“ With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls,
For stony limits cannot hold love out”
He says this in reply to Juliet’s question of how he got into her garden, as the walls are too high. As Romeo says the lines I believe some soft orchestra music should start as to add to the romantic nature of the scene. This should carry through to the end of the scene.
Secondly, I will talk about Act 3 Scene 5; this is the scene in Juliet’s bedroom where Romeo and Juliet’s night of passion comes to an end, and Juliet declares to her parents that she will not marry Paris.
For this scene the setting is Juliet’s bedroom. I would decorate it pink (as stereotype would suggest) with lots of random objects lying around the place, as Capulet says she is spoiled. For clothes, I would have Juliet dressed up in a posh nightgown of some description, Romeo would be wearing his undergarments but quickly changes into his tunic suit when he must leave. The maid would be wearing a maid’s uniform, and finally the Capulets (Lord and Lady Capulet) would both be wearing very posh, rich clothes as to suggest their wealth. I would have the lighting quite bright at first as to simulate daybreak. The scene begins with Juliet trying to convince Romeo to stay. A good example of this is on the first two lines of the scene:
“Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day.
It was the nightingale, and not the lark,”
Obviously before this I would have the call of the nightingale. In the script it says Romeo convinces Juliet he must leave for his own safety, however I would adapt this to say he is leaving for her safety as to enhance the romantic nature. At this point the nurse enters and tells Juliet that her mother is on her way. I would have it so that Romeo fully dresses except for his boots, as to show how little time the lovers have before Lady Capulet reaches Juliet’s room. And then as Juliet speaks to Romeo at the bottom she can throw him his boots, possibly split seconds before her mother enters.
As her mother enters I would have some depressing orchestra music playing so as to show Juliet’s sorrow. When Lady Capulet enters the room, she sees Juliet crying and so assumes that she is mourning her cousin Tybalt’s death, and as Juliet doesn’t want any trouble she agrees with her assumption. We assume that Juliet is afraid of what her parents might do as she says on lines 92 and 93:
“Indeed, I never shall be satisfied
With Romeo till I behold him- dead - ”
Despite her intense love for Romeo, Juliet still says she wants Romeo dead. I think that in her speech, she should put extra emphasis on the word dead, and also add a touch of fear to her voice to add more realism to the scene. Seeing this, Lady Capulet proposes the marriage to Paris to her, yet Juliet refuses. This is shown in lines 111-116:
“Marry, my child, early next Thursday morn,
The gallant, young, and noble gentleman,
The County Paris, at Saint Peter’s Church,
Shall happily make thee there a joyful bride.
Now, by Saint Peter’s Church, and Peter too,
He shall not make me there a joyful bride.”
When Juliet has finished speaking, I would have a BCU close-up shot of Lady Capulet’s shocked expression, and possibly having the orchestral music slowly rising in tempo and volume, becoming more intense. Lady Capulet tells Juliet to explain this to her father when he arrives. When he does, he also assumes she is mourning the death of Tybalt, however Lady Capulet informs Capulet of the situation, that Juliet will not marry Paris. As Capulet’s rage grows, I would have the music reach a high tempo and then peak at the height of his crescendo and end on a sudden note at the height of his rage, and possibly have Capulet punch a wall or something. As Capulet rants and raves at Juliet as a disgrace to the family, the nurse looks on in horror, she tries to reason with Capulet but to no avail as he threatens to hit her. Although not hitting her, he does say she may not live under his roof should she not marry Paris. Her mother backs up this statement on lines 202 and 203:
“Talk not to me, for I’ll not speak a word
Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.”
After her parents leave, Juliet talks to the nurse who informs her Romeo will probably not return, and that the sensible option would be to marry Paris. After the nurse leaves Juliet says she shall see the Friar and get a potion from him. I would have the music calm and fade out after the Capulets leave.