The mood changes throughout the play. At first we learn to care for the characters and acknowledge who is good and who is bad. This is done with scenes of fighting to see who the good characters are but moments like in the party to see how the characters act in a civilised moment. For example, the first two acts are relatively light-hearted, Romeo and Juliet meet, fall in love and get married without anything going wrong, even though they are having to meet in secret, although elsewhere bad things are happening so the audience realise the play is a tragedy.
Then we get to act 3. It starts with violence and death, one of the good characters, Mercutio, is killed which leads to Juliet’s lover, Romeo, killing Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt. Then from here on the play is sad as the main characters are married but Romeo is banished so they cannot see each other anymore.
Throughout this play we see funny moments, like the nurse making jokes, romantic moments with Romeo and Juliet, Violent moments with the fights that occur and tragic moments like when Romeo is banished from Verona.
This play is made with a lot of dramatic irony (where the audience know things that the characters don’t), to make the play seem clever and special. The main example throughout the play is that the whole audience know about Romeo and Juliet’s marriage and love for each other but most characters on the set have no idea about it. This is because they both know if their families found out they would be angry at them as they are from feuding families.
Dramatic irony adds suspense to the play. The audience know the character’s don’t understand what’s going on behind their backs, which makes them wonder what will happen when they do find out, if they do. The audience expect the oblivious characters to find out eventually as we know the play is a tragedy. However, Shakespeare is clever and ends the lives of his main characters before the other characters find out. This results in an end to the feud between the families.
Another example of Dramatic irony is in Act 3 Scene 1 where Romeo won’t explain to his friends why he doesn’t want to fight Tybalt although the audience know the real reason. This is going on in Juliet’s side of the family too. Juliet’s family and Paris, her arranged marriage partner, don’t know why Juliet refuses to marry Paris but the audience know it is because she’s in love with Romeo.
Another clever technique used by Shakespeare is the way he prepares the audience for what’s going to happen next without giving it all away. This helps keep the audience interested and looking forward for what’s to come. Some quotes in the play hint at the main characters dying but secretively so maybe not all the audience catch on. Some example of this are “as one dead in the bottom of a tomb” said to Romeo by Juliet before he gets banished and “my grave is like to be my wedding bed” said by Juliet, hinting she’s marrying death.
The suspense of “what will happen next” is used generally at the end of each scene. Tybalt challenging Romeo, Romeos fate after murdering Tybalt, Friar Lawrence’s Potion, Juliet taking the potion, etc.
Act 3 Scene 1 is a well written turning point for where the couples love goes wrong for them. This gives it importance and makes it dramatic in the sense that we have fighting and don’t know how the fight will end or what will happen once it does. This affects the audience as it gives them a shock and makes them hope that things end well for the couple although there is doubt in their mind that it will.
I think this scene is very well written as the turning point and makes the audience unexpected of how all the fights will end and what will happen after the fights. It leaves many questions in your mind during the scene and after the scene and the way you cheer for Romeo once his won the fight but then suddenly realise how bad the consequences could be makes you really think and worry for him and Juliet’s marriage and secret love.
