Two households, both alike in dignity,

Two families, both are similar

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

In the city of Verona, where our story takes place

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

An ancient hatred between the two families breaks into fighting

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

Where citizens get other citizens blood on their hands

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

Two children from either side become lovers

A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;

Two lovers commit suicide

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Do with their death bury their parents’ strife.

The unfortunate death of their children buries there parents war

The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love,

The thrilling story of their doomed love

And the continuance of their parents’ rage,

And the anger that continues between the lovers parents

Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove,

Without their children’s death, no one could stop it

Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage;

This story will now take place on our stage for the next two hours

The which if you with patient ears attend,

If you attend you must be patient

What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

What we miss in the prologue will be revealed in the play