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The Story of ROMEO & JULIET
Based on the play by William Shakespeare, as told by Bart Marks
In the town of Verona lived two families, the Capulets and the Montagues, engaged in a bitter feud. Among the Montagues was Romeo, a hot-blooded lad with an eye for the ladies.
One day, Romeo was recounting for his friends his love for Rosaline, a haughty beauty from a well-to-do family. Romeo's friends chided him for his "love of love" but agreed to a plan to attend the feast of the Capulets', a costume party where Rosaline was expected to make an appearance. The disguises would provide Romeo and his friends a bit of sport and the opportunity to gaze undetected upon the fair Rosaline. Once there, however, Romeo's eyes fell upon Juliet, and he thought of Rosaline no more.
Asking around to learn the identity of Juliet, Romeo's voice is recognized by Tybalt, a member of the Capulet clan. Tybalt calls for his sword, but the elder Capulet intervenes, insisting that no blood be shed in his home. So Romeo is tolerated long enough to find an opportunity to speak to Juliet alone, still unaware of her identity.
He begs for an opportunity to kiss her hand. She relents. He presses his case, desiring her lips. She has no breath to stop him. Interrupted by the girl's nurse, Romeo learns the name of his heart's desire: Juliet Capulet.
The vision of Juliet now invades his every thought. Unable to sleep, Romeo returns late that night to the bedroom window of his love, hiding in the bushes below. There, he is surprised to find Juliet on the balcony, professing her love for him and wishing that he were not a Montague.
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name. . .
What's a Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet. .
Romeo appears from the bushes, ready to deny his name and profess his love. The two agree to meet at nine o-clock the next morning to be married.
Early the next morning, Romeo appears at the cell of Friar Lawrence begging the friar to marry him to Juliet. Friar Lawrence does not take Romeo seriously at first, but he is soon impressed with Romeo's sincerity. The Friar agrees to perform the ceremony, praying that the union might someday put an end to the feud between the two households. Still, he advises Romeo keep the marriage a secret for a time. Romeo and Juliet are married.
On the way home, Romeo chances upon his friend Mercutio arguing with Tybalt in the public square. Spying Romeo, Tybalt tries to taunt him into a fight. Romeo has no desire to harm the kinsman of his new wife. Mercutio is stunned and embarrassed by Romeo's soft words and draws his sword. Romeo tries to restrain his friend, but Tybalt thrusts his sword underneath Romeo's arm, stabbing Mercutio. Tybalt then flees with his friends. The wound is worse than at first suspected. "Ask for me tomorrow," says Mercutio, "and you shall find me a grave man." He dies.
Tybalt returns still cursing the unexpectedly reluctant Romeo. But Romeo is reluctant no longer, drawing his sword and slaying Tybalt. The moment Tybalt falls, Romeo realizes he has made a terrible mistake: "O, I am fortune's fool!"
Desperate, Romeo rushes to Friar Lawrence who advises him to travel to Mantua until things cool down. He promises to inform Juliet.
Juliet receives the news of Tybalt's death and Romeo's exile. She dares not mention her marriage to her father now. Then, she receives more bad news. Her father has decided it is time for her to marry. He has selected a suitor: Paris, a kinsman of Mercutio.
Juliet, too, rushes to Friar Lawrence for counsel. The good Friar launches an elaborate plot. Juliet should agree to marry Paris. She will then take a sleeping potion, which will simulate death for three days. Her body will be placed in a tomb while she is mourned, and the Friar will send word to Romeo. Romeo will arrive in time to rescue her. The celebration over her return to life will provide an opportunity to explain about the marriage and the circumstances surrounding Tybalt's death.
The plot proceeds according to plan, and the wedding preparations for Paris and Juliet give way to solemn funeral arrangements. But the Friar's letter to Romeo fails to reach him before he hears of Juliet's death. Romeo obtains a poison from an apothecary and travels to Verona.
Under the cover of darkness, he breaks into Juliet's tomb. They are alone for only a moment. Paris, who also had come to mourn Juliet, interrupts, and believing Romeo to be a grave robber, draws his sword. The two men fight, and Paris is killed. Dying, Paris asks that his body be placed next to Juliet's. Only now recognizing Paris, the guilt stricken Romeo obliges.
Then Romeo kisses the lips of his Juliet one last time.
