and Juliet.

Nowhere else in the early editions of this play are there printed indications of the divisions into acts and scenes. The divisions made hereafter in this text, as well as the definite localizations of scenes, are those generally adopted by modern editors. On the Elizabethan stage there was often no sharp break between scenes, and the locality of the action was frequently left indefinite.

carry coals. This phrase gets its meaning from the fact that in noble households the lowest menials were those who carried wood and coals.

take the wall. In mediæval streets he who was nearest the house walls was safest from filth. Hence, to give the wall was an act of courtesy; to take it, the reverse.

bite my thumb. 'To threaten or defy, by putting the thumbnail into the mouth, and with a jerk (from the upper teeth) to make it knack.' (Cotgrave.)