Romeo and Juliet: The Importance of Act One, Scene One

West Side Story famously opens with members of the rival gangs crossing paths via jazzy music, snapping fingers, and high jumping, thereby setting the stage for the inevitable rumble between the Jets and the Sharks. West Side Story is a Broadway and Hollywood musical that was based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet and it is easy to see where the creators of this exciting opening sequence got the inspiration. 

Act One, scene one of Romeo and Juliet encapsulates all the action that is to come later in the play by introducing the feud that exists between the houses of Capulet and Montague, as well as by introducing many of the important secondary characters. In a twist that fans of The Simpsons probably enjoy, however, Romeo and Juliet themselves play little or no part in this foundational scene.

Act One, scene one of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet opens with two servants of the Capulets walking through the streets of Verona, joking about conquesting both Montague women and men. (Violent conquest in regard to the former, and sexual conquest in regard to the latter.) As John Lydon and Public Image, Ltd. sang, anger is an energy and the energy built up by this disrespecting of the Montagues comes to a boil when two servants of that house are seen by Sampson and Gregory. A funny little scene involving a rude gesture and insulting words soon erupts into something far more serious both dramatically and thematically.

The star-crossed romance of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet turns tragic later in the play because of an insult over masculine honor. Act one, scene one foreshadows that scene with the introduction of a major player involved in the tragic turn, Tybalt. Tybalt cries out “As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee” (Shakespeare 1.1.65) to Benvolio as the feud escalates beyond the servants to actual family members of the noble houses. Eventually, Mr. Montague and Mr. Capulet arrive and it is only because of their respective wives that these two old men are not fighting when Prince Escalus arrives to bring order.