“Where shall we dine?”
This shows he is not being truthful as he claims he is love sick and really ill yet he still manages to think about food. We are told that Romeo is supposedly love sick when he says
“A word ill urg’d to one that is so ill.
In sadness cousin, I do love a woman”
Also the audience does not know who Romeo is love sick over this has dramatic significance on the Elizabethan audience and keeps them interested and want to carry on watching to find out who it is that he is so in love with.
Since Act One scene one to Act Three scene five a great deal has happened, Romeo and Juliet secretly got married in Friar Laurence’s chamber. Soon after this Tybalt came after Romeo trying to pick a fight due to finding Romeo gate crashing Capulets party, Romeo tries to be as nice as he can to Tybalt, this is because he is now married to Juliet which makes Tybalt and Romeo second cousins. Mercutio is with Romeo and he cannot understand why Romeo is being so nice, this ends In a fight between Mercutio and Tybalt resulting in Mercutio’s death. Whilst he is dying Mercutio puts a curse on Romeo and Tybalt.
“A plague o’ both houses”
This has a huge dramatic impact on the audience after Mercutio has said it three times, this is because Elizabethans believed that the worst time to say a curse is when you are dying as it is a sign that it will come true, this will shock the Elizabethan audience as they are very superstitious and would know what to expect. After Mercutio dies Romeo and Tybalt fight and Romeo kills him. This results in Romeo being banished, after the first warning from the prince it is important that Romeo stays away, as soon as he has killed Tybalt, he runs to Friar Laurence’s chamber and hides scared for his life.
Act three scene five begins with Romeo and Juliet in bed together, this is a dramatic point for the audience as so far the scenes have been extremely tense; therefore, Shakespeare decides to begin Act three scenes five with a clam atmosphere to control the audience’s emotions and keep them interested.
The dialogue between Romeo and Juliet plays a huge dramatic impact on the Elizabethans as they can see how the characters develop as thee is a complete roll reverse between Romeo and Juliet as before Juliet acted older than she was now Romeo is acting this way. Juliet does not want Romeo to go and tries to stop him, but Romeo knows what is best.
“Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day
It was the nightingale and not the Lark”
Romeo replies.
“It was the Lark, the herald of the morn
No nightingale: look love what envious streaks
Do lace the severing clouds in yonder East:
Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day,
Stands tip toe on misty mountains,
I must be gone and live or stay and die”
This shows that Romeo is being the more mature, sensible one of the couple. Juliet claims that it is not day light and is just a meteor, to which Romeo replies.
“Let be ta’en, let me be put to death,
I am content so thou will have it so”
This has dramatic significance on the Elizabethan audience as it shows how then the roles are than reversed back and Juliet becomes more sensible by telling Romeo he must go and that it is the Lark, morning bird that sings.
Romeo and Juliet then part from each other this is full of drama and has a huge impact on the audience, as they would relate to what was going on in the play as it is full of effective drama and brings out the characters personalities.
“O think’st thou we shall ever meet again?”
Juliet is asking whether or not they will ever see each other again, Romeo reassures her that they will be together soon. Juliet then has a premonition that has a huge dramatic impact on the audience as the Elizabethans are very suspicious people.
“O God, I have an ill divining soul,
Methinks I see the now, thou art so low,
As one dead in the bottom of a tomb,
Either my eye sight fails or thou look’st pail!”
This creates a sense of doom and has dramatic significance on the audience although the chorus has already informed them what is going to happen; therefore no one in the audience is expecting a happy ending.
Once Romeo has left, Lady Capulet Juliet’s mother enters the room. The conversation between them has a dramatic effect on the audience as Elizabethans loved playing with words, which is exactly what Juliet and her mother were doing.
Juliet is crying and Lady Capulet and thinks that it is over Tybalt, when in fact it is over Romeo. Lady Capulet starts to talk about how evil Romeo is and they have a deep conversation, only Lady Capulet and Juliet are talking about completely different people. An example of this is when Juliet says.
“Ay madam from the reach of these my hands:
Would none but I venge my cousin’s death”
This shows Juliet was actually talking about how she really wants to hug Romeo but it has a double meaning to make her mother think that she wants to kill Romeo by strangling him. Therefore she is not actually lying to her mother yet her mother has interpreted it differently.
