Plot Summary………………………. 3
Overview of All Scenes……………..4
Multimedia resources……………….9
Characterisations……………………10
Glossary of Technical Terms………20
Historical Context...………………….23
Shakespearian Cont ext……….…….26
Key Scene Analysis…………………27
Key Quotes…………………………..28
Example Paragraph…………………35
Poetry Analysis………………………36
Mark Scheme with Checklist……….37
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Essay Question: Explore how Shakespeare presents the treatment of women in
Romeo and Juliet.
Plot Summary
Romeo and Juliet is set on the streets of Verona where the servants of the Montague and Capulet household are fighting. After much disturbance the civilians complain and the Prince is left no choice but to set a decree that if there is any more fighting between the two households it will result in death.
After longing for Rosaline, Romeo attends the
Capulet’s ball with intentions to win her over, even though she doesn’t feel the same way. However, he sees Juliet and immediately falls in love with her, unknowing to him that she is the daughter of the enemy household. Juliet also falls in love with him and they arrange to marry. Romeo visits his friend
Friar Lawrence who agrees to marry the couple in secret.
Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) demands a duel between him and Romeo, as he is outraged that Romeo attended the Capulet’s ball. However, Romeo doesn’t want to duel and so his friend Mercutio stands in for him. Tybalt kills Mercutio and in rage Romeo kills
Tybalt. Through the prince’s decree Romeo is banished from Verona. The friar and
Nurse arrange for Romeo and Juliet to spend the night together before Romeo has to leave for Mantua.
Juliet, through the nurse, finds out that Romeo has killed one of her kinsmen, however despite her being distraught she realises she must stay loyal to her true love; Romeo. Romeo and Juliet spend the night together before he is banished and
Juliet seeks advice from her nurse who advises her to marry Paris. However she doesn’t want to marry Paris, she wishes to stay true to her true love Romeo.
Therefore she seeks help in the Friar who tells Juliet to drink a potion which will giver her the appearance of death, then when she is laid to rest the Friar will bring Romeo to her and they can go away and live together, away from their disapproving parents.
The Friar’s message for Romeo explaining the events fails to be delivered and so whilst her parent’s grieve, Romeo only knows that she is dead. He goes to the
Capulet tomb to see Paris scattering flowers upon her grave, they fight and Romeo kills Paris, before drinking a potion to kills himself.
Juliet awakes as the Friar enters the tomb and sees that Romeo has killed himself and Paris. The Friar advises Juliet to flee with him, however when she rejects him, he flees alone . Juliet, distraught, stabs herself and her body falls upon Romeo’s.
The Prince, the Capulet’s and the Montague’s enter and Montague states that his wife has died of shock. Both households agree to bring an end to their feud and to erect gold statues of their children side by side in Verona.
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Prologue: The Chorus tells us the plot of the play, and what kind of play it is.
Act 1, Scene 1: Sampson and Gregory, servants of the house of Capulet, go out looking for trouble. Sampson and Gregory almost pick a fight with Abraham and Balthasar, servants of the house of Montague. Seeing a Capulet kinsman, Sampson and
Gregory start to fight with Abraham and Balthasar.
Benvolio tries to stop the fight, but Tybalt enters and attacks Benvolio. The citizens of Verona attack both the
Capulet’s and Montague’s. Capulet and Montague try to join the fight, but are restrained by their wives. Prince
Escalus stops the riot, threatens everyone with death, and takes Capulet with him, leaving Benvolio alone with Montague and Lady Montague.
Lady Montague asks where Romeo is, and Benvolio answers that he was up before dawn, wandering in the woods. The Montague’s say that Romeo is afflicted with strange sorrows, and Benvolio offers to find out what's wrong with him. Seeing
Romeo coming, Montague and Lady Montague leave Benvolio alone to speak with their son. Benvolio soon discovers that Romeo's problem is that he loves a woman who doesn't return his love. Benvolio tries to get Romeo to say who it is he loves, but
Romeo won't. Benvolio also tries to get Romeo to solve his problem by looking for another woman, but Romeo seems determined to love and suffer.
Act 1, Scene 2: Paris asks Capulet for Juliet's hand in marriage. Capulet thinks she's too young, but tells Paris to woo her, and invites him to a feast that night. Capulet sends the servant out to invite other guests to the feast. Benvolio is still trying to talk
Romeo into considering other ladies when they are interrupted by the Capulet servant, who asks Romeo to read something for him. It is a list of guests at Capulet's feast that night. Thus Romeo discovers that Rosaline, his beloved, will be at the feast. Benvolio challenges Romeo to go to the feast and compare Rosaline with other beauties. Romeo says he will go, but only to rejoice that Rosaline is most beautiful of all.
Act 1, Scene 3: Lady Capulet wants to have a serious conversation with Juliet, but the Nurse interrupts with a long reminiscence about Juliet's weaning and what Juliet said about falling on her head. Lady Capulet tells Juliet that Paris wants to marry her, and urges her to look him over and see that he is the husband for her. Servants come to call everyone to the feast.
Act 1, Scene 4: Mercutio tries to persuade
Romeo to dance at Capulet's feast, but
Romeo insists that he is too sadly love-torn to do anything but hold a torch. Then Romeo says that it's not wise to go to the feast at all, because of a dream he had. Mercutio mocks
Romeo's belief in his dream by going on and on about "Queen Mab," but Romeo is sure that some terrible fate awaits him. Nevertheless, he goes into the feast with his friends.
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Act 1, Scene 5: At Capulet's house, Romeo and his friends enter as preparations are being made for the dancing. The musicians are tuning up, and the servants are hurrying to clear away the remains of the feast. Capulet enters, greets the masked strangers, and invites them to dance. Romeo sees Juliet and says to himself that this is the first time he's seen true beauty. Tybalt recognizes Romeo and sends for his sword, but Capulet orders Tybalt to do nothing. Saying that he'll make Romeo pay,
Tybalt leaves. Romeo holds Juliet's hand, and begs a kiss, which she gives him.
