Monthly Archives: May 2022
Act II continued Scene 4 Tybalt, an accomplished swordsman, has challenged Romeo to a duel, a development that will end in tragedy. In the meanwhile, Mercutio keeps up his usual light-hearted banter, bandying names of famous lovers and continuing his light-hearted attempt to brighten Romeo’s mood. Having forgotten his love for Rosaline and engrossed in his new love, Romeo exchanges jests and puns with Mercutio. The garrulous Nurse continues to be annoying although, as Shakespeare doubtless intended, she adds comic…..
Act V continued Scene 3 At this point, it’s a popular idea to assign parts and select students to act the final tragic scene as they read their lines. Switch the tape off, and clear desks from the front of the classroom. Students actors wear minimal costumes such as a long brown tunic for the Friar in addition to cloaks and plastic swords. A complication opens the scene: Count Paris arrives to place flowers on Juliet’s grave, which is usually…..
Scene 1 Act V includes the play’s climax and dénouement. The setting is now Mantua. Romeo does not realize Juliet is in a coma rather than dead as his servant reports. The Friar’s plan has failed. Romeo has not received his message for reasons that Shakespeare will soon reveal. When Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet is dead, the rash husband immediately decides to commit suicide. Knowing about an apothecary nearby whose poverty will probably compel him to sell poison, Romeo…..
Scene 1 Why does Shakespeare make Act IV exclusively Juliet’s Act? Perhaps he centers on Juliet at this point in order to develop her character as the play’s protagonist. Certainly, Juliet faces her ordeal alone. Turning to Friar Laurence, it is ironic that both Juliet and Count Paris seek him out for opposing reasons—Paris to request that the Friar officiate at his marriage to Juliet and Juliet to seek the Friar’s help in preventing her marriage to the Count. After…..
Act III continued Scene 2 The first twenty-five lines of Juliet’s speech that open this scene is another option for the girls’ memorization project. Shakespeare uses the Nurse’s obtuseness to create dramatic irony as Juliet struggles to deal with the meaning of her ambiguous wailing. Juliet’s brief happiness is shattered; her speech with all its oxymorons conveys her anguish and despair. When Juliet desperately decides to hang herself, the Nurse replies that she will tell Romeo to join his bride…..
The Prologue summarizes events in Act I. Scene 1 The next two Acts comprise complications for the lovers and the play’s turning point. The class should note that Romeo is hiding in the orchard outside Juliet’s house. Assuming Romeo still dotes on Rosaline, the irrepressible Mercutio mocks his friend’s passionate attitude to love. Giving up all hope of finding Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio leave the Capulets’ grounds. Scene 2 This is the celebrated balcony scene. Shakespeare gives Romeo a lengthy…..
A theater in Shakespeare’s day was very different from today’s modern theater with its stage raised above the seated audience and curtain that separates actors from audience. The Globe and other London theaters were much more accessible with one stage projecting into the audience that stood on all three sides of the platform. Elizabethan theater goers were not as polite as today’s audiences but were often rowdy and boorish. Members of the audience threw rotten vegetables at the actors if…..
Act III Scene 1 Students should understand the events that lead to Mercutio’s death. Always sensible, Benvolio attempts to persuade Mercutio to leave the neighborhood since the weather is hot (hot weather tends to make people irritable), and the Capulets are close by. These circumstances that will provoke another fight. When Mercutio, true to form, mocks his wise friend, and Tybalt arrives looking for Romeo, Benvolio again attempts to convince Mercutio to leave. Romeo arrives and is reluctant to accept…..
Act I continued Scene 3 Observing Juliet and her mother interact in this scene, students realize that their relationship is formal and somewhat distant. The Nurse reacts in a more caring way than Lady Capulet to the proposal that Juliet should marry Count Paris. The Nurse lost her own daughter Susan and has cared for Juliet and been her companion from Juliet’s babyhood. Juliet appears to be closer to the Nurse than her mother. Most readers dislike the Nurse. She…..
It certainly does not detract from Shakespeare’s genius to point out that his plays are usually based on other literature. He found material for his plays in the work of other writers. Romeo and Juliet, for example, is based on a sixteenth-century narrative poem by Arthur Brooke entitled The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet first published in 1562. It’s extremely helpful to have the class read the play while listening to Caedmon unabridged audio cassettes starring Claire Bloom…..
