Romeo and Juliet – key scene revision
Nearly every year, in the drama section of the Critical Essay paper, there is a ‘key
scene’ question. It might be asking about a scene that is emotional, or contains conflict,
or is a turning point, or some other feature. In nearly all circumstances, Act II scene ii
can be used as a ‘key scene’. It is therefore worth revising the key aspects of the scene
in close detail.
1. soliloquy
In the scene Shakespeare makes great use of soliloquy. Remember that soliloquy is
when a character is speaking aloud, they do not intend to be overheard. Romeo uses
soliloquy from line 1-32 and Juliet uses soliloquy from lines 33-49. At line 49 Romeo
reveals himself to Juliet, so all speech in the scene from this point on is standard
dialogue. Soliloquies reveal the characters’ true feelings and motivations, so they should
always be looked at closely.
2. staging
In this scene Shakespeare uses details of staging to assist in development of the key
ideas. Juliet is positioned above Romeo, at her window. This ties in with his describing
her as “the sun”(line 3) and an “angel”(line 26), and her eyes as “stars”(line 15). At the
end of the scene, the Nurse’s calling of Juliet increases tension and reminds us of the
forbidden nature of the couple’s love. The darkness that is in place throughout the scene
reflects the use of light/dark symbolism in the dialogue.
3. imagery
Romeo and Juliet use a great deal of imagery in the scene. Make sure you know several
examples of imagery, preferably from more than one semantic field, and that you can
explain what contribution they make to your understanding of and response to character,
plot and theme.
 light and dark imagery
 bird imagery
 religious imagery
 imagery relating to the sea
 imagery relating to flowers
4. characterization
We learn important details about both Romeo and Juliet in this scene. Think about what
their speech (in soliloquy and dialogue) reveals, but also about what their actions show.
5. significance to the play as a whole
Remember that the scene has significance to the play overall for several reasons.
 it is a turning point as Romeo and Juliet declare their mutual love and agree to
marry; there is no turning back from this decision for them
 it is thematically representative of the whole play, as love and hate are
juxtaposed in the scene (both in a micro sense in certain phrases, and in a macro
sense in that Romeo and Juliet are concerned with their love and their families’
feud)
 the scene contains many examples of foreshadowing (where someone says
something that ‘predicts’ their future); it therefore acts as a link between the
Prologue (where we learnt of the lovers’ fate) and the rest of the play