To what extent do you consider the opening scene of "Romeo and Juliet" to be a satisfactory introduction to the play

Authors Avatar

GCSE English Literature Coursework                Mrs Hughes

To what extent do you consider the opening scene of “Romeo and Juliet” to be a satisfactory introduction to the play

I think that the opening scene of “Romeo and Juliet” is a very satisfactory introduction to the play for many reasons. It introduces most of the characters involved in the play including Romeo, and also we discover the themes of the play, love and violence.

William Shakespeare gradually introduces the characters of the play to us as it progresses. I was firstly introduced to Sampson and Gregory, who are livery of the house of Capulet. I find out that they are livery by what they were armed with, which was swords and bucklers. They both gave me the impression that they were rather foolish and foul to others. Sampson says “I strike quickly, being moved” but then Gregory replies “But thou art not quickly moved to strike”. What Gregory was trying to say was that Sampson is all talk and no action. Sampson describes the house of Montague as being “dogs”. Calling them this gives me the impression that they have no respect for other people and only care bout themselves. Also, this part of the play is very humorous as well as containing a lot of word play compared to later on when there is a lot of tension and anger in the air. Sampson states” A dog of the house shall move me to stand: I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague’s” He says this as if he is superior and that he has the power to do whatever he wants. Furthermore, he has no respect for the female members of the house of Montague as well. “Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt.” Explaining that he also has the ability to take away the virginity of any female member of the Montague’s. Later on, Abraham (who is a Montague) is introduced into the play. Sampson says “My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee.” What he says here is for Gregory to go and provoke the member of Montague, and that he will back him up afterwards. This gives me the thought that Sampson is a coward and wants other people to do his dirty work for him, but Gregory does not believe him and replies “How! Turn thy back and run?”  This tells me that the Capulet men do not have trust in one an other and are rather irrational.

As Abraham approaches Sampson, Sampson provokes him by biting his thumb. This would have obviously got on the nerves on Abraham, so he asks him “Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?” Notice that Abraham didn’t say this in an aggressive way, but he seemed to be very calm and cool about it. Sampson replies “I do bite my thumb, sir?”  I think Sampson is being rather smart here, because he is not denying what he was doing, but at the same time didn’t answer Abraham’s question. Abraham asks him the same question for a second time, and again, Sampson does not answer his question in the correct manner. At this point, Shakespeare builds up tension with a series of short question and answers. Also, you can almost sense that a battle would break loose by all the abuse they dish out to one another. Sampson then almost teases Abraham by saying “No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I do bit my thumb, sir.” This also tells me that Sampson is to afraid to state what he was doing, but still continues this rude behaviour. He then challenges Abraham which lets me know that he is a trouble maker and likes to create arguments out of the blue. “Do you quarrel, sir?” “Quarrel sir! No, sir” replies Abraham. This gave me the impression that Abraham is not a trouble maker and does not support violence. This does not board well with Sampson and he continues to insult Abraham until he looses his temper, and the eventually fight.

Join now!

During the fighting between the Capulet and Montague, another character by the name of Benvolio is introduced to me. He makes a striking speech “Part, fools! Put up your swords; you know not what you do.” This statement given by him gave me the impression that he also is against violence, and what's more, that he is a very strong peacemaker. Straight after Benvolio is introduced, Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) is brought into the play. He is literally the complete opposite of Benvolio. As soon as he is introduced, he does not do the right thing and try to break ...

This is a preview of the whole essay