They kiss again, and then both are called away. As everyone is leaving, they each learn the name of the other, and they each exclaim upon the fate that has made each fall in love with his/her enemy.
Act 2, Prologue : The Chorus tells us that Romeo and Juliet are suffering because they can't meet, but that passion gives them power to find a way to see each other.
Act 2, Scene 1: On his way home from Capulet's feast, Romeo turns back and jumps the wall of Capulet's garden. Benvolio calls for Romeo and Mercutio bawdily conjures Romeo, but he will not appear, and his friends depart.
Act 2, Scene 2: In Capulet's garden Romeo sees Juliet come to her window. He is entranced by her beauty and listens as she tells the night that she loves Romeo and wishes that he had another name. Romeo surprises her by offering to take another name for her love. At first, Juliet worries for Romeo's safety and then she worries that he may be a deceiver, but he wins her over with passionate vows of love. They pledge their love to one another and then Juliet is called away by the
Nurse. Answering the call of the Nurse, Juliet goes into the house, then comes right back out and tells Romeo that the next day she will send a messenger to find out when and where she is to meet and marry him. Juliet is again called back into the house, and Romeo starts to leave, but Juliet again comes back out, to set a time that her messenger should go to Romeo. Romeo tells her that the messenger should come at nine in the morning. They say a long goodbye, and after Juliet is gone,
Romeo says that he will go to the cell of Friar Laurence to get his help.
Act 2, Scene 3: At dawn Friar Laurence gathers herbs and comments on how - in both plants and people -- everything has some good, and every good can be abused and turned to evil. Romeo appears and tells Friar Laurence that he has fallen in love with Juliet and wants him to marry them. The
Friar criticizes Romeo for jumping so quickly from love of
Rosaline to love of Juliet, but agrees to perform the ceremony because he thinks that the marriage may end the hatred be tween the Capulet’s and Montague’s.
Act 2, Scene 4: Mercutio wonders where Romeo is. Benvolio says that Tybalt has sent a challenge to Romeo, and Mercutio scornfully describes Tybalt as an conceited killer. Mercutio kids Romeo about love, and Romeo joins in the bawdy repartee.
Mercutio bawdily mocks the Nurse, who tells Romeo that she wants a word in private with him. The Nurse complains about Mercutio, receives from Romeo the information about time and place of the wedding, then chatters on about how sweet Juliet is.
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Act 2, Scene 5: Juliet impatiently awaits the return of the Nurse with news from
Romeo. The Nurse teases Juliet by finding all kinds of ways to not deliver the joyful news, but finally tells her that she is to go Friar Laurence's cell to be married to
Romeo.
Act 2, Scene 6: Just before the wedding, Friar Laurence advises Romeo to love moderately. Romeo and Juliet tell each other how much they love one another, and
Friar Laurence leads them off to be married.
Act 3, Scene 1: On the streets of Verona Benvolio tries to persuade Mercutio that it's best to stay out of the way of the Capulet’s and a quarrel, but
Mercutio jokingly claims that Benvolio is as much of a quarreller as anyone. Tybalt, looking for Romeo, is challenged to a fight by Mercutio, but then Romeo appears. Tybalt challenges Romeo to fight. Romeo refuses, but Mercutio steps forward and fights Tybalt. As Romeo is trying to stop the fight,
Tybalt gives Mercutio a wound, then runs away. Mercutio dies.
Romeo is ashamed of himself for letting Mercutio do the fighting, and when Tybalt returns, Romeo kills him. Benvolio has a hard time getting the dazed Romeo to leave the scene. Benvolio tells the
Prince what happened. Lady Capulet wants Romeo's life, but the Prince levies fines and exiles Romeo.
Act 3, Scene 2: Juliet longs for the coming of night and
Romeo. The Nurse appears; she has seen Tybalt's corpse and heard that Romeo has been banished. The Nurse is so overwrought that her words first make Juliet think that Romeo is dead. When the Nurse finally makes it clear that Tybalt is dead and Romeo is banished, Juliet first turns against Romeo for killing her cousin, then defends him for killing the man who would have killed him. Then Juliet remembers that the Nurse said Romeo has been
"banished," which drives her to despair. The Nurse promises Juliet that she'll make arrangements for Romeo to come that night for a farewell visit.
Act 3, Scene 3: Learning from the Friar that he is to be banished, Romeo declares that the Friar is torturing him to death, then throws himself on the floor, moaning and weeping. . . . The Nurse brings news that
Juliet is in just as bad shape as Romeo. Romeo, wild with guilt at the pain he has caused Juliet, tries to stab himself. Friar
Laurence lectures Romeo and tells him what to do -- go to Juliet, then to Mantua until the Prince can be persuaded to pardon him.
The Nurse gives Romeo the ring that Juliet asked her to take to him. These things put Romeo into a better frame of mind and he leaves Friar Laurence's cell to go to Juliet.
Act 3, Scene 4: On a sudden impulse, Capulet promises Paris that Juliet will marry him the day after tomorrow.
