1.
Important scenes explained with analysis
and quotations
2. Theme of Love
3. Critical essay questions + plans
4. Past paper questions
5. Example essay
6. Further resources
7. Drama revision
Prologue
The prologue takes the form of a 14 line sonnet and is performed by a Chorus.
This sets the scene and establishes the setting (Verona), the plot (ancient
grudge), the lovers (Romeo and Juliet) and explains how their love ends the feud
between their two families – the Capulets and Montagues.
Theme of Fate
The obvious function of the Prologue as an introduction to the Verona of Romeo
and Juliet can obscure its deeper, more important function. The Prologue does
not merely set the scene of Romeo and Juliet, it tells the audience exactly what
is going to happen in the play. The Prologue refers to an ill-fated couple with its
use of the word “star-crossed,” which means, literally, against the stars.
Stars were thought to control people’s destinies, but the Prologue itself creates
this sense of fate by providing the audience with the knowledge that Romeo and
Juliet will die even before the play has begun. The audience therefore watches
the play with the expectation that it must fulfill the terms set in the Prologue.
The structure of the play itself is the fate from which Romeo and Juliet cannot
escape:
“The fearful passage of their death-marked love,”
Theme of Hate
The theme of hate is clearly established in the Prologue, which is surprising as
the play is famous for the love between the two characters:
“From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.”
and
The extreme hatred is presented to
the reader immediately and we
begin to realise how much hate and
violence will be in the play.
“Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.”
Theme of Love
The love between Romeo and Juliet is also established but this is not as strong
as the theme of hate. The power of their love is also shown as the Prologue
advises us that:
“A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.”
Their love was the way to stop the
family feud and their lives were part
of the sacrifice. The power and
strength of their love is emphasised
here.
Act One Scene One
In an angry scene, initially based on conflict, we are made aware of the
seriousness of the conflict between the two families. We are given no account
of the feud between them; it is simply there, unexplained, apparently of long
standing. It is introduced into the play in no dignified way – merely the occasion
of some absurd scuffling among the servants of the two hours. However, the
opening is successful in engaging the attention of the audience.
Summary
The scene begins with two servants, Sampson and Gregory clearly looking for
trouble with the Montague family. Their conversation is full of crude sexual
references.
Theme of Love
The dirty talk however, has an important part to play. Gregory and Sampson can
only see the relationship between men and women in the crudest terms. This
contrasts with the real and powerful love which is to develop between Romeo
and Juliet.
Characterisation
Tybalt – the conflict in this scene provides an opportunity for the quarrel-loving
Tybalt to show himself off. Our first impression of Tybalt is that he is a violent
and angry character:
“What drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word
As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.”
Romeo – the first scene also introduces us to Romeo the lover; as soon as Romeo
is mentioned the mood changes. Up to this point, the action and language of the
play have been characterised by violence and obscenity – the obscene comments
of Gregory and Sampson; the violent, aggressive language of Tybalt; the hatred
between Capulet and Montague. Suddenly, violence has given way to peace and
serenity, crudity to symbols of beauty.
When Lady Montague mentions Romeo, Benvolio replies:
“Madam, an hour before the worshipp’d sun
Peered forth the golden window of the east...”
However, our introduction to Romeo comes with a bit of shock. We would expect
him to be lovesick over Juliet but instead he is in love with Rosaline. Romeo is
introduced as a melancholy and gloomy character. He is pining after Rosaline
who has spurned him:
“Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate,
O anything, of nothing first create!”
Use of elaborate oxymorons. Romeo
speaks of love using bad poetry; this
is how he imagines lovers to talk.
Suggests his love is artificial and
highlights his own immaturity.
“O heavy lightness, serious vanity,
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms,
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,
Still waking sleep, that is not what it is!”
Rosaline could only exist in the play to demonstrate Romeo’s passionate nature:
his love of love. It seems that Romeo’s love for chaste Rosaline stems almost
entirely from the reading of bad love poetry. Romeo’s love for Rosaline, then,
seems immature, more a statement that he is ready to be in love than actual
love.
Romeo continues to make increasingly fanciful hyperbolic statements with
regards to his love of Rosaline:
“She hath forsworn to love; and in that vow
Do I live dead that live to tell it now.”
The scene concludes with Romeo telling Benvolio: “Thou canst not teach me to
forget.”
Act One Scene Two
The scene introduces Paris as Capulet’s pick for Juliet’s husband thus
establishing how Juliet is subject to parental influence. Regardless of any interfamily strife, Juliet’s father can force her to marry whomever he wants.
Juliet’s status as a young woman leaves her with no power of choice in any social
situation.
Theme of Fate
Parental influence in this tragedy becomes a tool of fate: Juliet’s arranged
marriage with Paris, and the traditional feud between Capulets and Montagues,
will eventually contribute to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The forces that
determine their fate are laid in place well before Romeo and Juliet meet.
Characterisation
Romeo
Romeo is still lovelorn for Rosaline and describes himself as:
“... bound more than a madman is;
Shut up in prison, kept without my food,
Again, Romeo exaggerates his
feelings of despair and anguish over
Rosaline and her rejection of him.
Whipped and tormented.”
However, the audience can tell at this point that Romeo will meet Juliet at the
feast, and expectations begin to rise. Through Shakespeare’s use of plot, the
audience starts to feel the rustlings of approaching fate.
Act One Scene Three
This scene provides an insight into the three main characters. It also explores
the theme of youth versus old age and the difference in attitudes between the
Nurse, Lady Capulet and Juliet towards love and marriage.
Characterisation
Lady Capulet – is a flighty, ineffectual mother: she dismisses the Nurse,
seeking to speak alone with her daughter, but as soon as she is alone with Juliet,
Lady Capulet becomes nervous and calls the Nurse back. She wishes to speak to
Juliet about marriage. Her relationship with Juliet is cold and distant; she
expects complete obedience in agreeing to marry.
She also mentions to Juliet that a marriage to Paris would benefit her
financially revealing her pragmatic, rather than romantic, attitude to love:
“So shall you share all that he doth possess,
By having him making yourself no less”
The Nurse – is a comic character and contrasts Juliet’s youthful innocence with
her older (and courser) outlook on life. There is a familiarity with Juliet and
this implies she, rather than Lady Capulet, raised Juliet.
Juliet – is revealed in this scene as a rather naive young girl who is obedient to
her mother and Nurse. However, there are glimpses of strength and intelligence
that are wholly absence in her mother. Juliet’s mother asks her to seek Paris
out at the party and find pleasure in his beauty. Juliet replies stating:
“But no more deep will I endart mine eye
I’ll look at him and try to like him,
at least if what I see is likable. But I
won’t let myself fall for him any
more than your permission allows.
