Your assignment is to closely read and annotate the prologue so that you understand what it says. Then, you will rewrite the prologue, line for line, in modern English. Your finished product will be a 14 line poem written in modern English that has just about the same amount of words as the original. Bonus points if you follow the same rhyme scheme (ABABCDCDEFEFGG)

THE PROLOGUE

Enter Chorus.

1)Two households, both alike in dignity (A)

2)(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene), (B)

3)From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, (A)

4)Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. (B)

5)From forth the fatal loins of these two foes (C)

6)A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; (D)

7)Whose misadventured piteous overthrows (C)

8)Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife. (D)

9)The fearful passage of their death-marked love (E)

10)And the continuance of their parents’ rage, (F)

11)Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove, (E)

12)Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; (F)

13)The which, if you with patient ears attend, (G)

14)What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. (G)

Chorus exits.

YOUR TRANSLATION:

(Line 1)

(Line 2)

(Line 3)

(Line 4)

(Line 5)

(Line 6)

(Line 7)

(Line 8)

(Line 9)

(Line 10)

(Line 11)

(Line 12)

(Line 13)

(Line 14)