Act 3, Scene 5: Just before dawn Romeo is preparing to leave, but Juliet declares that it's still night, so he can stay. Romeo offers to stay and die, but Juliet urges him to leave. The Nurse hurries in with the news that Juliet's mother is coming. Romeo kisses Juliet and leaps out the window. Juliet asks if they will ever see each other
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again; Romeo is sure they will, but Juliet is full of foreboding. Lady Capulet, assuming that Juliet is weeping for Tybalt, tells her that she's grieving too much, then decides that Juliet must be weeping because revenge has not been taken upon
Romeo. Lady Capulet expresses her hatred of Romeo and Juliet appears to agree with her, though what she really means is that she loves Romeo. Lady Capulet then delivers news which she thinks ought to cheer up Juliet -- she is to be married to
Paris. Juliet declares that she will not. Lady Capulet replies that Juliet's father is coming, so Juliet ought to tell him that she won't marry Paris, if she dares. Lady
Capulet tells Capulet that Juliet has refused to marry Paris. Enraged, Capulet threatens to throw her out of the house if she doesn't change her mind. Juliet pleads with her mother to intervene, but Lady Capulet refuses. Juliet asks the Nurse for advice, and she tells Juliet that she ought to marry Paris because Romeo can never come back and Paris is better looking, anyway. Juliet pretends to accept the Nurse's advice but decides that she will go to Friar Laurence for his advice. If he can't help her, she will kill herself.
Act 4, Scene 1: As Paris is making arrangements with Friar Laurence to perform the wedding ceremony between himself and Juliet, she appears. Paris tries to tease some sign of affection out of
Juliet and reminds her that they are to be married on
Thursday. Juliet says that she will kill herself rather than marry Paris, and the Friar comes up with the plan for her to take the drug which will make her appear dead for 42 hours, so that the wedding will be called off and Romeo can come and take her to Mantua.
Act 4, Scene 2: Capulet is making arrangements for the wedding feast when Juliet appears, begs her father's pardon, and tells him that she will marry Paris. This makes
Capulet so happy that he moves the wedding up to the very next day, Wednesday.
Act 4, Scene 3: Juliet persuades her mother and the Nurse to leave her alone. She agonizes over everything that could go wrong, is terrified by visions of the grave, and drinks to Romeo.
Act 4, Scene 4: The Capulet’s and their servants are busily preparing for the wedding. Paris' musicians are heard, and Capulet sends the Nurse to awaken Juliet.
Act 4, Scene 5: The Nurse tries to awaken Juliet, but finds that she is (apparently) dead. Lady Capulet and
Capulet come running, then lament their daughter's death. The rest of the wedding party arrives, only to find that Juliet is dead and hear the clamour of lamentation.
Capulet, Lady Capulet, Paris, and the Nurse go nearly wild with grief, but Friar Laurence takes command of the situation by reminding everyone that Juliet is now in a better place, and telling them proceed with her funeral. As the musicians are starting to leave, Peter rushes in and demands that they play a sad song to cheer him up. They refuse, Peter insults them with a riddle, and they all leave to wait for lunch. Romeo expects good news from
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Verona, but receives the news that Juliet is dead. He buys poison of an apothecary and says that he intends to return to Verona and join Juliet in death.
Act 5, Scene 2: Friar John explains to Friar Laurence why he was unable to deliver
Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo. Friar Laurence sends Friar John to get a crowbar and makes plans to be there when Juliet awakes, write again to Romeo in Mantua, and hide Juliet in his cell until Romeo arrives.
Act 5, Scene 3: Paris comes to Juliet's grave to strew flowers and weep. He sends his Page a ways off, to act as a lookout. Paris promises to visit Juliet's grave every night, then the Page whistles to warn him that someone is coming. Paris sees a torch and withdraws into the darkness to see who else has come to Juliet's grave. Romeo sends Balthasar away with a letter for Romeo's father, and starts to open the tomb.
Paris comes forward and tries to arrest Romeo. They fight, and Romeo kills Paris. As he is dying, Paris asks to be laid next to Juliet. Romeo does this, pledges his love to
Juliet, takes the poison, and dies. Friar
Laurence comes and finds Romeo and Paris dead. Juliet awakes and Friar Laurence tries to persuade her to come out of the grave, but being afraid of being found there by the watchmen, he runs away. Juliet kills herself with
Romeo's dagger. Paris' Page brings the watchmen to the monument of the Friar
Laurence. Prince Escalus arrives, then Capulet,
Lady Capulet, and Montague. Friar Laurence tells his story, which is confirmed by Balthasar,
Paris' Page, and the letter from Romeo to his father. Montague promises to build a golden statue of Juliet, and Capulet promises to build one of Romeo.
Look at Act 1 Scene 1, Act 1 Scene 2, Act 2 Scene 1 and Act 2 Scene 4. Put
Sampson, Mercutio and Capulet’s views of women on this scale. Don’t worry there is no right or wrong answer here it is just your own opinion that we are looking for. Have a think about the language that is used by these characters to describe women and the way in which they talk about the opposite sex.
0= respectful and kind about women
10= offensive and very rude about women
It doesn’t matter who you think is more offensive or kind, all that matters is that you find some quotes and explain why they are like this.
0 5 10
Plot in, on the line, some of the words that these three characters use in the 4 scenes. What do you think they mean? Why are they disrespectful or respectful views towards women?
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Romeo and Juliet in 3 minutes Challenge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdom
CMG0j1Y

Can you make your own version of the play in less than 3 minutes?

Try and stay within the time limit but make it as detailed as possible.

You can use anything you want in order to create your version of the play.
Watch Act 3, Scene 5- Juliet’s refusal to marry Paris http://www.rsc.org.uk/education/resources
/bank/romeo-and-juliet/videos

Analyse the way women are presented. Paying particular attention to the reactions of Lord and Lady Capulet.
Other Resources
● Here is a useful interactive resource- It can be used to help develop your understanding of key scenes, themes and characters: www.canadianshakespeares.ca/folio/folio.html
● Finally, when you think you have a complete understanding of the play try taking this quiz: http://2013.playingshakespeare.org/quiz
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Alliteration
Ambiguity
Anagnorisis
Aphorism
Aside
Assonance
Atmosphere
Blank verse
Characterisation
The repetition of the same consonant sound, especially at the beginning of several consecutive words in the same line e.g. ‘Five miles meandering in a mazy motion’.
(From ‘Kubla Khan’ by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge).
When two different meaning are possible.
