"Which Shakespeare tragedy opens with a Prologue beginning: ""Two households, both alike in dignity. In fair Verona, where we lay our scene""?"
The Two Gentlemen of Verona Juliet". Obviously Shakespeare's source for "Romeo and Juliet", it features a character called Friar Laurence, as does "Two Gentlemen", and a scene where a young man attempts to outwit his lover's father by means of a corded ladder (as Valentine does in "Two Gentlemen"). Philip Sidney's "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia" may also have influenced Shakespeare insofar as it contains a character who follows her betrothed, dressed as his page, and later on, one of the main characters becomes captain of a group of Helots. The exact date of composition of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is unknown, but it
Characters in Romeo and Juliet in the house so they wouldn't infect others. The authorities wouldn't even allow Friar John to use a messenger to send the letter back to Friar Laurence. A Chorus gives the opening prologue and one other speech, both in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. The Chorus is an omniscient character. It appears at the top of the play to fill the audience in on the ancient quarrel between the, "Two households, both alike in dignity / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene". It returns as a prologue to act two to foreshadow the tragic turn of events