The phrase you asked about is part of a larger sentence that begins the prologue of Romeo and Juliet. All told, the beginning of the sentence reads, "Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny..." In modern English, this would roughly translate as, "In Verona, two well-to-do families who have a long-standing feud have recently experienced new bouts of violence against each other." This explains to the audience that the feud is long-standing, and will help to provide some context for the fight between the Montagues and the Capulets (and their servants) that will break out shortly thereafter in Act 1, Scene 1. This will also help the audience to understand why a relationship between a Montague and a Capulet would prove so problematic.
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