A moment in the play when a character makes a critical discovery.
A brief saying embodying a moral, a concise statement of a principle or precept given in pointed words.
Words spoken by a character on stage that are not intended to be heard by the other characters present.
The repetition of similar vowel sou nds e.g. ‘There must be
Gods thrown down and trumpets blown’ (From ‘Hyperion’ by
John Keats), showing the paired assonance of ‘must’ and
‘trum...’ and ‘thrown’ and ‘blown’.
The pervading feeling created by a description of the setting, or the action e.g foreboding, happiness.
Unrhymed poetry that adheres to a strict pattern in that each line is an iambic pentameter. It is close to the rhythm of speech or prose.
The variety of techniques that writers use to create and present their characters, including description of their appearance, their actions, their speech and how other characters react to them.
Climax
Connotation
Denouement
Direct speech
The most important event in the story or play.
An idea or feeling invoked by a word.
Near the ending of a play, novel, or drama, where the plot is resolved. In Romeo and Juliet, the denouement is that the play follows what we knew fro the prologue would happen.
The words that are actually spoken.
Drama
Dramatic incitement The incident which provides the starting point for the main
Dramatic Irony action of the play.
A plot device in which the audience’s knowledge of events or individuals surpasses that of the characters. The words and actions of the characters therefore take on a different meaning for the audience or reader than they have for the play’s characters.
Episode
A composition intended for performance before an audience.
A scene within a narrative that develops or is connected to the main story
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Euphemism
Exposition
Figurative
Iambic Pentameter
Imagery
Imperative
Imply
Infer
Interior monologue
Interrogative
Linguistic
Literal
Metaphor
Mood
Narrative Structure
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Plot
Poetic Voice
Prose
Purpose
Regular metre
Rhyme
Substituting a ‘nicer’ word or image for an unpleasant one
The opening of the play which introduces characters and sets the scene.
Based on or making use of figures of speech; metaphorical
A line of verse containing five feet, each foot having an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
T he use of words to create a picture or image in the reader’s mind
A command
To suggest something, not say it directly.
To work something out, to read between the lines.
Similar to a soliloquy, a character talking to him or herself.
A sentence that is a question.
Anything to do with language.
The physical or actual meaning.
Figure of speech in which a person or thing is describes as being the thing it resembles, e.g ‘she’s a tiger’ to describe a ferocious person.
The atmosphere created by a piece of writing.
The way that a piece of story writing has been put together, for example, in a novel, the development of the plot through the arrangement of chapters and who is telling the story.
When a word sounds like the noise it.
The attribution of human qualities or feelings to inanimate objects; a kind of metaphor where human qualities are given to things or abstract ideas
The main story or scheme of connected events running through a play or novel
T he ‘speaker’ of the poem – the ‘voice’ of the poem might be that of the poet but could be that of a character or persona from the poet’s imagination
Any kind of writing which is not verse, usually divided into fiction and non-fiction.
The reason for the communication.
A regular succession of groups of long and short, stressed and unstressed syllables in which poetry is often written.
Corresponding sounds in words, often at the end of each line or within lines.
Rhyming Couplet
Rhythm
Two rhyming lines of verse
T he ‘movement’ of a poem, as created by the metre and the way that language is stressed within the poem.
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Setting
Simile
Soliloquy A speech in which a character in a play, expresses their thoughts and feelings aloud for the benefit of the audience,
Stream of
Consciousness
Structure but not for the other characters, often in a revealing way.
A narrative form where random thoughts give the impression that the words have spilled straight from the narrator’s mind.
The way that a piece of story writing has been put together, for example, in a play, the development of the plot through the arrangement of acts and scenes.
(Literary) the particular way in which writers use language to Style express their ideas.
Subjective information Personal opinions and feelings.
Sub-Plot
The period of time and the place in which the story is set
Figure of speech in which a person or thing is describes as being like ano ther, usually preceded by ‘as’ or ‘like’, e.g
‘she’s like a tiger’ to describe a ferocious person.
Symbolism
A less important part of a story, that is connected to and develops the main plot.
Similar to imagery: symbols are things that represent something else e.g red roses are given to loved ones because they symbolise love.
Synonym
Syntax
Theme
Tone
Tragedy
Voice
A word that means the same as another word
How words are combined to create a sentence (grammar)
A central idea that the writer explores through a text, e.g love, loss, revenge
Created through the combined effects of the author’s rhythm and diction
A play dealing with tragic events, and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of a main character.
The speaker of the poem or prose, either the poet or author’s own voice or that of an invented character
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The Role of Women –
Overview
● A woman’s place was very well defined in
Elizabethan England. Childbearing was something that women took great pride in and was a great honour. Housekeeping and family work were the woman’s duty.
●
Women were only allowed to be educated by a tutor, university was not permitted. Women were also allowed to write works of literature, providing the subject was suitable for women: mainly translations or religious works.
● Women were not allowed to act on the public stage or write for the public stage.
Acting was considered dishonourable for women and women did not appear on the stage in England until the seventeenth century. In Shakespeare's plays, the roles of women were often played by young boys.
●
The only woman who could inherit titles of their father’s was the heir to the crown.
● No woman was allowed the privilege of voting, as well as very few men. Men had the legal right to chastise their wives, but they did not have the legal right to inflict them bodily harm or be cruel.
● The man was seen as the head of the marriage.
Ownership
● At the time of Shakespeare ’ s writing, women were financially dependent on their fathers, to whom they owed obedience and domestic labour until they were handed over to their husbands, whom they had to love, honour and obey. If the father died before marrying his daughter, she was then passed to her brother. If they refused their obedience, they would be disowned, deprived of
● a home, financial support and a place in society.
There was a lot at stake for them.
o Where can we see this in Romeo and
Juliet?
