Hello, everyone.

It's lovely to see you here today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton and I'm here to guide you through the learning journey today.

Now today's lesson's called "Exploring how the prologue sets up the theme of fate in "Romeo and Juliet." So we're gonna start off by thinking about the concept of fate more generally and how it was thought of in Elizabethan England before we move on to the prologue and consider how the language and form of the prologue set up the theme of fate.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever you're using for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to explain how the prologue sets up the theme of fate in "Romeo and Juliet." So we have five words there we're going to be using as our keywords.

They're identified in bold throughout the learning material, and I'll try to point them out to you as well so you can see them being used in context.

So our first keyword is prologue, which means a separate introductory section of a literary, dramatic or musical work.

In "Romeo and Juliet, the prologue is sung by the chorus and it sets up the plot for us.

Our second keyword is fate, which means the development of events outside of a person's control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power.

We're going to be contextualising fate in this lesson and thinking about how the prologue sets up the theme of fate within "Romeo and Juliet." Our third keyword is predetermined, which means established or decided in advance.

Our fourth keyword is destiny, which means everything that happens to someone during their life, including what will happen in the future.

So if you believe in fate, you most likely believe that the events of your life have already been decided by a higher power.

Our final keyword is free will, which means the ability to act and make choices independently of any outside influence.

Having free will is the opposite of believing in fate.

If you believe in free will, you believe you are in charge of the outcome of your life.

So I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and the definitions.

So pause the video, write them down now.

Fantastic.

Let's get started with the lesson.

So we have three learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to contextualise fate.

So we're gonna talk about what it means and how people in Elizabethan England thought of fate.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to talk through the language in the prologue.

Now, the imagery of stars and the language being death-marked linked to the concept of fate.

For our third learning cycle, we're going to think about the prologue as a sonnet and think about how the form links the concept of fate.

So let's start thinking broadly about the concept of fate and our lives.

A person's destiny is everything that happens to them during their life, including what will happen in the future.

So what I'd like you to think about is do you think you have control over your own destiny? Do you think you have control of what happens in your life? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some really interesting discussions there.

Now, we can either believe we have free will and control over our own destiny, or that our destiny is predetermined by a higher power, fate.

So we can believe we have control over our lives, that we can change the course of our lives ourselves.

Or we might believe the events of our lives are already set in stone by a higher power.

There's nothing we can do to change it.

So let's think about fate in a context of Elizabethan England.

Now, fate means the development of events outside of a person's control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power.

In Elizabethan England, most people believed their lives were controlled by fate.

They believed their destiny was predetermined by God.

So it was already set in stone by God.

They believed that everyone had their fixed place in life's hierarchy.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false that in Elizabethan England, most people believed they had free will over the outcome of their lives.

Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Now, the correct answer is false.

Now I'd like to tell me why it's false.

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said the in Elizabethan England, most people believed that their destiny was predetermined by God.

So very well done if you got this right.

Fantastic work, everyone.

We're now onto the first task of the lesson.

So what I'd like you to think about is do you think it'd be comforting to think there's no free will, everything in life is already predetermined? Why or why not? Now, you might think about that having free will means you can make your own decisions.

If life is predetermined, you have no control over the outcome of your life.

So pause the video.

Take a few minutes to discuss.

Welcome back, everyone, some great discussions there.

So what I'd like you to do now is think about Aisha and Izzy's ideas.

Whose ideas align more closely with your ideas? So Aisha said, "I don't think it would be comforting.

I like the idea I can make my own decisions and have an impact on what my life will be like." And Izzy said, "I think in a way it might be comforting 'cause it takes the pressure off you.

You can't make a wrong decision because everything's already laid out for you." Pause the video, think about whose ideas align more closely with your ideas.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I think perhaps what's most uncomfortable for some people to think about is the idea we'll probably never know if we're actually in control of our lives or not.

Are we making decisions because we actually want to or because we're destined to make those decisions? It's something that realistically we'll never truly know.

Amazing work, everyone.

We're now onto the second learning cycle where we're going to analyse the language in the prologue and how it sets up the theme of fate.

