Right from the first scene of the play, Shakespeare prepares for Act 1 Scene 5 by creating dramatic irony over Romeo’s romantic imaginings. He is discussing with Benvolio his supposedly eternal love for Rosaline: “thou canst not teach me to forget.” However, the audience already know that he is deluding himself. Benvolio on the other hand is attempting to convince Romeo that his love is poisoning him by creating imagery of disease and pain: “Take thou some new infection tot thy eye, And the rank poison of the old will die.” This creates dramatic irony for two reasons: at the end of the play Romeo dies because of poison and also when he meets Juliet he does indeed quickly forget Rosaline.
Even more intriguingly Rosaline is the main cause of Romeo and Juliet’s meeting. She provides an insight to Romeo’s character when he was posing about his undying love and also presents a contrast with his true love for Juliet. His love for Juliet is different in many ways but mainly because of the fact that it is presented as love at first sight yet of profound maturity and that his ‘love’ for Rosaline was very immature.
In preparing for the crucial scene where Romeo and Juliet meet, the play then moves onto the other main character – Juliet. Starting form this particular scene Shakespeare begins to create parallel irony that helps to build up to Act 1 Scene 5 as at the party Juliet’s main concern officially is Paris and Romeo’s initial main concern is Rosaline. Act 1 finally moves onto the other side of town in which Romeo has an ironic premonition: “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars will cause some vile forfeit of untimely death.” This is Romeo’s premonition of fatal and life changing experience which he will immediately encounter in the next scene.
In the scene as a whole (Act 1 Scene 5), Shakespeare has already created an impression of how vulnerable Romeo and Juliet are and the pressure on them. It conveys problems by introducing Tybalt and the difficulty Capulet has in controlling Tybalt. Already in the scene, the two lovers have been interrupted and have realized that their time together is precious. The first time they meet ended in their first interruption: “Madam, your mother craves a word with you.” The opposition is shown in Tybalt’s aggression and in Romeo’s verbal echoes: “O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt,” and Juliet’s: “I must love a loathed enemy.” This conveys the effect that they should hate each other but reality compels them not to. This thought stays and develops in her mind until Act 2 Scene 2; Juliet expresses her confusion about the reasons for hatred: “What’s Montague? What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…” However, she still remains loyal to Romeo, when he kills Tybalt in Act 3 Scene 2: “But wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin? That villain cousin would have kill’d my husband.” When Juliet says this, I can picture the conflict in her mind and I know that the audience can as well.
Before Tybalt died, he was a physical reminder of the families’ opposition as he embodied the prejudice: “Peace, I hate the word as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.” This relates to his fight with Romeo because it shows that he is attacking him purely on the basis that he is a Montague and came to Lord Capulet’s ball. Again, it also relates to the ball as he threatened Romeo: “I will withdraw: but this intrusion shall now seeming sweet convert to bitter gall.” At this point dramatic irony arises and is finally shown when Romeo fights Tybalt in Act 3 Scene 1 and in Act 5 Scene 3, when he commits suicide with the help of poison.
Overall, besides Act 1 Scene 5, we never see much of Romeo and Juliet together. Only in Act 2 Scene 2 in the balcony scene, briefly in Act 2 Scene 6 when they are about to be married, in their farewell in Act 3 Scene 5 and in Act 5 Scene 3 when they are not able to converse; Juliet is asleep and Romeo is dead.
Before and during Act 1 Scene 5, all of the characters develop in their own unique way. For instance, in Act 1 Scene 1 our first impression of Capulet is that he is aggressive and always wants to fight. However further on in Act 1 Scene 3 we another side of him when he arranges Juliet’s marriage in a kind way. All these different sides of his character are portrayed in Act 1 Scene 5 when he is being a good host: “Welcome gentlemen! Ladies that have their toes unplagued with corns will have a bout with you,” and chatting to cousins. However he still has authority over the family as he is controlling Tybalt whilst maintaining the role of a good host: “Be quiet or – more light, more light! For shame! I’ll make you quiet. What, cheerly, my hearts!” and also keeping the momentum of the party going. All these scenes relate together because we know from Act 1 Scene 3 that he wants the party to go well and now in Act 1 Scene 5 he proves this desire because of the fact that he takes the decision to tolerate Romeo.
Another member of the Capulet house hold with a key role in Act 1 Scene 5 is Juliet’s nurse. As well as the fact that in many Elizabethan families a nurse was present and might almost become a surrogate mother, Shakespeare introduced this character for a number of reasons. First of all we perceive her to be in an interrupting role between the two lovers when they were performing their soliloquy, this is the beginning of the many more interruptions. Shakespeare also uses the nurse to give Romeo and Juliet the background of each other so that the audience can see their reaction. Throughout the play I have noticed that the nurse uses a lot of slang and therefore the way she speaks and gives news sounds very local and chatty. She uses colloquial vocabulary for money to provide variety in language: “I tell you, he that can lay hold of her Shall have the chinks.” After the intense conversation between the lovers, it lightens the scene up and builds the thought that the low class character fits the role as a nurse. Shakespeare also uses the nurse to build up the drama as it enables us to see Juliet’s reaction when she is faced with certain dilemmas. The nurse and Juliet form a very strong relationship and as time progresses Juliet begins to rely on the nurse, before Juliet’s final heroic decision to turn away from her and to stay faithful to Romeo.