Lord Capulet ’ s treatment of his daughter, his threatening to throw her out of the house when she refuses to marry Paris. ‘ I ’ ll give you to my friend; an you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets ’ (Act 3, Scene 5, line 192).
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Obedience
● England in the Elizabethan era was a patriarchal society.
Men were thought to be superior to women and women were supposed to need a man by their side in order to protect them both physically and emotionally (women were the “weaker” sex. If women were married, their husbands took care of them. However, if they were single, it was their fathers or their brothers who looked after them. Women came below men on the hierarchy of creation
– because men were believed to have higher intellect and moral understanding. Disobedience to a father or husband was deemed unnatural – even a crime against religion! - and so women who showed disobedience or an independent spirit
– and often single women, too - were often suspected of witchcraft. They were “ducked” in a nearby river to test whether or not they were witches. Unfortunately, witch or not, the woman would often be drowned.
o Where can we see this in Romeo and Juliet?
It can clearly be seen that the wives of both Lord Capulet and Lord
Montague have little power within the household. Show in the way Lord
Capulet bosses about Lady Capulet ‘ I warrant thee wife. Go thou to Juliet;
Let me alone.
’
(Act 4, Scene 2, line 40/42). Throughout Romeo and Juliet- the wives of Lord Capulet and Lord Montague are given no first name, they are just recognised in regards to their husbands. In some editions of the play the characters are just known as ‘ Capulet ’ s wife ’ and ‘ Montague wife ’
Marriage
● A wealthy woman was expected to marry young in the
Elizabethan period. Fourteen was the normal age at which wealthy women are married. The father would usually arrange the marriage to a young man of family and wealth.
A dowry was then paid to the new husband when the young couple are married. Marriages were frequently arranged so that both families involved would benefit. Marriages would be arranged to bring prestige or wealth to the family - a surprising fact is that young men were treated in a similar way as to women! Many couples would meet for the very first time on their wedding day! This particular Elizabethan custom usually applied to the nobility
– the poorer you were, the more choice you would have over your own spouse.
Even though Elizabethan marriage seems terrible to us, it was the best thing that could happen to a woman at that time. Single Elizabethan women were often thought to be strange people by those surrounding them. Being unable to stand the pressure by their neighbours, most single women ended up in convents.as domestic servants. o Where can we see this in Romeo and Juliet?
Lord Capulet, like many fathers of the period, has arranged a marriage to
Count Paris, a young man of family and wealth. Juliet at the start of the play is turning 14 in two weeks: ‘ Even or odd, of all days in the year, come
Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen.
’ (Lady Capulet, Act 1, Scene
3, line 25), in keeping with the norms of the time.
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Upbringing
● In the 16 th
Century it was common for wealthy parents to employ a nurse to bring up their children, to be what a mother figure is like today. Usually these women came from within the family, but a lower class and the nursing pays for their board and lodgings within the family house. o Where can we see this in Romeo and Juliet?
Juliet ’ s nurse plays a major role in Romeo and Juliet. Juliet clearly has a closer relationship with Nurse than with her own mother, she confides everything in the Nurse, being the only one she includes in her marriage to
Romeo.
‘
What says he of our marriage, what of that?
’
(Juliet, Act 2, Scene
5, line 47).
The Reign of Elizabeth I
● Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England on Sunday January 15, 1559 and ruled until
1603. Romeo and Juliet was written towards the end of her reign (1594-1598)
● The Elizabethan period brought more freedoms to women than were present in previous eras. Noble women were given a sufficient education in the academic subjects alongside noble men. Men did not want their daughters to seem dim in the queen’s presence.
● However, all of the Queen’s courtiers were men. She did not elevate any women to
Parliament or the Privy Council. This could be considered strange. After all, as one of the first female monarchs in Britain, she could have done a great deal to even the playing field between men and women. This perhaps highlights how deeply rooted gender roles were in Elizabethan society and, more importantly, in the
Bible. Women were considered the “weaker sex” based on the decrees of the
Church.
● Elizabeth never married. Considering the stigma surrounding unmarried women at the time, this was an interesting decision for her. She made herself a reputation as the “Virgin Queen”, married to England and ready to serve it.
However, in Elizabethan England, unmarried women were historically treated with disdain and suspicion.
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●
Romeo and Juliet was first performed in
1594 and first published in 1597, around the same time as Taming of the Shrew,
Two Gentlemen of Verona, Love Labour’s
Lost, Richard II and A Midsummer Night’s
Dream.
●
All the above plays written alongside
Romeo and Juliet are comedies with romantic love stories, always ending happily. Clearly Romeo and
Juliet does not follow these ideals. At the end of the 16th
Century Shakespeare wrote some melancholy, bitter, and tragic plays. This change may have been caused by some sadness in the writer’s life (for example his sons death).
● Romeo and Juliet was written in the same year as A
Midsummer Nights Dream, where the interlude of ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’ might also be a parody of Romeo and Juliet.
Activity
Look up the story of Pyramus and Thisbe and note down similarities in plot.
Why is Romeo and Juliet set in Verona?
The action of the play takes place over four days in July. Setting the play in a hot city is one of the hottest months of the year helps to explain how the passions of love and anger could come to such a pitch in so short a time. The play would not have been so compelling had it been set in rainy old England.
The concept of Verona as a city with a
‘ small town ’ mind-set helps emphasise the long running feud between the Capulet ’ s and
Montague ’ s.
Shakespeare often uses foreign settings in his plays as it gives him a scope to analyse his social structure in England without the transparency of setting.
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Summary
It is Sunday afternoon in the Capulet house; Juliet, Lady Capulet and
Nurse are all in this scene. Lady Capulet talks to Juliet about marrying
Paris. Nurse is told to leave then immediately return because she has raised Juliet since she was a child and knows her very well. Here we see the relationship between Juliet and her mother and also the relationship between Juliet and Nurse.