Now, Shakespeare explores the idea of fate in many of his plays, including "Romeo and Juliet," and "Macbeth." Arguably though what's unique to "Romeo and Juliet" is that we're told the fate of Romeo and Juliet in the prologue.

This doesn't happen in any of Shakespeare's other tragedies.

In those plays, the audience is left trying to work out what will happen.

But in "Romeo and Juliet," we already know they're going to die before the play begins.

So let's read through the prologue together.

"Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." So here we're told there are two families in Verona who have the same social class, that their feud continues through generations and is causing civil unrest in Verona.

"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life." So from these two enemies, come two children who fall in love and then commit suicide.

"Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents' strife." So the death of these children will end the feud between their parents.

"The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove." So nothing else could have ended the feud, but the death of their children.

"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." So the play will last around two hours.

It's going to fill in the gaps in the prologue and tell us everything about the story of these two lovers and their families.

So what I'd like you to think about is where can you see references to fate here? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, you might have said the phrases, "fatal loins," "star crossed" and "death-marked" all reference the concept of fate.

These quotations all suggest that Romeo and Juliet's fate was sealed before they were born from the loins of their parents.

We're now gonna spend a bit of time with each of those quotations analysing the connotations.

So we're gonna start by thinking about the imagery of stars in the prologue.

Now, people have long associated the concept of fate with the idea of stars.

Astrology is a method of predicting the future based on the stars.

Stars are also a navigational tool that guided people.

In Elizabethan England, most people accepted that the position of the planets and stars determined people's fate.

Now, in the prologue, Romeo and Julie are referred to as star-crossed lovers.

So what I'd like you to do is discuss the following questions.

So number one, what does it mean their love is in the stars? Number two, what does the image of a cross suggest for their love? What connotations does a cross have? How might that relate to love? So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

You might have said, the fact that love was in the stars means they're destined to be together.

They're destined to fall in love.

In terms of the image of a cross, you might have thought that when a sign has a cross over it, that means that something's not allowed.

So perhaps their love is not allowed.

The image of a cross also has connotations of death 'cause we might think of it as marking graves.

So those signs might suggest that love is destined in a tragedy and potentially, it is a sacrifice because the stars are against them.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

So what might the image of a cross suggest about Romeo and Juliet's love? Is it A, they're destined to be together? B, their love will have a tragic end.

Or C, their love will heal the ancient grudge.

So pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now ,the correct answer is it suggests their love will have a tragic end because the image of a cross has connotations of something not allowed and associations with death.

So very well done if you got that right.

Now, Shakespeare also refers to Romeo and Juliet as death-marked in the prologue.

So what I'd like you to think about is how might star-crossed link to death-marked? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

As Laura says, "I think death-marked builds on star-crossed to suggest there's something permanently attached to Romeo Juliet, they're marked by death.

That means their love will have a tragic end." So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false that being death-marked links the idea of being star-crossed? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Now, the correct answer is true.

Now I'd like to tell me why it's true.

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, you might have said that being marked by death suggests that death is permanently attached to Romeo and Juliet, which links the image of a cross representing a tragic end.

So very well done if you got those right.

So let's think about the word fatal from the quotation "From fourth the fatal loins of these two foes." I'd like you to think about the following information.

So fatal means leading to failure or disaster, as well as causing death.

Fatal comes from late Middle English, meaning destined by fate and ominous.

So what I'd like to think about is what's the significance of Romeo and Juliet's parents being described as having fatal loins? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Now, the fact that Romeo and Juliet's fate is connected to their parents might suggest their fate was set before they're born.

Furthermore, the entomology of the word fatal might suggest their fate as something disastrous.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is fill in the gaps to complete the sentences.

So what means leading to failure or disaster, as well as causing death? The depiction of Rome and Juliet's parents as having fatal loins implies that Romeeo and Juliet's fate was set.

They were born.

So pause the video, take a few moments to fill in the gaps.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, fatal means leading to failure or disaster, as well as causing death.

The depiction of Romeo and Juliet's parents as having fatal loins implies that Romeo and Juliet's fate were set before they were born.

So very well done if you've got this right.

Fantastic work, everyone.

We're now to the second task of the lesson.

What I'd like you to do is write an analytical paragraph explaining how Shakespeare's use of language in the prologue sets up the theme of fate.

