Shakespeare didn't write his plays for university students but for the stage. As actor, playwright and theatre-owner he wanted to "sell" his plays to as many people as possible . In order to understand why Shakespeare wrote his plays the way he did, we have to know something about his audience, i.e. the people who paid to see his plays.
Who went to see William Shakespeare's plays? What social class did these people belong to? What jobs did they have? How much did they pay? What did they expect to see? Are there any important differences between their way of thinking and seeing the world and ours?
When you have read the information on Shakespeare's audience, inform your group about the most important facts. Together you should discuss the following aspects with regard to Romeo and Juliet:
What would Shakespeare's audience (or different groups in Shakespeare's audience) have liked about the play?
What did you, SHakespeare's 21st century audience, find hard to understand?
What is easy to understand?
What did you like / not like about the play?
Can you explain some of your difficulties with the help of the facts you have found out about Shakespeare's "original" audience?
Why did the play become a "bestseller" and why is it still played today?
Your introduction on Shakespeare's audience should include the most important results of your discussion of the problems of modern readers / viewers.
You can include pictures in your introduction but you shouldn't use too many. Pictures should only be used if they really help to illustrate the point you are making. Your complete leaflet / homepage should fit onto one disk! You don't know how to save pictures on a disk?
The following links will provide you with information on Shakespeare's audience:
Basics on audience I NEW!!!
Basics on audience II NEW!!!
Shakespeare's audience (follow the link "levels of income")
The Background of ideas ==> very difficult: decide for yourself, if you want to use this homepage
Searchable database on Elizabethan England