Juliet and Lady Capulet
The relationship between mother and daughter is more like that between mere acquaintances. Lady Capulet tells Nurse to leave so that they can speak secretly but then immediately tells her to return as we can see in lines 814. Lady Capulet doesn’t seem to know her daughter at all, and seems to push the issue of marriage to Paris even though Juliet is not of the same opinion.
‘It is an honour that I dream not of.’
Juliet and Nurse
The bond between Juliet and Nurse is much stronger than that between
Juliet and Lady Capulet. Nurse claims to know Juliet’s age up to the exact hour. She even bets all of her teeth on this fact! We get a sense that Nurse has been very close to Juliet since she was born and raised her as her own. Nurse then goes on to talk about Juliet as a child, from when she was breast fed by nurse, and also when she cut her forehead
(‘broke her brow’). We also see Nurse call her ‘Jule’, this is a nickname or term of endearment that only Nurse uses, showing that they have a very close relationship.
After nurse talks, Lady Capulet is very clear that she is only interested in knowing if Juliet wants to marry Paris.
‘Speak briefly, can you like of Paris’ love?’
Lady Capulet does not want to reminisce about when Juliet was growing up and we get the impression that this is because she does not know much about her own daughter.
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
'Tis true, and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall’ Sampson (Act 1, Scene 1, line 14)
 “Madam, an hour before the worshipp’d sun peer’d forth the golden window of the east.” Benvolio (Act 1, Scene 1, line 112)
 “A right good markman! And she’s fair I love.” Romeo (Act 1, Scene 1,
Line 200)
 “She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste, For beauty, starved with her severity, Cuts beauty off from all posterity.” Romeo (Act 1,
Scene 1, line 212)
 “But saying o'er what I have said before. My child is yet a stranger in the world. She hath not seen the change of fourteen years. Let two more summers wither in their pride Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.”
Lord Capulet (Act 1, Scene 2, line 7)
 “Younger than she are happy mothers made.” Paris (Act 1, Scene 1, line
12)
 “Compare her face with some that I shall show, And I will make thee think thy swan a crow” Benvolio (Act 1, Scene 2, line 88)
 “Your lady’s love against some other maid” Benvolio (Act 1, Scene 2, line 99)
 “This precious book of love, this unbound lover, To beautify him only lacks a cover” Capulet’s Wife (Act 1, Scene 4, line 88)
 “No less? Nay, bigger. Women grow by men.” Nurse (Act 1, Scene 4, line
96)
 “Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy days.” Nurse (Act 1, Scene 4, line
106)

(taking JULIET
’s hand)
If I profane with my unworthiest hand. This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand.
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. Romeo (Act 1, Scene 5, line 90)
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“I conjure thee by Rosaline’s bright eyes, by her high forehead and her scarlet lip, by her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh”
Mercutio
–
Act 2 Scene 1 Line 17
“But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and
Juliet is the sun!”
Romeo –
Act 2 Scene 2 Line 2
“Her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not nigh t.”
Romeo –
Act 2 Scene 2 Line 20
“Thou art as glorious to this night , being o’er my head, as is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wond’ring eyes of mortals”
Romeo –
Act 2 Scene 2 Line 26
“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou
Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”
Juliet
–
Act 2 Scene 2 Line
33
“Romeo, doff thy name;
And for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.”
Juliet –
Act 2 Scene 2 Line 38
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“There lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords.
Look thou but sweet and I am proof against their enmi ty.”
Romeo –
Act 2 Scene 2 Line 71
“All my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay, and follow thee my lord th roughout the world.”
Juliet –
Act 2 Scene 2 Line 147
“Her fan’s the fairer face”
Mercutio
–
Act 2 Scene 4 Line 97
“Love-devouring death do what he dare.”
Romeo
Act 2 Scene 6 Line 7
–
“Women may fall when there’s no strength in men.”
Friar Lawrence -
Act 2 Scene 3 Line 80
“I should have been more strange, I must confess, but that thou overheard’st, ere I was ware, my truelove passion.”
Juliet –
Act 2 Scene 2 Line 102
“Dido a dowdy,
Cleopatra a gipsy,
Helen and Hero hildings and harlots”
Mercutio
Peter
–
–
Act 2 Scene 4 Line 41
“I saw no man use you at his pleasure; if I had, my weapon should quickly have been out.”
Act 2 Scene 4 Line 143
“These violent delights have violent ends.”
Friar Lawrence
–
Act 2 Scene 6
Line 9
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Mercutio
Romeo
Juliet
Come, gentle night, — come, loving black brow'd night,
Give me my Romeo; and when he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars”
And he will make the face of Heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with
–
–
Act 3 Scene 1 Line 87
“This gentleman, the prince’s near ally, my very friend hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf;”
–
Act 3 Scene 1 Line 110
Act 3 Scene 2 Line 32
“My dearest cousin and my dearer lord?”
Juliet –
Act 3 Scene 2 Line 73
“Ah, my poor lord, what tongue shall smooth thy name, when I, thy three-hours wife, have mangl’d it?”
“A plague a’both your houses!”
Romeo –
Act 3 Scene 1 Line 105
“O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate.”
Juliet
Act 3 Scene 2 Line 20
“Every tongue that speaks but
Romeo’s name speaks heavenly eloquence.”
Juliet
Act 3 Scene 2 Line 66
“O serpent heart hid with a flowering face!”
Juliet
–
–
–
Act 3 Scene 2 Line 98
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Romeo –
Act 3 Scene 3 Line 12
“Heaven is here where Juliet lives, and every cat and dog and little mouse, every unworthy thing, live here in heaven, and may look on her, but Romeo may not.”
“Ha, banishment? be merciful, say ‘death’: not body’s death, but body’s banishment.”