After Juliet and her mother have had a deep conversation about this, Lady Capulet informs Juliet of some good news, how Capulet Juliet’s father has arranged for Juliet to marry Parris. Juliet knows that she cannot do this as she is already married; therefore she stands up to her parents. This has a huge dramatic impact on the Elizabethan audience as they believed in being strong and standing up for themselves. Juliet’s mother is shocked by the news that when Capulet comes in she explains what has happened.
“Ay sir, but she will none, she gives you thanks,
I would the fool married to her grave”
It shows that Lady Capulet is disgusted by Juliet’s behaviour and Capulet tells Juliet he wishes he never had her.
“That God had lent us but this only child”
This huge dramatic impact on the Elizabethan audience and puts them into a state of shock at the clash between Juliet and her father. After Capulet has told Juliet he wishes he never had her the Nurse tries to defend Juliet from her father as she understands what Juliet’s state of mind must be like because she is the only one who knows about the marriage. Capulet has a violent reaction to this telling her she is “a mumbling fool”
Once Capulet leaves, Juliet turns to the Nurse for advice. This has a huge dramatic impact on the audience, as the Elizabethans would understand how Juliet is closer to the nurse rather than her mum as some of the Elizabethans were in the same situation and would understand why Juliet is closer to the Nurse.
Juliet is stuck in a situation where she wants to please her parents but she loves Romeo. Nurse advises her to marry Parris after all Romeo is out of the picture as he has been banished.
“Your first is dead, or ‘twere as good he was,
As living here, and you no use of him’
She also tells Juliet that Parris is better than Romeo and to marry Parris. This would mean Juliet would have to disobey God and could face punishment. This has dramatic significance on the audience as Elizabethans were extremely religious people. This is why Juliet feels completely disgusted with the nurse’s reaction.
Juliet feels the Nurse has become really two-faced, firstly because she said that Romeo was ok and helped her arrange the marriage, now she has stabbed him in the back saying Parris is better.
“I think it is best you married with the county,
O he’s a lovely gentleman:
Romeo’s a dishclout to him: an eagle Madam!”
This would have a huge dramatic impact on the audience, as the nurse raised Juliet, Elizabethans would expect her to be extremely close to the Nurse almost like her mother, but instead she hates her and feels totally alone, she tells the Nurse to leave and tell her mother she has gone to make a confession at Friar Laurence’s cell.
Once the Nurse has left Juliet feels isolated because she has been let down by the one person she thought that she could trust. Because she feels everyone has turned against her, she feels suicide is the only option.
“I’ll to the Friar to know his remedy
If all else fails, myself have power to die!”
This would have a huge dramatic impact on an Elizabethan audience as it would send them into a state of shock that this is how Juliet feels; this shows that Shakespeare is still controlling their emotions.
Since act three scene five Friar Laurence has come up with a cunning plan, so that Juliet does not have to marry Parris. He gives Juliet a poison that will put her into a deep sleep for three days, so it appears that she is dead. In the mean time he will inform Romeo of the situation and Romeo will whisk her away where they can live happily ever after. This has a dramatic effect on the audience as it expresses the lengths that lovers will go to be together.
Juliet fakes her own death and has her funeral, but then the Friar’s plan goes dramatically wrong and the message doesn’t get to Romeo in time. Instead his servant, Balthasar tells him that Juliet is dead. Romeo then goes back to Verona to kill himself so that he can be with Juliet.
This is very dramatic for the Elizabethans as it is very clear that they are in love and the Elizabethans would enjoy this sort of story.
Act five scene three, begins with a melodramatic setting in an eerie graveyard at night with Parris and Romeo both coming to see Juliet and mourn over her.
The main dramatic impact on the Elizabethan audience is the contrast and clash between the love Parris and the husband Romeo.
Parris is crying over Juliet at her grave but whether Elizabethans can take him seriously or not has a dramatic impact.
“Sweet flower with flowers thy bridal bed I strew:
O woe, thy canopy is dust and stones,
Which with sweet water likely I will dew
Or wanting that, with tears distill’d by moans,
The obsequies that I for thee will keep,
Nightly shall be to strew thy grave and weep”
Elizabethans would not know whether to take him seriously or not, although it is very dramatic and he says he will visit her grave every night to mourn over her, it is hard to believe as they never really spoke, so how could they be so close like Parris is making them out to be. It seems as though he is being very fake just like Romeo was when he claimed he was love sick over Rosaline.
However it is clear to the Elizabethan audience that Romeo is absolutely distraught as Shakespeare describes his state of mind.
“The time and my intents are savage will,
More fierce and more inexorable for,
Than empty tigers or the roaring sea.”