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly”
This seems to imply a complete obedience in Juliet but it can also been seen as
an effort on Juliet’s part to use vague language as a means of asserting some
control over her situation. She is agreeing to see if she might be able to love
Paris but at the same time, she states she will put no more enthusiasm into this
effort than her mother’s demands. This answer could indicate Juliet’s emotional
maturity because she has made up her own mind that she cannot marry someone
she does not love. Juliet’s attitude here anticipates her rebellion against her
parents later in the play. Juliet’s view of love also points to the spiritual quality
of her love for Romeo, which is not tainted by economic and sexual concerns.
Act One Scene Four
Characterisation
Mercutio – acts in direct contrast to the lovestruck Romeo and the peaceful
Benvolio – he is a witty and quick-tempered sceptic. He teases Romeo for his
melancholy love and using conventional images of love to underscore Romeo’s
naive view of love:
“You are a lover, borrow Cupid’s wings
And soar with them above a common bound.”
He approaches the subject of dreams, like the subject of love, with witty
scepticism, as he describes them both as “fantasy”.
Romeo – his final speech anticipates his meeting with Juliet and creates an
atmosphere of impending doom, which undercuts the festivities. He intuits that
he has a date with destiny (THEME OF FATE). The heavy tone of this
premonition is far more serious than the shallow melancholy Romeo has so far
expressed:
“I fear too early for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night’s revels, and expire the term
Of a despised life closed in my breast
By come vile forfeit of untimely death.”
This is foreshadowing (TECHNIQUE) what actually happens in the rest of the
play. A fateful chain of events (connection with the prologue) now begins.
Act One Scene Five
Summary
Romeo sees Juliet and forgets Rosaline entirely; Juliet meets Romeo and falls
just as deeply in love. The meeting of R&J dominates the scene.
Language
Romeo first spots Juliet dancing and is instantly enchanted by her:
“O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
As a rich jewel in Ethiop’s ear”
Note how Romeo describes her beauty in
terms of dark and light. Her beauty is
brighter than the blaze of any torch and
her presence makes the whole room light
up.
Romeo’s language takes on a richness and beauty which was missing from his
earlier, strained and insincere words about his love for Rosaline, convincing us of
his real and profound love for Juliet.
Theme of Hate
Conflict is reintroduced into this play at this point through the character of
Tybalt. From Romeo’s voice alone he recognises that he is a Montague:
“Now, by the stock and honour of my kin,
To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.”
“I will withdraw. But this intrusion shall,
Note Tybalt’s aggressive tone. Tybalt promises
that Romeo shall pay. Tybalt symbolises the
theme of hate and this vow sets in motion the
tragic turn of events.
Now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall.”
In the very instance when R&J first meet, Tybalt’s rage has been set, creating
the circumstances that will eventually banish Romeo from Verona. In the
meeting between R&J lie the seeds of their shared tragedy.
Language
The first conversation between R&J is an extended Christian metaphor. Using
this metaphor, R convinces J to let him kiss her:
“If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
The popular love poetry of the time
often portrayed the lover as one who
worshipped his beloved with religious
devotion. It also represents the purity
and innocence of their love. This is in
direct contrast with Romeo’s love for
Rosaline.
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”
The metaphor holds many further functions. The religious overtone of the
conversation clearly implies that their love can be described only through the
vocabulary of religion, that pure associations with God. In this way, their love
becomes associated with the purity and passion of the divine.
Sonnet
When R&J first meet, they speak just fourteen lines before their first kiss.
These make up a shared sonnet with a rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefgg. A
sonnet is a perfect, idolised poetic form often used to write about love.
Encapsulating the moment of origin of R&J’s love within a sonnet therefore
creates a perfect match between literary content and formal style. The use of
a sonnet also serves a darker purpose. The Prologue sonnet introduces the
eventual death of the lovers and the shared sonnet also helps to create the
sense of fate. This also creates a formal link between their love and their
destiny.
Relationship
The first conversation also provides a glimpse of the roles they will each play in
their relationship. R is clearly the aggressor as he uses all the skills at his
disposal to win over a struck, but timid, Juliet. Note that Juliet does not move
during their first kiss; she simply lets Romeo kiss her. She is still a young girl,
and though she has shown her intelligence in her dialogue, she is not ready to
throw herself into the action. However, Juliet is the aggressor in the second
kiss. In a single conversation, Juliet transforms from a proper, timid young girl
to one more mature, who understands what she desires and is quick-witted
enough to procure it.
Contrasting Characters
There is a clear contrast between the reactions of R&J when they discover
they have fallen in love with their greatest rivals. Romeo feels very uneasy and
that he will pay dearly for this meeting and that things will turn out badly for
him:
“O dear account. My life is my foe’s debt.”
Juliet on the other hand, while realising the unfortunate implications of falling
in love with “the only son of (your) great enemy” is undeterred – she has fallen in
love with him:
“My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late.”
However the scene ends ominously as Juliet strikes a chilling and prophetic note
when she says:
“My grave is like to be my wedding bed.”
Act 2 Scene 1
Act Two is introduced by a Chorus in sonnet form. The Chorus simply states
that Romeo’s previous love (for Rosaline) has gone and he now loves Juliet. In
this scene Benvolio and Mercutio are searching for Romeo who hides from them.
Theme of Love
The main purpose of this scene is to reveal Mercutio’s attitude to love (which he
regards as simply a physical act between men and women – note this is similar to
the ‘love’ explored in the opening scene of the play). His attitude to love can be
contrasted with the passionate and spiritual love which we saw ignited in the
previous scene.
Act 2 Scene 2
The balcony scene is the most famous love scene in literature and dramatically,
it is at the heart of the play.
Juliet suddenly appears at a window above the spot where Romeo is standing.
Language
“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!”
Consider the language (metaphor) here.
If Juliet is ‘the sun’ she is not only
dazzlingly beautiful to Romeo but she
has become the centre of his universe;
he can no longer live without her.
This imagery of light is further demonstrated when he compares Juliet to the
stars:
“Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
Romeo compares Juliet to the stars,
claiming that she eclipses the stars as
daylight overpowers a lamp – her eyes
shine so bright that they will convince
the birds to sing at night as if it were day.
Here, Romeo imagines Juliet
transforming darkness into light; similar
to the effect she has had on his own life.
To twinkle in their sphere till they return.”
He also refers to her as:
“bright angel” and says she is:
“As glorious to this night, being o’er my head,
As is winged messenger of heaven
These quotations continue the light
motif we have already observed.
Romeo’s use of celestial imagery clearly
redefines the spiritual nature of his love
for Juliet.
Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy puffing clouds”
Characterisation
Juliet, musing to herself and unaware that Romeo is in her garden, asks why
Romeo must be Romeo – a Montague, and therefore an enemy to her family.
“O Romeo, Romeo,
Wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy family and refuse thy name,
She thinks of Romeo in individual terms,
and thus her love for him overrides her
family’s hatred for the Montague name.
This also shows a mature and reasonable
outlook in comparison to Tybalt.
Of if thou wilt not be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”
Romeo responds to her plea, surprising Juliet. She wonders how he found her
and he tells her that love led him to her. Juliet admits she feels as strongly
about Romeo as he professes to love her, but she worries that perhaps Romeo
will prove inconstant or false, or will think Juliet too easily won.
It is clear in this scene that Juliet is a more practical person than Romeo.
Romeo is totally consumed by his love for Juliet:
“With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls.
For stony walls cannot hold love out.
And what love can do, that dares love attempt.
Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me.”
Here, Romeo doesn’t mean that her
kinsmen can’t harm him – but that love
will do anything for love – even die and
he is in love.
Juliet’s love is equally intense but she still concerns herself with practical
matters – the danger for Romeo if he is discovered, the seriousness of his
intentions. Thus she is all realism; Romeo, all love. Due to this, it is Juliet who
instigates the arrangements to advance their relationship, again highlighting her
practical and forceful side:
“send me word tomorrow:
By one that I’ll procure to come to thee.”
However, Juliet is also caught up in the magic of their love:
“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep. The more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”
Juliet’s imagery conveys the depth of her
love for Romeo. Consider the
comparison with the sea and what this
tells us.
In spite of this, she still recognises that: “it is too rash, too unadvis’d too
sudden; Too like lightning…” She fears that this joy, which has come so quickly,
may disappear just as fast like lightning.
Theme of Fate
The final tragedy is also hinted at in this scene when Romeo says:
“My life were better ended by hate,
Than death prorogued, wanting of their love”
It would be better for him to die that
moment on the swords of Capulet than
to love longer without the love of Juliet.
(Foreshadows the end of play and links
to theme of hate).
Act Two Scene Three
In this scene, we meet Friar Lawrence. It begins with the Friar gathering herbs
and plants outside his cell. He speaks philosophically about life and comments on
how – in both plants and people – everything has some good and every good can
be abused and turned to evil. This could symbolise Romeo and Juliet’s
relationship as it is Romeo’s love for Juliet which stops him from accepting
Tybalt’s duel which set into motion Romeo’s banishment (good to bad). Also the
untimely death of these two lovers also ends their family’s feud (bad to good).
Characterisation
The Friar is surprised when he learns of Romeo’s change of heart about Rosaline
(highlighting his fickle nature):
The Friar shows a keen understanding of
Romeo’s impulsive, impetuous and
changeable character.
“Is Rosaline that thou didn’t love so dear,
So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies
Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.”
He is not convinced by Romeo’s reply that:
“Her I love now
Doth grace and love for love allow.
Juliet returns his love whilst Rosaline did
not.
The other did not so.”
This hardly proves he has matured and whilst the events of the play prove
Romeo’s steadfast love for Juliet, his immature love for Rosaline and his love of
love, is never quite erased. He remains too quick to follow the classic examples
of love, up to and including his suicide.
On a cautionary note, the Friar advises Romeo to move: “Wisely and slow. They
stumble that run fast.” The Friar’s words prove to be true here. Speed and the
haste of youth both contribute to the final tragedy. This further exemplifies
the contrast between the Friar’s age, caution, thoughtfulness and Romeo’s youth
and impetuosity.
Theme of Love
In spite of his gentle mocking, the Friar agrees to marry them, hoping that:
“For this alliance may so happy prove
To turn your household’s rancour to pure love.”
Act Two Scene Four
He hopes that the good of their love will
reverse the evil of the hatred between
the feuding families. This emphasises the
powerful nature of love within the play.
We know this will happen but at the
ultimate sacrifice: their lives.
Later that morning, Mercutio and Benvolio wonder what happened to Romeo and
we quickly discover Tybalt has sent a letter to Romeo’s house – obviously a
challenge following Tybalt’s threat the previous night. This is an indicator that
all is not well; things are going too well for Romeo and Juliet but tragedy is
lurking. This is reinforced when Mercutio says: “Alas, poor Romeo, he is already
dead.” He is making a joking comment to the effect that he has been killed for
his love of Rosaline, but the words have a prophetic ring to them.
Characterisation
Romeo arrives and he is now in high spirits. There is no longer the melancholy,
dejected Romeo we saw sighing at Rosaline at the beginning of the play. He
engages in a battle of wits with Mercutio and can match him line for line. We
now see the return of the ‘real’ Romeo.
The Nurse then arrives and agrees to deliver Romeo’s message about their
impending wedding to Juliet.
Act Two Scene Five
In the Capulet orchard, Juliet waits impatiently for her Nurse, whom she sent
to meet Romeo three hours earlier. At last the Nurse returns and Juliet
anxiously presses her for news. Juliet grows frantic and the Nurse finally gives
in and tells her she is to be married.
Theme of Love
Throughout this scene, Shakespeare emphasises the thrilling joy of young,
romantic love, Juliet is electric with anticipation: she can barely contain herself
when the nurse pretends to be too tired to give her the news.
Though the euphoria of love dominates these scenes, some ominous
foreshadowing is revealed. The Nurse’s joking game in which she delays telling
Juliet the news will find its sad mirror in a future scene, when the Nurse’s
anguish prevents her from relating news to Juliet and thereby causing terrible
confusion.
Act Three Scene One
-The Turning Point
-The Key Scene
The scene begins with a warning from Benvolio, as we would expect from one
who tries so valiantly to keep the peace:
“The day is hot, the Capels are abroad.
And if we meet we shall no ‘scape a brawl,
For now, these hot days is the mad blood stirring.”
Tybalt arrives and is looking for Romeo but he is uncharacteristically civil and
polite as he is not looking for any other trouble. Mercutio, however, proves to
have some “mad blood stirring” and goads Tybalt until Romeo appears.
Characterisation
Tybalt’s courtesy is immediately despatched when he addressed Romeo:
“thou art a villain” (a derogatory insult).
Romeo, uncharacteristically, shows self-restrain and good sense in his composed
reply:
“Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee
Doth mucyh excuse the appertaining rage
To such a greeting.”
Tybalt responds in a sneering manner, stating:
“Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries
Classing Romeo as a ‘boy’ is both
insulting and patronising. Once more,
note Tybalt’s role as the aggressor.
That thou hast done me. Therefore turn and draw.”
