Prologue

Two households, both alike in dignity,

Two families both alike

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

In beautiful Verona where our story takes place

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

An Old war turns into new conflict

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

Normal people are dying at the hand of these two families

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

From  womb  of these enemies

A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,

a pair of lovers commit suicide
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.

Stop thier parents conflict

The fearful passage of their death-marked love

The trouble of thier death and love

And the continuance of their parents’ rage,

And thier parents feud

Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove,

That Romeo and Juliet couldn’t stop
Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage—

is now a two hour long play

The which, if you with patient ears attend,

I you listen carefully
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

We will tell you the story of