The second Scene begins with a conversation between Lord Capulet and county Paris. County Paris wants to marry Lord Capulets daughter Juliet, Lord Capulet thinks that Juliet is too young for marriage, but says that if Paris can convince Juliet he will give consent for their marriage.
Lord and Lady Capulet are planning a masked ball and give a servant, who is called Peter, a list of people to invite to it. However Peter cannot read so he has to find someone to help him. He finds Romeo and Benvolio who read it for him. Even though no Montagues are invited they decide to gatecrash it. Benvolio wants Romeo to go to the ball to help him for get about Rosaline, the girl Romeo is lovesick over. However Romeo uses a metaphor to say that no woman will ever replace Rosaline,
“When the devout religion of mine eye
Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fires,
And these who often drowned could never die,
Transparent heretics, be burnt for liars.”
This is an example of foreshadowing, because Romeo does see someone more beautiful and is punished.
In Act one Scene four Romeo and his friends are deciding how best to enter the ball uninvited. Romeo says that they should recite a speech, but Benvolio disagrees with this and says that they should perform a dance. Romeo says that he is to depressed to dance he uses a pun to show this,
“you have dancing shoes
With nimble soles, I have a soul of lead”
so another one of his friends, Mercutio, tries to cheer him up. Mercutio is a relative of the Prince. He iss lively and loud. His language contains many jokes, puns and rude innuendoes.
Romeo feels a sense of foreboding about the ball, blaming this feeling on a dream. Mercutio teases Romeo for his belief in dreams and says that,
“dreamers often lie.”
He then goes into a long story about Queen Mab, which is a fairy tale about the bringer of dreams, to cheer Romeo up and stop him from worrying. Romeo though is not convinced. Romeo seems to be almost foretelling his own fate, for if he had not gone to the ball, none of the after events would have taken place.
In Act one Scene 5 the friends go to the ball. Romeo sees Juliet and it’s like love at first sight. While the two are together it is almost like they are in another world. They talk as if they are alone but they are at a crowded party. They seem to be existing in an unreal world where love is idealised. Whenever both Romeo and Juliet are together there is an atmosphere peace and stillness. They are in a world of love, unaffected by the world around them. This is reinforced by the way they are intrusions from the real world, which interrupts each of their encounters.
Romeos words about Juliet contains many “O”s and “S”s this has the effect of slowing down and softening the lines. The two then share a sonnet; this shows how in tune they are with each other.
In Act 2 Scene 1, Romeo enters the Capulet garden and looks up at the light in Juliets’s window. Juliet then comes out on to the balcony. Romeo refers to Juliet as things that are above him, such as sun, angel, stars and cloud. This may reflect his feelings that she is out of reach, maybe metaphorically because of her beauty, or perhaps more logically because she is a Capulet.
When Juliet first speaks she thinks that she is alone, so talks to herself about how she loves an enemy. As soon as he is sure that Juliet loves him, Romeo reveals his presence in the garden. Juliet becomes anxious, saying that Romeo would be killed if anyone found him. Romeo gets rid of her worries and says,
“ My life were better ended by their hate,
Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.”
This line is another example of forewarning for the audience. Juliet mentions marriage and suggests arrangements for contact the next day.
The next scene begins with Friar Lawrence gathering herbs. He talks about how plants can be used to do both good and bad, depending on how they are used,
“ For this being smelt with that part cheers each part;
Being tasted stays all senses with the heart.”
Once again this is an example of forewarning for the audience of the potion, which Juliet will take to put her to sleep, and the poison, which Romeo uses in order to commit suicide.
Act 2 Scene 4 begins with Benvolio and Mercutio talking to each other. Benvolio says that a letter was sent to Romeos’ house fromTybalt. Mercutio guesses that it is a challenge to a fight, and they talk about how Romeo will respond. Benvolio says that he thinks that Romeo will “answer it”, meaning that he will agree to the fight. However Mercutio says that Romeo is already dead as he has being “killed by love”. Even though this is meant as a joke it is yet another example of forewarning. By the end of this Act Romeo and Juliet are married with the help of the nurse and Friar Lawrence.
In Act 3 Tybalt is furious with Romeo for gate crashing the Capulet ball, so comes looking for him. Romeo is now related to Tybalt through marriage, so refuses to fight him. Mercutio sees Romeos’ refusal to fight as cowardice, so draws his own sword on Tybalt who returns the challenge. Romeo, who is trying to stop them steps in, but Tybalt thrusts his sword under Romeos’ arm, and fatally wounds Mercutio.
At first neither Benvolio nor Romeo are aware of the seriousness of the injury.
Mercutio carries on joking and seems more worried that Tybalt has escaped. Mercutio turns the whole episode into a pun,
“ Ask for me tomorrow,
and you shall find me a grave man.”
Following this Mercutio dies of his wounds. Romeo blames himself for allowing Mercutio to fight Tybalt on his behalf, and blames Juliet for softening his courage. Romeo fights and kills Tybalt in revenge and is banished from Verona. However Friar Lawrence devises a plan to enable Romeo to return to Verona. The Friar suggests that Romeo should go to Mamtua, and wait for the commotion to die down. Friar Lawrence will then announce Romeo and Juliet’s marriage, and ask for the Princes forgiveness on Romeo’s behalf.
Romeo and Juliet spend one last night together. In the meantime, Lord Capulet promises Paris that Juliet will marry him on Thursday. He asks Lady Capulet to let Juliet know of this arrangement, she says that she will tell her in the morning.