Romeo –
Act 3 Scene 3 Line 29
Nurse
–
Act 3 Scene 3 Line 88
“Stand, and you be a man; for
Juliet’s sake, for her sake, rise and stand;”
“Thy tears are womanish,”
Friar Lawrence
–
Act 3 Scene 3 Line 110
Friar Lawrence
–
Act 3 Scene 3 Line 143
“Like a mishaved and sullen wench, thou pouts upon thy fortune and th y love.”
“I will make a desperate tender of my child’s love: I think she will rul’d in all respects by me;”
Lord Capulet –
Act 3 Scene 4 Line 12
Juliet –
Act 3 Scene 5 Line 29
“O God, I have an ill-divining soul! Methinks I see thee now, thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb.”
“Some say the lark makes sweet division: this doth not so, for she divideth us.”
Juliet
–
Act 3 Scene 5 Line 54
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Lady Capulet you.”
–
Act 3 Scene 5 Line 72
“I pray you tell my lord and father, madam, I will not marry yet, and when I do, I swear it shall be
Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris.”
Lady Capulet
–
Act 3 Scene 5 Line 140
“Mistress minion,
Lord Capulet –
Act 3 Scene 5 Line 153
I do not use to jest. Thursday is near. Lay hand on heart, advise. An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend. An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, for, by my s oul, I’ll ne'er acknowledge thee, nor what is mine shall never do thee good.
Trust to ’t, bethink you. I’ll not be forsworn.
“Some grief shows much of love, but much grief shows still some want of wit.”
Juliet –
Act 3 Scene 5 Line 120
“I would the fool were married to her grave.”
Lord Capulet
–
Act 3 Scene 5 Line 151
“Fettle your fine joints 'gainst
Thursday next to go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither.”
Lord Capulet
–
Act 3 Scene 4 Line 12
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‘Do not deny to him that you love me.’
‘I will confess to you that I love him.’
‘So will ye, I am sure, that you love me.’
Paris/Juliet (Act 4, Scene 1, line 25-27)
‘Thy face is mine, and thou hast slandered it.’
‘It may be so, for it is not mine own.’
Paris/Juliet (Act 4, Scene 1, line 35-36)
‘And this shall free thee from this present shame,
If no inconstant toy nor womanish fear
Abate thy valour in the acting it.’
Friar Lawrence (Act 4, Scene 1, line 118-120)
‘I’ll play the house wife for this once - What ho!‘
Lord Capulet (Act 4, Scene 2, line 44)
‘Nurse, wife, what ho! What, Nurse I say!
Go waken Juliet; go and trim her up.
I’ll ho and chat with Paris. Hie, make haste,
Make haste! The bridegroom, he is come already:
Make haste, I say.’
Lord Capulet (Act 4, Scene 4, line 23-27)
‘Why I descend into this bed of death
Is partly to behold my lady’s face,
But chiefly to take thence from her dead finger
A precious ring, a ring that I must use
In dear employment.’
Romeo (Act 5, Scene 3, lines 28-32)
‘My wife is dead tonight;
Grief of my son’s exile hath stopp’d her breath.
What further woe conspires against mine age?’
Lord Montague (Act 5, Scene 3, lines 210-212)
‘For never was a story of more woe
Than this Juliet and her Romeo.’
Prince (Act 5, Scene 3, line 309)
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Shakespeare’s Romeo is young and naïve. His understanding of women is limited and, to him, they are not human women, but
“precious treasure.” In Act Two Scene Two, when Romeo spies Juliet on the balcony he describes her as the “fair sun”, who he entreaties to “kill the envious moon.” The audience cannot help but be captivated by Romeo’s love for Juliet, because it is so light. “The brightness of those cheeks doth shame the stars.” Shakespeare’s comparison of the stars and the moon to Juliet’s beauty heighten the romance of balcony scene. For Romeo, it will never be dark again, because the beauty of Juliet “kills” and “shames” the night. Romeo sets Juliet up as an ethereal presence, not as a human. He views
Rosaline in a similar way. She is an incomparable beauty. Even
Cupid’s arrows cannot touch her. But unlike the light that radiates from Juliet, in Romeo’s eyes, his love for Rosaline makes him lock himself away and create an “artificial night”. The direct contrast of
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Romeo’s two loves anchors the audience to Romeo and Juliet’s commitment to one another. This is not a childish crush, but a serious relationship.
It is important that you quote from the texts to support the points that you make. Well-chosen quotations show your knowledge of the text. They also show that you understand the point that you are making.
Quotations should be brief and should not dominate your essay. As a rough guide, they should not take up any more that about 15% of the essay. Never quote more than two or three lines.
Usually, this will be too much. The kind of quotation that shows that you really know the text well is when you weave quoted words into your own sentences.
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Poetry Analysis
First thing you should establish for any texts you are trying to analyse is ‘GAP’:
G-
A-
P-
G - Genre (what style is the text)
A – Audience (who is the text aimed at/for?)
P - Purpose (what is the purpose of the text; entertain, inform, instruct, persuade.
For example, The Beggar Woman by William King:
G Poem
AThe Audience would be mostly men, as the poem was often told in bars.
P The purpose of the poem would be to entertain but also inform people of the consequences their actions could have.
Now you try for Romeo and Juliet:
And for your choice of poem:
G-
A-
P-
Once you have established the Genre, Audience and Purpose for your texts we can now fill it out and make it fit into your essay. It could be central to your introductory paragraph.
For example, the Beggar Woman by William King is a poem about a “gentleman” who is riding on his horse through the woods until he “ambles” across a beggar woman who he wishes to “retire a little way into the woods” with. The purpose of this poem is to entertain as it was mostly cited in bars and pubs. The narrative in the poem, along with the rhyming couplets, allows the audience to remember the rhythm and rhyme of the poem increasing the chances of them being able to recall the words.
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Compare one poem with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Think about how women are portrayed in both.