Now, you might consider the connotations of star-crossed, the connotations of death-marked, and the fact that Shakespeare used the word fatal.

So pause the video, write your paragraph now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some fantastic work there.

What I'd like you to do is read back through your work and think about whether you consider the following ideas.

The idea that being star-crossed lovers implies that Romeo and Juliet will fall in love, but their love will have a tragic ending.

The use of death-marked implies that Romeo and Juliet are permanently associated with death and violence.

That Shakespeare's use of "fatal loins" implies that Romeo and Juliet's tragic end was set before they're born.

So pause the video, read back through your work now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now we're going to return to the prologue and our final learning cycle, and think about how the sonnet form might also link to ideas of fate.

Amazing work, everyone.

We're now the third learning cycle.

We're going to think about the rhyme scheme and the metre of a sonnet and how it might link to ideas of fate.

Now, the prologue is written in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet.

Now, the Shakespearean sonnet has a specific form: it has 14 lines, it's written iambic pentameter, and has a specific rhyme scheme.

So let's look at the prologue again.

If we map out the rhyming words in the prologue, it looks like this.

Now, this matches the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet.

Now, the prologue also uses iambic pentameter.

Iambic pentameter means there are 10 syllables per line.

The syllables are arranged into five metrical feet.

So iambs.

Each iamb consists of a pair of syllables, an unstressed, so not emphasised syllable, then a stressed, so an emphasised syllable.

So for example, if we read the line, "Two households both alike in dignity," we notice there are 10 syllables and they're arranged in an unstressed, then stressed syllable pattern.

Now, both the rhyme scheme and metre of a Shakespearean sonnet are regular.

They're always the same.

So what I'd like you to think about is how might this strict form link to ideas of fate? Think about the idea that a regular rhyme schema metre means you can predict the rhyme metre of the line coming next.

Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

As Laura says, "I think the idea of the sonnet having a very rigid structure links the idea of life being predetermined.

We know what's gonna happen next in the structure of a sonnet, just as fate knows the outcome of people's lives." Now, as well as being controlled, the sonnet form is also a very contained form since it only has 14 lines.

So what I'd like you to think about is how might this concept of being contained also link to ideas of fate? Think about the fact that being contained means you can't break out.

You can't add an extra line beyond 14 lines.

Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

As Izzy says, "I think it has connotations of almost being trapped, as if Romeo and Juliet are trapped within their fate and they can't escape, just as the sonnet form doesn't go beyond 14 lines." It can't escape the form.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false? The form of the sonnet links to the concept of fate.

Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

The correct answer is true.

Now I'd like to tell me why it's true.

So pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, you might have said the controlled nature of the sonnet links the concept that fate has control over our lives.

So very well done if you got this right.

Fantastic work, everyone.

We're now to the final task of the lesson.

Now, throughout the prologue, there's also imagery of death and violence with "fatal loins," "civil blood," "ancient grudge." So what I'd like you to discuss is how might the idea of the sonnet form link to the violent imagery and the concept of fate? Now, you might consider the contained nature of the sonnet form, and the controlled nature of the sonnet form.

So pause the video, take a few minutes to discuss.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great discussions there.

What I'd like you to do now is think about Sofia's ideas.

Think about how well they align with your ideas.

So Sofia said, "The of a sonnet form suggests that Romeo and Juliet have no control.

They're trapped within these ideas of violence and death.

They can't escape.

The controlled nature of the sonnet reflects the idea it's their destiny to have a tragic, violent end." So pause the video.

Think about how well Sofia's ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I think this is an example of why Shakespeare's such a wonderful writer.

He could have chosen any form to write the prologue in, yet he chose the sonnet.

He chose to emphasise these ideas of containment and control around Romeo and Juliet to really emphasise the role of fate.

You all did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

In Elizabethan England, most people believed their lives were controlled by fate.

Romeo and Juliet's fate is revealed to us in the prologue.

The image of star-crossed lovers shows that Romeo and Juliet's love will have a tragic end.

The use of "fatal loins" implies that Romeo and Juliet's fate was sealed before they were born.

The use of the sonnet form implies that Romeo and Juliet are trapped within their destinies.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson, everyone.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.