Eyes, look your last.
Arms, take your last embrace.
And, lips, O you the doors of breath,
Seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death
Romeo thanks the apothecary for his skill and drinks the poison.
The effects of the sleeping potion wear off, and Juliet awakens calling for Romeo. Finding him next to her, dead, with a cup in his hand, she guesses what has transpired. She tries to kiss the poison from his lips, but failing that, unsheathes his dagger and plunges it into her breast.
Friar Lawrence learns that Romeo has not received his letter and rushes to Juliet's tomb to rescue her. He discovers the tomb already open and finds the sad contents within. Soon the Friar is joined by the Night Watchman, who had been alerted to the disturbance. Then the families gather around the star-crossed lovers. The Friar's mournful account of their death shames the two families into ending their feud forever.
The Story of ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
As told by Bart Marks
When Cleopatra heard that the strapping red-haired general was waiting for her in her foray, she greeted the news with a smile. She had first met Mark Antony many years before in Egypt, when she was only a child. She had liked him from the start. Now he was one of her only friends in Rome. The two shared one compelling bond: Both were fiercely loyal to her lover, the great Julius Ceasar.
The moment she laid eyes on Antony, her smile faded. His face gave her the grim news before his words. Julius Caesar was dead, murdered by his own council. Cleopatra and her son, Caesarion, were in terrible danger. There was no time to lose. They must get out of Rome immediately.
Cleopatra had married Caesar in Egypt. Though the union was not recognized in Rome, Caesarion was Caesar's only son. A child of three, he would be a threat to those who wanted to rule in Caesar's place as long as he lived. Worse, the Roman populace universally despised his mother. Cleopatra was blamed for Caesar's excessive ambition, his desire to convert Rome from a republic to a monarchy with himself as king and Caesarion as his heir. Some claimed she had bewitched Caesar with African magic.
In truth, Cleopatra was not really African. She was Macedonian (Greek), descended from the man Caesar admired most, Alexander the Great. Though blonde and fair - she wore a dark wig in public as part of her ceremonial headdress - Cleopatra was hardly a classical beauty. But she possessed more than pedigree and wealth. To present herself before Caesar for the first time, she rolled herself up in Persian rug. She managed more than a clever introduction, averting an assassin's knife in process. She was bright, clever, resourceful and - most of all - original. There was little doubt that Caesar truly loved her.
Caesar was a temperate man, a serious thinker and philosopher, a man who walked upon the world stage - and knew it. He was a man who courted history.
He had but one weakness. An epileptic since birth, his seizures grew worse under stress, striking often at the most inopportune times. Caesar was terribly embarrassed by his infirmary, but in Cleopatra he discovered a partner who could nurse him through his illness, shield him from the public eye and even make decisions in his stead. In a sense, his weakness drew them closer, forming an indelible bond of trust.
Antony's response to Cleopatra's danger was probably based as much upon his loyalty to Caesar as anything else. There is no evidence that any relationship beyond friendship existed between Antony and Cleopatra before the assassination of Caesar. Still, Antony was taking a considerable risk. As Caesar's favorite general he would be part of the Triumvirate chosen to rule in Caesar's stead. His alliance with the unpopular Cleopatra would galvanize a score of bitter enemies against him in Rome.
However, in the moments following Caesar's bloody murder, all Antony could think of was getting Cleopatra and young Caesarion out of Rome. Legend has it that Antony disguised himself as a pregnant beggar woman, strapping little Caesarion to his belly. The muscular Antony would have made a rather imposing beggar woman, but the ruse apparently worked. In rags, Antony, Cleopatra and Caesarion were smuggled aboard a mercantile ship, eventually making their way safely back to Egypt.
In the majestic Egyptian capital, Alexandria, the romance of Antony and Cleopatra blossomed. They were married on the Nile, though Antony had not divorced his Roman wife. Of course, Cleopatra needed him for Caesarion, for herself, for the plans she had made with Caesar. He would betray her once, but he would come back. In the end, he would risk everything for her.
Her love for him was as fiery as his red curly hair, and as difficult to control. He drank too much. He enjoyed the company of his soldier friends. The royal couple was known to engage in fierce shouting matches. But they produced three beautiful children: the heavenly twins Cleopatra Selene (the Moon) and Alexander Helios (the Sun) and the baby Ptolemy Philadelphus.