You can use both the mechanism and the effect of the mechanism to compare and contrast your texts. For example:
Comparing the mechanism used The semantic field of frailness in The Beggar
Woman connotes the woman to be weak. For example the adjectives “gentle” “expose” and the verbs “needed” and “feared” imply the woman to be desperate and delicate. This creates sympathy by the reader to the woman and suggests that King also disagrees with the unfair treatment of women in the 16-1700s. In contrast to this, in Romeo and Juliet Romeo uses a semantic field of beauty to describe Rosaline. He says “Show me a mistress that is passing fair, what doth her beaut y serve…She is rich in beauty” The adjective “fair” and the abstract noun “beauty” shows how Romeo finds Rosaline to be attracted however, the adjective “rich” is used here as an intensifier to show that Rosaline is on another level of “beauty” compared to other women. This shows that Romeo bases his choice of woman on their physical attractiveness and wealth rather than personality, which would be quite common for males in the Jacobean era.
Comparing the effect of the mechanismIn Romeo and Juliet Samp son declares “I will be cruel with the maids and cut off their heads… maidenheads”. Here Sampson equates sex with violence and the raw pun of “maidenheads” to mean virginity shows
Sampson to be very disrespectful, crude and slanderous towards women. Similarly to this the gentleman in The Beggar Woman uses the noun “game” to describe his attitudes of women. He says “For he himself had other game in view”, thus implying that there are many women to get through without any serious feelings towards them.
Both
Sampson and the “gentleman” in The Beggar Woman see women as things that are just there to be used and to be slept with. The negative attitude towards women in the poem is furthered by the use of the animalistic verb “trot” to describe the woman’s movements. This connotes the woman to be dependent on the man as she
“trots behind him” suggesting her to be unsure of what she is doing, but only knows to follow the man. Moreover, the quote implies the women to be a horse in which he
“rode astray” that he can just use whenever it suits.
Activity: Construct a grid, like the one below, on a sheet of A3 paper and fill it in.
After you have filled in the grid, try and colour coding it so that you have more than one analysis per text in your poem. E.G. Blue for all the analysis in paragraph one,
Green for paragraph two etc.
THE
BEGGAR
WOMAN
POINT
MECHANISM
USED
EFFECT OF
THIS
MECHANISM
IS IT A
SIMILIAR OR
CONTRASTING
POINT?
ROMEO
AND
JULIET
POINT
MECHANISM
USED
EFFECTS
OF THIS
MECHANISM
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You wi ll be assessed on the “quality of your writing”:
● Correct spelling, grammar and punctuation is very important.
● Read over your work and make sure that all your points make perfect sense.
● Write in a style that best suits the essay form – for example, no abbreviations, formal language.
● Organise your work in a neat and clear structure. Have an introduction, a clear line of argument in each paragraph and a conclusion that ties everything together.
Your Assessment Objectives:
AO1:
Analyse Romeo and Juliet, using technical vocabulary and exploring what is said.
Explore quotes in order to back up and illustrate your points.
AO2:
Explain how the language used, the structure of the play, the acts or the scenes and form of the passages you choose (I.e. is it a soliloquy or a sonnet etc. contribute to
Shakespeare’s presentation of ideas, themes and settings.
AO3:
Make comparisons and explain links between the poetry and the Shakespeare, exploring the different techniques he uses to convey meaning and achieve effects.
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AO1
AO2
AO3
Quality of written communication
•Make very detailed reference to text using quotes and analysis
(PQA).
•Explore characters and the relationships between them in detail.
•Look in to underlying themes confidently. poems.
Band 4
•Show how Shakespeare use ideas, themes and settings to affect the reader; convey ideas clearly and appropriately.
•Explain how Shakespeare creates dramatic effects through the style of his writing and its structure.
•Show that you can understand how meanings and ideas are conveyed through language, structure and form.
•Compare and make some evaluation of the themes, character and the impact of
Romeo and Juliet and your chosen
•Begin to explore links and comparisons of theme and style in the Shakespeare and the poetry.
•Explain the relevance and impact of the connections you have found between Romeo and Juliet and the poem you have chosen.
Expression is mainly clear and fluent. The answer is quite well structured. There are some errors in spelling or punctuation, but it is mostly accurate. Specialist vocabulary is used mainly appropriately.
Band 5
•Use only quotes that are entirely relevant and analyse them.
•Offer a few judgements on
Shakespeare’s style.
•Evaluate characters and relationships.
•Evaluate Shakespeare’s motives.
•Be confident with the play. (We know how well you know it!)
•Have an overview and ability to move from the specific to the general.
•Be able to convey ideas persuasively and with apt textual support (PQA).
•Show appreciation of how
Shakespeare has used language to achieve specific effects.
•Explore the ways in which meaning, ideas and feeling are conveyed through language, structure and form.
•Make assured analysis of stylistic features.
•Form a clear line of argument about how Romeo and Juliet and a poem of your choice are similar or different.
•Choose quotes and textual references that are as relevant as possible.
•Explain the links that you have found as clearly as you can.
Expression is clear and fluent. The answer is well structured. There are a few errors in grammar, punctuation spelling.
Specialist vocabulary is used appropriately. and
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Does your essay sound enthusiastic, engaging and (above all) confident?
Have you given interpretations that are imaginative and original and have you backed up your points with key quotes and an analysis of them?
Have you made comparisons between Romeo and Juliet, and the poem you chose? Have you backed up your ideas with quotes and analyses?
Have you talked in detail about how language contributes to Shakespeare’s presentation of ideas, themes and settings? What effects do these contributions have on the reader?
Have you talked in detail about how form contributes to Shakespeare’s presentation of ideas, themes and settings? What effects do these contributions have on the reader?
Have you talked in detail about how structure contributes to Shakespeare’s presentation of ideas, themes and settings? What effects do these contributions have on the reader?
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