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. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whole misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. 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, 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.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Romeo and Juliet, the prologue [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation possibly by Johann Ludwig Tieck (1773 - 1853); composed by Boris Blacher.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)
- GER German (Deutsch) (August Wilhelm Schlegel) , no title
- ROM Romanian (Română) (Ștefan Octavian Iosif)
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo) , no title
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-11-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 106
En la hermosa Verona, donde acaecieron estos amores, dos familias rivales igualmente nobles habian derramado, por sus odios mutuos, mucha inculpada sangre. Sus inocentes hijos pagaron la pena de estos rencores, que trajeron su muerte y el fin de su triste amor. Sólo dos horas va á durar en la escena este odio secular de razas. Atended al triste enredo, y suplireis con vuestra atencion lo que falte á la tragedia.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: this is a prose text. The line breaks are arbitrary.
Text Authorship:
- by Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo (1856 - 1912), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Romeo and Juliet, the prologue
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-05-07
Line count: 13
Word count: 71