Again, Romeo shows considerable restraint (gone is the impetuous youth of
earlier scenes) when he says:
Dramatic irony is at play here as we
“I do protest I never injured thee,
But love thee better than thou canst devise.”
know why Romeo behaves like this but
no other character has this information.
This adds to the tension in the scene.
Mercutio will not stand for such disrespect and jumps into the argument. Romeo
tries to maintain the peace but his protests are of little use. Finally, he steps in
between the two and unwittingly causes Mercutio’s death. In between his last
tragic quips, he curses the Montagues and Capulets three times:
“A plague o’both your houses!”
Romeo is suddenly ashamed and blames his inaction for Mercutio’s death. He
believes his love for Juliet has left him ‘soft’:
“O sweet Juliet,
Thy beauty hath made me effeminate
And in my temper softened valour steel!”
Your “temper” is your natural disposition
the combination of all your qualities and
one of these qualities for a man is valour.
This should be as hard as steel and
Romeo is ashamed that love has
“softened” him and made him less of a
man.
Theme of Fate
Romeo recognises the wider implications of these events:
“This day’s black fate on more days doth depend.
This but begin the woe others must end.”
Here, it is as if Romeo is envisioning
the death of Mercutio as a dark
thundercloud, racing across the sky
above him and into the unknown
future. Romeo knows today’s ill
fortune threatens the days to come
with a similar misery. Moreover, this
recall s the sense of fate that hangs
over the play.
Characterisation
Romeo’s mood quickly changes to one of anger and fury. He defiantly announces
“fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!
Now, Tybalt, take the ‘villain’ back again
Note the change in Romeo’s
language from earlier when he first
encountered Tybalt in this scene.
That late thou gavest me.”
Romeo’s fury and passion win out and Tybalt is slain. Romeo is not slow to
recognise the implications of his actions, declaring:
“O, I am fortune’s fool!”
Illustrates the fact that Romeo sees
himself as subject to the whims of
fate.
Romeo, upon Benvolio’s advice, quickly leaves the scene and the Prince, acting
mercifully, decides to banish Romeo rather than sentencing him to death.
Act Three Scene Two
Characterisation
In Capulet’s house, Juliet longs for night to fall so that Romeo will come to her:
“Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds,
…And bring in cloud night immediately.”
Her desperation to see Romeo again
conveys the strength of her love.
Juliet is keen to physically consummate their love:
“Hood my unmanned blood, bating in my cheeks” and
“O I have bought the mansion of love,
But not possessed it; and though I am sold,
Not yet enjoyed.”
These musings reveal a change in
her character. She now shows a
more mature attitude to love.
Suddenly the Nurse rushes in with news of the fight between Romeo and Tybalt.
The Nurse is emotional and confuses Juliet so she believes that Romeo is dead
and she resigns to die herself:
“Vile earth, to earth resign; end motion here.”
When Juliet finally learned the truth, she curses nature that it should put “the
spirit of a fiend” in Romeo’s “sweet flesh”. The Nurse echoes Juliet and curses
Romeo’s name, but Juliet denounces her for criticising her husband and adds
that she regrets faulting him herself:
“O what a beast was I to chide at him!” and
“Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?
Ah, my poor lord, what tongue shall smooth thy name
When I’m thy three-hours wife, have mangled it?”
Juliet has progressed from a simple
and innocent young girl, to a brave,
mature and loyal woman. After
hearing the Nurse malign Romeo’s
name, Juliet regains her self-control
and realises she must stand by her
husband.
Juliet claims that Romeo’s banishment is worse than ten thousand slain Tybalts.
She laments that she will die without a wedding night, a maiden-widow. The
Nurse assures her that she will arrange her wedding night with Romeo.
Act Three Scene Three
Characterisation
In Friar Lawrence’s cell, Romeo is overcome with grief and wonders what
sentence the Prince has decreed. Friar Lawrence tells him he is lucky: the Prince
has only banished him though Romeo claims that this is a penalty far worse than
death, since he will have to live but without Juliet.
Romeo reacts with his customary
“Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say ‘death’.” and
“There is no world without Verona walls,
But purgatory, torture, hell itself”
drama to the news of his
banishment. His melodramatic,
hyperbolic language further conveys
his revert back to his initial
character.
Language
Romeo uses celestial language again to describe Juliet. This further conveys the
spiritual nature of his love for her.
“Tis torture and not mercy. Heaven is here,
Where Juliet lives.”
The Friar tries to counsel Romeo, but he is so unhappy that he threatens to kill
himself when the Nurse arrives and assumes Juliet thinks if him as a murderer.
“O, tell me Friar, tell me,
In what vile part of this anatomy
Doth my name lodge? Tell me that I may sack
Romeo’s rash attempt at suicide
here prepares us for his later
determination for suicide when he
hears bad news without the support
of Juliet.
The hateful mansion.”
Friar Lawrence stops him and scolds him for being unmanly. The Friar sets out a
plan: Romeo will visit Juliet that night, but he must make sure to leave her
chamber, and Verona, before the morning. He will then reside in Mantua until
news of their marriage can be spread.
Act Three Scene Four
Capulet, Lady Capulet and Paris walk together. Capulet says that because of the
terrible events, he has no time to ask his daughter about her feelings for Paris.
Lady Capulet states she will know her daughter’s thoughts by the morning. Paris
goes to leave but Capulet calls him back:
Note the change that has taken place in
“Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender
Of my child’s love. I think she will be ruled
In all respects by me. Nay more, I doubt it not.”
Capulet here. Previously, he was happy to let
Juliet play a role in deciding upon her future
husband and wanted to postpone the wedding
by two years. Now, he has made that decision
for her, reminding us of the powerlessness of
Juliet’s character.
Capulet’s reasons for moving up the date of Juliet’s marriage to Paris are not
altogether clear. In later scenes, he states that he desires to bring some joy
into a sad time and to want to cure Juliet of her deep mourning (of course,
ironically, she mourns her husband’s banishment and not Tybalt’s death). It is
also possible that in this escalating time of strife with the Montagues, Capulet
wants all the political help he can get.
Act Three Scene Five
Summary
Romeo prepares to leave Juliet after their wedding night as he knows the
consequences if he is found in Verona. Juliet tries to convince him to stay by
persuading him that it is still night. Romeo goes along with the guise as he is
overwhelmed by love yet he still understands what would happen to him. Juliet
realises the danger they are in and bids him farewell. Lady Capulet then advises
Juliet about her marriage to Paris and she is shunned by her parents.
Light and Darkness
Another occurrence of this theme as Juliet tries to transform day into night in
an attempt to change the world through her language. This highlights Juliet’s
passionate nature and how her love for Romeo and changed her character to
someone more forceful.
“Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day.
It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear.
Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate tree.
Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.”
Romeo plays along with Juliet’s guise to highlight the foolishness of her ideas
but this could also show his undying love for her:
“Let me be ta'en. Let me be put to death.
I am content, so thou wilt have it so.”
Juliet’s pragmatic side then becomes clear:
Romeo freely admits that he will allow himself
to be captured and killed as Juliet means more
to him than life itself. He could say this to
trigger Juliet’s more practical and sensible side
or it could show his willingness to die for her.
“It is, it is. Hie hence! Be gone, away!”
Theme of Fate
Their goodbyes foreshadow and link to their fates as Juliet describes seeing
Romeo’s dead body; they will never see each other alive again:
“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.
Either my eyesight fails, or thou look’st pale”
Characterisation
Juliet’s true nature and change in character becomes clear later in this scene
when she refuses to marry Paris and she finally stands up for herself. She
dominates the conversation with her mother, who cannot keep up with Juliet’s
intelligence.
Juliet clearly shows her intelligence here with
clever word play. Her mother has no idea that
Juliet actually means she will not be happy until
she sees Romeo again and it is in fact her heart
that feels dead when she thinks about Tybalt.
“Indeed, I never shall be satisfied
With Romeo, till I behold him—dead—
Is my poor heart for a kinsman vexed.”
Juliet feels so strong that she defies her father, but in that action she learns
the limit of her power. Strong as she might be, Juliet is still a woman in a maledominated world. Juliet’s isolation truly begins at this point as she argues back
and doesn’t allow her family to control her:
“Not proud you have, but thankful that you have.
Proud can I never be of what I hate,
But thankful even for hate that is meant love.”
Though defeated by her father, Juliet does not revert to being a little girl. She
recognizes the limits of her power and, if another way cannot be found,
determines to use it: for a woman in Verona who cannot control the direction of
her life, suicide, the brute ability to live or not live that life can represent the
only means of asserting authority over the self.
Her decision to break from the counsel of her disloyal nurse—and in fact to
exclude her nurse from any part in her future actions—is another step in her
development:
“Well, thou hast comforted me marvellous much.
Go in, and tell my lady I am gone,
Having displeased my father, to Lawrence’s cell
To make confession and to be absolved.”
By lying to her Nurse, and cutting off all ties
with her family, Juliet has now become an
independent character. She is willing to do
almost anything and sacrifice everything for
Romeo.
Having a nurse is a mark of childhood; by abandoning her nurse and upholding
her loyalty toward her husband, Juliet steps fully out of girlhood and into
womanhood.
Act Four Scene One
Summary
In his cell, Friar Lawrence speaks with Paris about the latter’s impending
marriage to Juliet. Juliet enters and Paris speaks to her lovingly, if somewhat
arrogantly. Juliet responds indifferently and the Friar ushers Paris away.
Mood
After Paris leaves, there is a marked change in mood in the scene. Following her
relatively light-hearted exchange of words with Paris, her deeply troubled state
of mind soon reveals itself. Juliet asks Friar Lawrence for help, brandishing a
knife and saying that she will kill herself than marry Paris:
“If in thou wisdom thou canst give no help,
Do thou but call my resolution wise
And with this knife I’ll help it presently.”
Theme of Death
Images of death are pervasive in this scene, and are particularly prominent in
Juliet’s words: “I long to die”. Prophetically she says:
“Or bid me go into a new-made grave
And hide me with a dead man in his shroud.”
All too soon she will be lying in the Capulet tomb with the dead Tybalt for
company. Thus we have been impressed by Juliet’s growing maturity, now her
behaviour is more akin to Romeo’s desperate and impetuous nature.
Friar Lawrence proposes a desperate way out of the difficulty. He gives Juliet a
drink which he says will give her all the appearance of death for forty-two
hours, after which she will wake up unharmed.
Act Four Scene Two
Summary
In the Capulet household, preparations for the wedding are in hand. Juliet
returns and pretends to be happy about the impending nuptials to beg
forgiveness for her earlier disobedience. Her father is delighted and brings the
date of the wedding forward.
Theme of Fate
Thus, fate has taken a further hand in the affairs of the lovers. Bringing the
wedding forward will interfere with the time scale and Friar Lawrence’s plans to
get in touch with Romeo.
Act Four Scene Three
Juliet retires to her bedroom, bids the Nurse and her mother good-night, and
prepares to take Friar Lawrence’s drugs.
Characterisation
Our sense of Juliet’s isolation increases in this scene. She is now alone. She
cannot confide in her parents and has to deceive them. She no longer trusts the
Nurse who is remarkably silent in this scene. So much has happened within a few
days and there is little wonder she is in a state of high distress.
Alone, she momentarily gives in to her fears in a poignant soliloquy:
“What is it be a poison which the Friar
Subtly hath ministered to have me dead,
Her mind explores the possibility that the Friar
may be trying to poison her to cover his
involvement.
Lest in this marriage he should be dishonoured.”
Dismissing that, she allows her imagination to picture the horrors of the tomb.
Images of death and horror race through her mind:
“At some hours in the night spirits resort–
Alack, alack, is it lie that I,
So early waking – what with loathsome smells,
Juliet imagines the terror to waking early in the
Capulet tomb amongst her dead ancestors. She
is clearly terrified by this prospect, and
recognises that this could lead to her madness.
And shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth,”
She finds courage when, at the end of the soliloquy, she imagines Romeo is in
danger from the ghost of Tybalt. She toasts Romeo while drinking the drug:
“Romeo, Romeo, Romeo.
Here’s drink. I drink to thee.”
Once again, Juliet demonstrates her strength. She comes up with reason after
reason why drinking the sleeping potion might cause her harm, physically or
psychologically, but chooses to drink it anyway taking full responsibility for her
actions. She recognises that drinking the potion night lead to her madness or to
death. Drinking the potion therefore constitutes an action which she takes into
her own hands and determines its worth to her. Her drinking of the potion also
hints at future events. She drank the potion just as Romeo will later drink
poison. In drinking the potion, she not only demonstrates a willingness to take
her life in to her own hands, she goes against what is expected of a woman and
takes action.
Act Four Scene Four
Notice the vivid contrast between this and the previous scene. Juliet’s
nightmare soliloquy and her isolation are followed by the bustle and activity of
this domestic scene. There is a brittle brightness about this scene as the
audience compares the vigorous life on state with the images of Juliet in her
bedroom, alone and apparently dead.
Act Four Scene Five
Shakespeare is careful to contain the tragedy in this scene. He cannot allow the
grief of Juliet’s parents to become too dominant. He has to leave emotional
space for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet at the end of the play. However, both
Capulet and Lady Capulet’s grief appears real and conveys deep emotion:
“O me, O me! My child, my only life!
