Chorus
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;
Whose 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.
Modern translation & notes
In plain English
Two equal-status families in Verona have an old feud that's erupting into new violence. Their children fall in love, die tragically, and end the feud. That story is what we're about to perform for you.
What’s happening
The Chorus delivers the Prologue directly to the audience before the play begins. This is a spoiler-heavy framing speech — the goal is to set scene, stakes, and tone, not to build suspense. The Chorus wants the audience to lean in and listen carefully, promising that the performance will fill in what the summary leaves out.
Worth knowing
The Prologue is a Shakespearean sonnet (fourteen lines, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG), a form associated with love poetry — embedding the love story's structure into the play's very architecture. 'Star-cross'd' means thwarted by adverse stars (astrology), not merely unlucky.
Playing the moment
Play authority without pomposity. The Chorus knows the whole story and is inviting the audience in, not begging for attention. Pace: measured but not slow — let the enjambment between lines carry the energy forward. Many modern productions (e.g., Luhrmann's film) use this speech as a direct-to-camera address, which works because it's inherently a break in the fourth wall. The turn at line 12 ('Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage') shifts from narrating the story to narrating the performance itself — let the audience feel that pivot. The final couplet should warm slightly: the Chorus is asking for the audience's partnership.