This shows that Romeo is a very desperate man with nothing left to live for, and that his mind is in a deranged state.
Shakespeare also goes on to describe Romeo as “desperate” and “a mad man” this is extremely dramatic on the Elizabethan audience as it is clear that Romeo is completely heartbroken by losing Juliet.
The next dramatic impact on the audience is when Romeo finds Juliet and sees her lying there in a peaceful, motionless state and cannot believe that she is still looking so beautiful, this almost acts as a stage direction to remind the audience that Juliet is dead:
“Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:
Thou art not conquer’d beauty’s ensign yet
is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks and deaths pale flag is not advanced there”
Romeo then takes the poison that he got from the apothecary and dies, this is also very dramatic on the audience, it makes them feel sad for both Romeo and Juliet because Romeo is in the dark about the situation yet the audience know what is going on, it is as if they want to shout out that she is not dead like at a pantomime.
Friar Laurence then enters to find Parris’s body and trail of blood, he then goes to where Juliet lies and finds Romeo dead on the floor.
“Alack, alack, what blood is this which stains
The stony entrance of this sepulchre?
What mean this master less and gory swords
To lie discolour’d by this by this place of peace?
Romeo? O pale! Who else, what Parris too?
And steep’d in blood? Ah what an unkind hour
Is guilty of this lamitable chance!
The lady stirs.”
Juliet then slowly wakes up and asks
“Where is my Romeo?”
Friar then tells her that Romeo and Parris are both dead and tries to get her out. Friar is now more concerned about himself and what consequences he will have to face because his plans have gone wrong. Therefore, he leaves.
“I dare no longer stay.”
This has dramatic significance on the audience as Juliet is again isolated now Romeo, Nurse and Friar have all left her! There is now a huge dramatic impact on the audience, Juliet sees the bottle of poison, but there is none left for her, she then kisses Romeo’s lips but they too are dry. She then hears a noise and panics. She sees a dagger and dramatically stabs herself and dies.
“O happy dagger, this is they sheath, there rust and let me die.”
This has dramatic significance on the Elizabethan audience as it is a romantic tragedy and Elizabethans loved this; they enjoyed drama like stabbing, suicides etc. Shakespeare was good at giving his audience what they wanted.
The watch is then on the scene, they were like patrol officers, they then see something is wrong because the Capulets tomb where Romeo and Juliet lie has been broken into and call for help.
The prince is then called on the scene and the Capulets and Montagues find out that there is something wrong and they then find Romeo and Juliet.
There is more dramatic significance when the Elizabethans learn that Montague has lost his wife and now his son. This makes the audience feel sad for Montague and feel sorry for him because he has had a lot of pain.
The Friar and Balthasar are then brought in and explain what has happened. This is dramatic as the prince explains how they have all been let down and punished. The prince also admits it is his fault to and this shows that maybe he is not a strong enough ruler.
As well as blaming himself he puts most of the blame onto the Capulets and Montague’s brawls.
“See what scourge is laid upon your hate!”
He tells them that they have all been punished and should make amends.
There is also a huge dramatic impact of the reconciliation of the Capulet’s and Montague’s.
“O brother Montague, give me thy hand,”
As a gesture of the peace making both families say they will raise statues of each others loss’s in memory of them and to represent the peace. Elizabethans would not know whether to accept there sincerity as it is unlikely that they would be able to put there past behind them so soon.
The princes last speech is also dramatic although they have made up it is an extremely sad day and a time for mourning.
“A glooming peace this morning with it brings,
The sun for sorrow will not show his head:
Go hence to have more talk of these sad things,
Some shell be paradon’d, and some punished
For never a story of more woe,
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo”
All in all Romeo and Juliet is a very dramatic play although all the three scenes that I studied are very dramatic for there different reasons. Act one scene one was exciting and tense to grip the Elizabethan audience with fights etc. Act three scene five was emotional with the wedding and the banishment of Romeo, him and Juliet having to say their goodbyes, and Act five scene three was an utter tragedy, with the death of both Romeo and Juliet. The scenes all change from either a dramatic high to low or low to high this is how Shakespeare controls the emotions of his audience and keeps them interested.
Realistically the ending wasn’t acceptable because it is unlikely that Capulet’s and Montague’s would have put a side all anger and hate straight away and it would probably end up in another competition about who had the best statue which could then turn into another fight. But Shakespeare did this to give the audience what they want – a happy ending, although if the story had ended on a tragedy it may have given a hopeful feeling that the people will learn from it and think twice about arguments.