Revive, look up or I will die with thee!”
For the first time in the play, Lady Capulet appears to show real emotion.
Act Five Scene One
Romeo describes a dream he had about Juliet: Juliet found him lying dead, but
she kissed him and breathed new life into his body. He couldn’t be happier and
has no idea that everything he has just said is a foreshadowing of the cruel fate
that is about to descend upon him.
Characterisation
Romeo comments that nothing can be ill in the world if Juliet is well. Balthasar
replies that nothing can be ill, then, for Juliet is well: she is in heaven, found
dead that morning at her home. Thunderstruck, Romeo cries out:
“Then I defy you, stars”
Romeo screams against the fate he believes is
stopping his desires and playing games with his
life.
He attempts to defy that fate by killing himself and spending eternity with
Juliet: “Well, Juliet,” he says, “I will lie with thee tonight.” Tragically, it is
Romeo’s very decision to avoid his destiny that actually brings fate about. In
killing himself over the sleeping Juliet he ensures their ultimate double suicide.
Theme of Fate
Shakespeare demonstrates the extreme power of fate: nothing can stand in its
way. But fate is also something attached to the social institutions of the world
in which Romeo and Juliet live. This destiny, brought about by the interplay of
societal norms from which Romeo and Juliet cannot escape, seems equally
powerful, though less divine. Now, in this scene, we see Romeo as agent of his
own fate. The fortune that befalls Romeo and Juliet is internal rather than
external. It is determined by the natures and choices of its two protagonists.
Were Romeo not so rash and emotional, so quick to fall into melancholy, the
double suicide would not have occurred. Had Juliet felt it possible to explain the
truth to her parents, the double suicide might not have occurred. But to wish
someone were not as they were is to wish for the impossible. The love between
Romeo and Juliet exists precisely because they are who they are. The
destructive, suicidal nature of their love is just as much an aspect of their
natures, as individuals and as a couple.
Act Five Scene Two
Friar Lawrence speaks with Friar John, whom he had earlier sent to Mantua with
a letter for Romeo. He asks John how Romeo responded to his letter. Friar John
replies that he was unable to deliver the letter because he was shut up in a
quarantined house due to an outbreak of plague. Friar Lawrence realises Romeo
has no idea about Juliet’s ‘death’ and tries to stop any unforeseen
circumstances.
Act Five Scene Three
Romeo arrives at Juliet’s tomb and sends Balthazar away. Now alone at the
entrance to the tomb, Romeo hurls defiance at it saying:
”Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death,
Gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth,
Thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open.”
Again, Romeo’s distress is evident. Our
knowledge of his character ensures we can be
certain that he will go through with his plan.
Paris interrupts Romeo. They fight and Paris dies. Romeo then moves into the
tomb and upon seeing Juliet, Romeo observes:
“Thou art not conquer’d; beauty ensign yet
Is crimson in they lips and in they cheeks,
And death’s pale flag is not advanced there.”
Note the cruel twist of this dramatic irony. It
would appear to us that the effects of the
potion are wearing off and Juliet is not far from
waking.
Romeo then begins to muse on Juliet’s beauty he thinks that perhaps Death is in
love with her. To prevent Death from being Juliet’s lover, Romeo promises to
join her:
“I still will stay with thee;
Romeo will take his chances on death, where he
hopes to be at peace, his body free at last from
the baleful stars.
And never from this palace of dim light
Depart again”...
“O, here
Will I set up my everlasting rest,
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars
From this world-wearied flesh.”
At this moment, Juliet awakes remembering why she in the tomb. The Friar is in
the tomb and urges her to leave only telling her: “Thy husband in thy bosom
there lies dead.” Juliet is not interested in living. Once alone with Romeo, she
discovers the cup in his hand and immediately understands that he has poisoned
himself:
“O churl! Drunk all, and left no friendly drop
To help me after?
Juliet’s only desire is to be with Romeo.
I will kiss thy lips;
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,
To make me die with a restorative.”
Juliet then spots the dagger and her last words are:
“O happy dagger!
This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.”
The dagger will make her ‘happy’ by sending
her to Romeo.
The Capulets and Montagues arrive and only now do we learn that Lady montague
has recently died of grief at Romeo’s banishment.
Theme of Love
At the very end, out of the disaster comes some good. The Prince reproves the
heads of the feuding families saying:
“Capulet! Montague!
See, what scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.”
Heading him, Capulet offers his hand to Montague and he accepts it. Both make
promises to build statues commemorating each other’s children.
The Prince brings the play to a close by noting that the morning sky is dark,
fitting the mood of the occasion:
“A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
Note final use of dark imagery – conveys
tragic nature of this event.
The Sun, for sorrow, will not show his head.”
Theme of Love
Love and Suicide
Shakespeare creates an interesting psychological tension in Romeo and Juliet by
consistently linking the intensity of young love with a suicidal impulse. Though
love is generally the opposite of hatred violence and death, Shakespeare
portrays self-annihilation as seemingly the only response to the overwhelming
emotional experience that being young and in love constitutes. He has help up
the possibility of suicide as an inherent aspect of intense love. Passion cannot be
stifled, and when combined with the vigour of youth, it expresses itself through
the most convenient outlook. Romeo and Juliet seem to flirt with the idea of
death throughout much of the play, and the possibility of suicide recurs often,
foreshadowing the eventual events of the loves in Act 5. When Juliet
misunderstands the Nurse and thinks that Romeo is dead, she does not think
that he was killed, but that he killed himself. Thinking Romeo is dead, Juliet
decides that she too must die. Her love for Romeo will allow no other course of
action. Violence becomes as assertion of autonomy over the self and a final deed
of profound love.
The Power of Romeo and Juliet’s Love
We have seen Romeo and Juliet attempt to reconfigure the world through
language so that their love might have a place to exist peacefully. That language,
though powerful in the moment, could never counter the vast forces of the
social world. Through suicide, the lovers are able to escape the world that
oppresses them. Furthermore, in the blaze of glory of their deaths, they
transfigure the world. The feud between their families ends. The Price – the law
- recognises the honour and value due to the lovers. In dying, love has conquered
all, its passion is shown to be the brightest most powerful. It seems at last that
Friar Lawrence’s words have come to be: “These violent delights have violent
ends/And in their triumph die”. The extremely intense passion of Romeo and
Juliet has trumped all other passions, and in coming to its violent end, has
forced those other passions to cease.