At the ball, Shakespeare develops Romeo’s character by showing how he reacts when he is truly in love. Romeo shows his thoughts in his soliloquy when he is overwhelmed by Juliet’s beauty: “Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.” As soon as the dance is over in Act 1 Scene 5 he is instant and decisive about speaking to Juliet: “The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.” He immediately forgets Rosaline: “For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night,” and this is part of the character’s development. By saying the part about never seeing true beauty he is proving that he has instantly committed to Juliet. Throughout their conversation in the form of a sonnet, all Romeo’s imagery reinforces the theme of worship, through religious vocabulary such as “Saint,” “Pilgrim” and “Shrine.” This relates to the rest of the play because he always worships Juliet and admires her beauty and intelligence. In Act 2 Scene 2 he refers to her as a “Bright Angel” and says: “My name dear Saint.” He is using the Saint image again.
Juliet on the other hand, is a mixture of totally different characteristics. We can tell that she is quite confident: “You kiss by the book.” Her character suggests that she is shy as well because she is speaking to a stranger and doesn’t want him to kiss her: “And palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss.” It also suggests that she can be swept along by emotion as we have seen: “If he be married My grave is likely to be my wedding bed.” She considers serious consequences and further on in the play, Juliet marries Romeo even though both families hate each other. However amongst all this, the fact that Juliet is intelligent still remains. We know this because when she speaks a sonnet with Romeo she is able to take cues from him and say a few lines that will fit and keep the rhyme going. Juliet is also able to cover up her interest in Romeo by asking the name of people who are leaving before and after he leaves. When she realizes that he is the son of Montague then Juliet recites some words commenting on the contrast love and hate. Despite her deep emotion, she is able to cover up for herself when the nurse overhears her words: “A rhyme I learn’d even now of one I danced withal.” This is one very important factor in Act 1 Scene 5 that indicates Juliet’s cleverness.
Moving on, Shakespeare uses many different styles within the iambic pentameter. Each line sounds completely different, the most dramatic contrast being between the characteristic ways Capulet speaks, especially when welcoming guests: “A hall! A hall! Give room, and foot it, girls!” This sounds like a spontaneous exclamation but actually fits the established poetic metre of iambic pentameter. In Romeo’s soliloquy the meter gives a different impression. It is quite lyrical and again fits the established poetic metre: “Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!” This is a different kind of exclamation; it’s gentle to represent someone’s thoughts.
One of the other poetic techniques is the use of imagery. This specific scene I am studying emphasizes the contrast between light and dark, black and white as well as using religion. In Act 1 Scene 2 Benvolio compares Rosaline with two contrasted animals: “And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.” This creates dramatic irony because Benvolio thought at the ball Romeo would see a swan amongst the crows, as he does in a way. In Act 1 Scene 5 Romeo makes use of this metaphor: “So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows.” This is because Benvolio describes most girls as crows but Romeo acts against this and describes Juliet as a dove amongst the crows.
Another type of imagery is used when Romeo describes Juliet and perceives her to be in the form of a light: “What light through yonder window breaks?” This relates to the pattern of imagery for instance, in the balcony scene because he repeats this poetry throughout the play to emphasize Juliet’s physical beauty and importance as if she brings meaning to his life, as if their love is a light. In Act 1 Scene 5 the first thing Romeo ever says about Juliet fits in with the imagery of light: “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright.” In Act 5 Scene 3, when Juliet is asleep, he repeats this pattern: “For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes. This vault a feasting presence full of light.” This is the last time he sees her before he dies.
The last poetic technique occurs in the sonnet during Act 1 Scene 5. Dramatic interaction is created between Romeo and Juliet to further the developing relationship. It shows the fashionable word play because both characters use puns and double meanings, as well as sustaining metaphors. Fashionable wordplay is deployed because of the strong imagery used and the way they take each other’s words and give double meanings. They both also associate many aspects of the conversation with religion.
After considering, watching and reading the play, I have concluded that overall the variety in dramatic techniques keeps an audience interested in this specific scene. It is full of contrast and the style of the verse shapes the whole scene allowing key issues to emerge. Suspense pushes the scene forward keeping the audience on the edges of their seats. Many issues discussed in the introduction have also developed and been used throughout the play.
In conclusion I am going to present my own views on Act 1 Scene 5. I think that the biggest impact of this scene is on the audience, mainly because of the fact that they probably know from previous knowledge that at some point or other Romeo is going to meet Juliet, and from that moment onwards, the plot will develop. Right from the beginning of the play tension is mounting up as the scene is progressing closer, and when it arrives I am sure that it grasps the audience’s full attention because they want to witness the meeting that will eventually lead the two lovers to their death. As I have said before, many contrasts and issues are displayed which makes it all the more dramatic and exciting to watch. This scene forms a very strong relationship with the rest of the play for the reason that it is all shaped around Act 1 Scene 5 so therefore I would conclude that it is the most crucial scene in the play.