Antony was an intelligent man and a competent general, but he was no Caesar, a fact that weighed upon him - and his wife. In truth, both Antony and Cleopatra lived in Caesar's shadow. It would cost them their kingdoms.
In their crucial showdown with Octavian, Antony's brother-in-law and their enemy in Rome, they were at odds about what to do. Cleopatra wanted Antony to lead the attack by sea, giving the glory to Egypt, which possessed an impressive navy. But Antony, primarily a field commander, still owned the loyalty of his old Roman legions. He wanted to be on the ground, leading the charge with his familiar troops.
And he wanted Caesarion to stay at home in Alexandria. Octavian would kill Caesarion at the first opportunity. But Cleopatra's dreams of glory had ignited a fierce passion within her. She wanted Caesarion by her side, and Antony too. She felt a confidence she had not known since Caesar's death.
Of course, Caesar would never have agreed to such a ridiculous plot. Nor would Cleopatra have pressed him so diligently.
The battle began well enough for Egypt, with the ship of Cleopatra and Caesarion leading one flank and Antony's ship leading the other. But the smaller Roman boats soon outmaneuvered the large Egyptian ships. As the battle began to turn, Cleopatra feared for Caesarion. He was 17 now. She had wanted him to experience the glory of his first great victory. Now, she just wanted to get him out of there. She turned her ship to flee, wishing only to protect her son. Inexplicably, Antony followed. From the shore, Antony's loyal troops watched their leader sail away from the raging battle on the tail of the Queen of the Nile. Disheartened, they surrendered to their former compatriots.
Loyalty to Antony could be forgiven, Octavian reassured them, now that they had seen the error of their ways. Soon the united Roman legions were ready to march against Alexandria.
Word was sent to Cleopatra. Egypt stood no chance against the combined Roman forces. Turn Antony over, Octavian wrote. Spare everyone a costly battle. Remain as Queen of Egypt. All that needed to be done was to turn Antony over.
Octavian, soon to be the Emperor Augustus, was not nearly so charmed by Cleopatra as Caesar and Antony had been. But he felt he knew her pretty well. Ambitious, but practical, he knew nothing had come easily to Cleopatra. Her own sister had tried to kill her. She had needed a keen survival instinct to get this far. Surely, she would accept his offer.
By this time, Antony was a ruin of a man. Within days he would fall upon his own sword. But Octavian had underestimated Cleopatra. She would never betray her husband, no matter how hopeless the cause. She smuggled Caesarion out of the country, erroneously believing him to be in safe hands (Ceasarion was murdered by his own tutor). When Antony killed himself, Cleopatra resolved not to be taken back to Rome in chains to be humiliated in front of the venomous crowd. With the help of her clever daughter, Selene, a poisonous cobra was secretly slipped past the guard. Cleopatra put the snake to her throat and died in her bed like a Queen.
Cleopatra's son, Helios, was killed by Octavian. Selene and little Ptolemy were brought to Rome in chains to march in Octavian's triumphal procession.
Sitting in the audience was Juba, a former African prince who himself had been brought to Rome in chains as a child of six. Like most prisoners, Juba was to be sent to the dungeons after the procession, where he would die of starvation or be eaten by rats. But the terrified child had refused to cry and conducted himself with such intelligence and poise that he captured the eye of Octavian, who spared his life. Now age 23, he had become a favorite of the Roman court and a personal friend of the great poet Ovid.
Juba watched the garish display - the armies, the horses, the magnificent wild beasts, the doomed prisoners, the little orphans in chains, dusty tear stained faces, legs giving out. They couldn't take it much longer, he knew.
A trumpet blared, frightening the horse of Tiberius, Octavian's 13-year-old nephew. The horse backed into Ptolemy. Selene screamed, throwing her arms around her brother. Juba sprang from his seat, racing onto the Via Sacra and snatching the small boy into his arms. Then he turned to the sobbing Selene. "I know you're scared," he said, "but remember who you are."
Perhaps moved by the scene, or the courage Selene would exhibit from that point on, Octavian spared the lives of Cleopatra's children, raising them in his own house with his own nephews and nieces.
Selene would eventually marry Juba and the two of them would go on to rule a new nation in Africa and built a city of dreams. Their life would be the stuff of legends. But, that's another story.
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