What do you think he means?

It is the introduction, thesis and summary of the play Romeo and Juliet.

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 misadventur'd piteous overthr

Enoon, the fact that I have gone through the trouble to post my question here implies that I haven' t been able to work it out on my own.
Alphecca, thanks, your hint was helpful.
¨From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life¨
Meaning children conceived...? At first, I understood ¨take their life¨ as the end of their lif

Yes, both lines have at least two meanings:

"Fatal loins" can mean "loins ordained by fate" (an uncommon use of the term "fatal" today but still seen in terms like "fatalism") or "loins which are in some way associated with death".

"Take their life" has the obvious meaning of the birth of Romeo and Juliet, but it also is referring to their ultimate suicides.

AnonymousEnoon, the fact that I have gone through the trouble to post my question here implies that I haven' t been able to work it out on my own.

I wanted to guide you to the answer rather than hand it to you (and I still think you must have formed some idea). You would have gotten both the benefit of that process and the benefit of having typed all that Engl

Believe me, Anonymous, reading Shakespeare can be a "riddle" for many of us native speakers, too!

I learned a lot from your question and the excellent answers.

The meaning of "fatal" is repeated in the next line "star-crossed."
A reference to astrology, where a person's life was predicted by the planets' positions when they were born.
Star-crossed means "jinxed" or destined for tragedy, hinted by the duality of fate (destiny) and fatal (deadly.)

This forum is proving to be very helpful, so I decided to register for it (besides, I don't like the idea of asking questions, hiding behind the name Anonymous).
Enoon, I realize that you were trying to guide me to the answer and I am sorry if my reply to you sounded rude.
My initial problem with understanding the line was the use of the word ¨fatal¨. Thanks, CSnyder, I had no idea that

AgaristaEnoon, I realize that you were trying to guide me to the answer and I am sorry if my reply to you sounded rude. My initial problem with understanding the line was the use of the word ¨fatal¨. Thanks, CSnyder, I had no idea that ¨fatal loins¨ could be read as ¨loins ordained by fate¨.

No worries, mate. (I hope I used that right.) To tell you the truth,

Anonymousthe fact that I have gone through the trouble to post my question here implies that I haven' t been able to work it out on my own.

Indeed!

Yet more evidence that the Socratic method doesn't work well in a forum format!

You try to get a little one-on-one dialog going, and BOOM! someone else comes along and let's the cat out of the ba