The irony of the play is that in death, Romeo and Juliet have created the world
that would have allowed their love to live. That irony does exist and it is tragic,
but because of the power and beauty of their love, it is hard to see Romeo and
Juliet’s death as a simple tragedy. Their deaths are tragic but this tragedy was
fated: by the stars, by the violent world in which the live, by the play and by
their very natures. At the play’s end, we do not feel sad for the loss of life as
much as we feel wrenched by the incredible act of love that Romeo and Juliet
have committed as monuments to each other and their love. Romeo and Juliet
have been immortalised as the archetypes of true love, not because their tragic
deaths bury their parents’ strife, but rather because they are willing to
sacrifice everything – including themselves – for their love. That Romeo and
Juliet must kill themselves to preserve their is love is tragic.
Critical Essay Questions + Plans
Opening Scenes Question
You could be asked about the opening of the play and how this introduces the
main themes of the play in a C.E. question. If so, you should focus on the
Prologue and Act One Scene One.
These scenes perform a variety of functions:
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Introduces the theme of fate (“star-crossed lovers”).
Introduces the character of Romeo and his sometimes impetuous and
melancholic character (a flaw in his character).
Introduces the conflict between the Montagues and Capulets.
There is also a slight reference make to the conflict between youth and
age here.
Introduces the themes of violence and hate (particulary through the
character of Tybalt).
Introduces the theme of love (contrast between bawdiness of Gregor and
Sampson and melancholoy of Romeo).
Generally you will have to state how the themes/ideas/characters are
introduced in the opening scene and then look at how they are developed
throughout the rest of the play.
Key Scenes/Turning Points
Many CE questions are based around the impact of a key scene or turning point.
For this type of question you must analyse the scene in great detail. You must
additionally think about the scenes leading up to, and following the key scene
itself.
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Romeo’s impetuous nature is made clear from the beginning of the play.
His sense of melodrama is displayed through his exaggerated pining for
Rosaline. His changeable nature is demonstrated through his sudden love
for Juliet (and the instant dismissal of Rosaline). Hence, we have been
prepared for his change in this scene.
Tybalt’s role as an aggressor and Romeo’s nemesis is similarly established
early on in the play, during the Capulet’s party. Furthermore, Romeo and
Juliet’s very first meeting is tainted by his aggression.
This scene is deliberately juxtaposed with the marriage of Romeo and
Juliet. Thus we have contrast between the spiritual beauty of their love
and the violence and aggression of the masculine would of Verona.
This masculine world of Verona has already been portrayed in the opening
scene of this play. This is a world where honour is of utmost importance
(hence the repeated public brawls). In order to his save honour, Romeo
must fight Tybalt.
Mercutio, the key comic character of the play has been killed. From this
point on, tragedy begins to overwhelm the comedy of the play.
Theme and Turning Point
Before
Play dominated by theme of love:
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Sampson and Gregory speak of love as something violent and physical:
“Thrust his (Montague’s) maids to the wall”.
Romeo uses elaborate oxymorons to emphasise his confused emotional
state: “O brawling love, o loving hate”.
Romeo tells Juliet of his love for her at the masquerade when he says
his lips are: “two blushing pilgrims” worshipping her.
Tybalt shows his hate by vowing to kill Romeo: “To strike him dead I
hold it not a sin”.
Juliet makes clear her love for Romeo also commenting on the fact
that Romeo is a Montague: “my only love sprung from my only hate”.
In the balcony scene, Romeo declared that “with love’s light wings did
I o’erperch these walls”.
Juliet: “My love has grown to such excess, I cannot sum up half of all
my wealth”.
The theme of love reaches a climax when the couple are married in
Act 4 Scene 2.
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During/After
Play dominated by theme of hate:
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Hate defeats love in this scene when Romeo’s calls for peace are
ignored and the fighting begins.
Tybalt shows his hate: “Romeo… thou art a villain”.
Hate takes over Romeo temporarily when he kills Tybalt: “fore-eyed
fury by my conduct now”.
When Juliet hears of Tybalt’s death she loves and hates Romeo and
the same time: “beautiful tyrant fiend angelical”. This shows hate in
Juliet for the first time.
Capulet says he will disown Juliet is she doesn’t marry Paris: “hang,
beg, starve, die in the streets”. This again shows hate.
Character and Turning Point
Romeo
Before this scene, Romeo seems impetuous and immature. His maturity is
demonstrated in his scene when he refuses to fight Tybalt but his
impetuousness is demonstrated when he kills him in a rage. Also signs that he is
still immature are apparent: “O, I am fortune’s fool!”
Juliet
Before this scene, Juliet is very immature and relies on her parents to guide her
through life. After this scene, however, Juliet makes her own decisions and
shows that she has grown up considerably when she is able to be self-reliant
after everyone abandons her.
Mercutio
Mercutio is one the liveliest characters in the play (consider his Queen Mab
speech). His death also marks a turning point as he is no longer involved in the
play and this marks a change in the mood.
Tybalt
Tybalt is the most violent character in the play; in this scene he provokes the
violence which builds to a climatic ending in his death which signifies a turning
point.
Key Scenes
Model Introduction - In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a world of
violence and generational conflict. It is within this context of hatred that the
two young people fall in love and tragically die. What is so striking about this
play is that, despite its extraordinary setting, it has become the quintessential
story of young love and its powerful message is that this love has a power, a
beauty, an ability to heal. Thus the love and deaths of Romeo and Juliet
ultimately bring about reconciliation and peace and the feud between their two
families is ended. Undoubtedly the key moment in the Romeo’s fortune is Act 1
Sc 5 for it is in this short scene that he meets Juliet and the ultimately tragic
course of their short-lived but passionate love begins.
Shakespeare effectively delays the meeting of the lovers for one act of
the drama and so their much anticipated meeting in this key scene is what
the audience have been waiting for. We are not disappointed.
 What follows this key scene is undoubtedly the happiest and least tragic
act of the play. In it Shakespeare effectively conveys the most positive
and romantic aspects of the passionate love between the young lovers
culminating in their marriage.
 However Friar Lawrence’s warning that, ‘violent delights have violent ends’
proves to be all too tragically true at the start of Act 3, the turning point
of the play where Romeo’s passionate nature, witnessed at their meeting,
ultimately outweighs moderation.
 After Romeo’s banishment Shakespeare makes clear Juliet’s growing
maturity and independence seen first in Act 1 sc.5 as she carries out
Friar Lawrence’s drastic solution to prevent her arranged marriage to
Paris.
 The tragic final result of their meeting and of the passion of the love is
brought about by the quick and emotional reaction of Romeo when he
hears of Juliet’s ‘death’.
Model Conclusion - Thus we see that the meeting of Romeo and Juliet in Act1
sc.5 is undoubtedly the key moment in the fate of the character of Romeo.
Ultimately he, and Juliet, sacrifice everything, including themselves, for their
love and it is the intense passion of this love, witnessed from the start, which
conquers all else. The final blazing glory of their deaths transfigures the world!!

Past Paper Questions
2007
1. Choose a play which has a theme of revenge or betrayal or sacrifice.
Show how the dramatist explores your chosen theme and discuss how this
treatment enhances your appreciation of the play as a whole.
2. Choose from a play an important scene which you found particularly
entertaining or particularly shocking. Explain briefly why the scene is
important to the play as a whole and discuss in detail how the dramatist
makes the scene so entertaining or shocking.
3. Choose a play in which a character makes a crucial error. Explain what the
error is and discuss to what extent it is important to your understanding
of the character’s situation in the play as a whole.
4. Choose a play in which the relationship between a male and a female
character changes significantly. Show how the relationship between the
two characters changes and discuss to what extent this illuminates a
central idea of the play.
2008
5. Choose a play in which a central character is heroic yet vulnerable.
Show how the dramatist makes you aware of both qualities and discuss how
they affect your response to the character’s fate in the play as a whole.
6. Choose a play which explores the theme of love in difficult circumstances.
Explain how the dramatist introduces the theme and discuss how in the
course of the play he/she prepares you for the resolution of the drama.
7. Choose a play in which a character has to exist in a hostile environment.
Briefly describe the environment and discuss the extent to which it
influences your response to the character’s behaviour and to the outcome of
the play.
2009
8. Choose from a play a scene which significantly changes your view of a
character. Explain how the scene prompts this reappraisal and discuss
how important it is to your understanding of the character in the play as
a whole.
9.
2010
Choose a play set in a society whose values conflict with those of a
central character or characters. Describe this difference in values and
discuss how effectively the opposition of values enhances your
appreciation of the play as a whole.
10. Choose a play in which a central concern is clarified by the contrast
between two characters. Discuss how the dramatist’s presentation of the
contrast between the two characters adds to your understanding of this
central concern.
11. Choose a play in which a central character experiences not only inner
conflict but also conflict with one (or more than one) other character.
Explain the nature of both conflicts and discuss which one you consider to
be more important in terms of character development and/or dramatic
impact.
12. Choose from a play a scene in which tension builds to a climax.
Explain how the dramatist creates and develops this tension, and discuss
the extent to which the scene has thematic as well as dramatic
significance.
13. Choose a play which explores one of the following as a central concern:
sacrifice, courage, integrity, steadfastness of purpose. Show how the
dramatist introduces and develops the central concern in a way which
you find effective.
2011
14. Choose a play in which a character feels insecure about his or her position
within the society or social group to which he or she belongs. Show how
the dramatist makes you aware of the character’s insecurity and discuss
how it influences your appreciation of character and/or theme in the play
as a whole.
15. Choose from a play a scene in which manipulation, temptation or
humiliation is an important feature. Explain what happens in the scene and
go on to show how the outcome of the manipulation, temptation or
humiliation adds to your appreciation of the play as a whole.
16. Choose a play in which the dramatist creates tension at the beginning or
at the end. Explain how the tension is created and discuss how it
contributes to an effective introduction or conclusion to the play.
17. Choose a play in which a power struggle is central to the action.
Explain briefly the circumstances of the power struggle and discuss the
extent to which it contributes to your appreciation of theme and/or
character in the play as a whole.
Example Essay
Choose a play in which your attitude to the central character varies at different
stages of the action.
Show how the skill of the dramatist causes your attitude to change.
A play in which my attitude to the central character certainly varies at
different stages of the action is 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare.
The playwright's skilful use of dramatic techniques such as characterisation,
language and key scenes, cause our attitude to change towards the eponymous
hero, Romeo.
The audience's first impression of Romeo is of a rather tiresome, moody young
man. His unrequited love for Rosaline, which is the cause of his melancholia,
causes him to elaborately complain about the pain caused by a 'love' we suspect
is not very deep:
'griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast.'
His hyperbolic and contrived speeches combined with his friend, Benvolio's,
dismissive attitude to them: ‘examine other beauties', prevent us from taking
him too seriously. We suspect that we are not witnessing the real Romeo, that
'he's some other where', from the fact that his parents as well as his friends,
Benvolio and Mercutio, make so much of his changed mood. His rather tiresome
behaviour is clearly a drastic alteration from the Romeo they used to know.
The real Romeo is revealed when he sees Juliet for the first time. Gone is the
brooding melancholic figure of the previous scenes and the audience warms to
the new and more honest Romeo. His language becomes more heartfelt and
simple: 'Did my heart love till now?' The use of religious imagery in the sonnet
he and Juliet share reflects the exalted, pure and dignified nature of their
love:
‘If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:'
Thus Shakespeare fulfils his audience's high expectations of this, their first
meeting.
In the 'balcony scene' another aspect of his character is revealed. We witness
the rather impetuous Romeo, more inclined to express the rapture of his love
than plan what to do about it:
'My life were better ended by their hate,
Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.'
We can sympathise with the exhilaration of a young man intoxicated by the
excitement of not only being in love but of having that love returned but we also
find his rather impractical nature worrying and cannot help bur agree with
Juliet who has:
'no joy of this contract to-night:
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden'.
Nonetheless he goes to the Friar and arranges the wedding and when we next
witness Romeo with his friends he is in good spirits. For the first time in the
play he is Mercutio's equal in wit and in their exchanges they play a number of
word games. The audience now see the true Romeo: 'now art thou sociable, now
art thou Romeo;' as a popular, lively and sociable character transformed by his
love for Juliet.
The lovers are married but their idyllic, secret and quiet world of love is soon
shattered. In the scene immediately following the marriage, the event which will
part the lovers occurs. Romeo, insulted by Tybalt, at first shows admirable
moderation in not rising to the challenge:
'Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee
Doth much excuse the appertaining rage
To such a greeting: villain am I none;
Therefore farewell; I see thou know'st me not.'
However, Tybalt's slaying of Mercutio and Romeo's realisation of his part in his
friend's death call forth a new quality in Romeo, which also springs from his
awareness of his adult (because married) status. In his avenging of Mercutio's
death, Romeo displays a grim determination and manliness not hitherto seen. He
acts once again, however, from passion rather than reason and the audience,
while admiring his resolve, fear for him and the consequences of his actions.
'This day's black fate on more days doth depend;
This but begins the woe, others must end.'
Further Resources
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/romeojuliet/
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/
http://www.absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/romeo_and_juliet/commentary/ac
t_i.htm
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/playanalysis/romeocommentary.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/bitesize/higher/booknotes/