When morning comes Romeo and Juliet disagree about if it is morning or not. Romeo says that he heard a lark and can see daylight, but Juliet insists that it was a nightingale that sung and that a meteor had caused the light. Romeo then says that he will stay if Juliet wants him to do so,
“I have more care to stay, than will to go.
Come death, and welcome, Juliet wills it so.”
Juliet finally agrees that it is morning and tells Romeo to go. So Romeo leaves for Mantua, narrowly missing Lady Capulet who had gone to tell Juliet about her arranged marriage to County Paris. When Juliet is told of this marriage she refuses, so Lord Capulet threatens to through her out of the house if she does not.
In Act four Juliet goes to see Friar Lawrence, who thinks of a second plan. Juliet must agree to marry County Paris. Then the night before the wedding she will drink a potion, which will make her appear dead for 42 hours. Meanwhile Friar Lawrence will arrange for Romeo to come and take her to Mantua. Juliet returns home and apologises to Lord Capulet for her disobedience. This thrills Lord Capulet so he moves the wedding forward to the next day.
That night Juliet asks both Lady Capulet and the Nurse to leave her. However left alone Juliet feels afraid, she almost calls the Nurse back. She prepares to take the potion, but beforehand works herself into a frenzy of fear. The lines near the end of this indicate that she is hallucinating and seeing Tybalts ghost. The next morning the Nurse finds Juliet “dead”.
In Act five Friar Lawrence has sent a message to Romeo, about his plan. However Romeo does not receive this message instead his servant, Balthasar, tells him that Juliet has died. So Romeo buys a poison and intends to die in the tomb with Juliet. He arrives in Verona late that night. When Friar Lawrence finds that Romeo has not received this message he rushes to the tomb so that he will be there when Juliet wakes up.
It seems that every time Friar Lawrence comes up with a plan something goes wrong. At the end of Act 4 Scene 1, he told Juliet that he would a letter to Romeo. This letter would tell Romeo of the plan and to come back to Verona to collect Juliet. Now Friar John, who was the Friar he sent with the letter, has returned without having delivered it. Fearing the worst Friar Lawrence goes to the tomb alone to collect Juliet.
County Paris enters the churchyard and tells his page to stand on guard. The page whistles to alert County Paris that someone is coming, he hides to see who it is. Romeo approaches the tomb. He takes a crowbar from Balthasar and gives him a letter to deliver to Lord Montague. Romeo tells Balthasar to leave, but Balthasar does not leave. County Paris has a strong sense of honour so when he sees Romeo he fights him for discrediting the Capulet name Romeo hints that he intends to kill himself, so fighting is pointless. However his riddles only confuse County Paris, they fight and Romeo kills him. County Paris’ page sees this and goes for help. Romeo now enters the tomb.
The inside of the tomb, inside must have been cold and dark but Romeo says that the presence of Juliet turns it in to a,
“feasting presence full of light.”
this is once again referring to the light-dark theme of the play.
Romeos last goodbye to Juliet focuses on the arms, eyes and lips; he is saying goodbye only in the physical world in order to be with her after death. He turns to the poison referring to it as “bitter conduct” and “unsavoury guide”, contrasting it awful taste and it guiding him to Juliet. Romeo takes this poison and dies immediately.
By now Friar Laurence is on his way to collect Juliet. He meets Balthasar on his way to the tomb. Balthasar tells Friar Lawrence that Romeo is inside the tomb, fearing the worst Friar Lawrence rushes into the tomb. Where he finds Romeo and County Paris dead, and Juliet awakening.
When Juliet finds of Romeos’ fate, she decides that she wants to stay with him. Friar Lawrence tries to get her to leave, and eventually does himself. Left alone she finds the bottle which had contained the poison. Desperate to be with Romeo she tries to obtain any last drop which would help her to accomplish this. When she finds none she does not know what to do. At this point she hears something. With hindsight we know that this would be County Paris’ page retuning with help. Juliet is now short on time so draws Romeos’ dagger and stabs herself.
When County Paris’ page returns with “the watch”. The sight in the tomb cause total confusion on stage. “The watch” want answers so scour the graveyard for witnesses. They find both Friar Lawrence and Balthasar to question. Prince Escalus arrives along with Lord and Lady Capulet. Lord Montague arrives shortly after with the news that Lady Montague has died. United by the grief of their childrens’ deaths both the Capulets and the Montagues put aside their differences and the feud ends. Prince Escalus’ final words sum up the mood at this point,
Where be these enemies? Capulet, Montague,
See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.
This basically sums up the whole story and refers to the love-hate theme of the play.
The use of language in the play tells the audience a lot about the character, who is speaking. As I have previously said Prince Escalus is a man of authority, so his language is formal and in blank verse, which Shakespeare often uses to this effect.
Mercutios’ language is full of puns and double meanings, which are mainly sexual, this conveys his fun and lively outlook on life. Also how he sees thinks (such as love) in a physical sense. This is very unlike Romeo, who is very romantic, he talks in riddles and only implies what he means. Before meeting Juliet his language is intricate, but sounds false. After meeting Juliet though, his language becomes wittier and sounds real.
Tension is created throughout the play by examples of forewarning and hindsight. In Act 3 Scenes 4 and 5 a lot of tension emerges.
Act 3 Scene 5 begins with Romeo and Juliet, who have just had one last night together after Romeos banishment. During Act 3 Scene 4 Lord Capulet agreed to County Paris’ marriage to Juliet, and Lady Capulet had agreed to tell Juliet of this in the morning.
When morning comes (in Act 3 Scene 4) Romeo and Juliet disagree about whether it is morning or not. Their argument lasts quite a while. At this the audience would get quite tense due to hindsight, they would know that Lady Capulet was on her way and Romeo could get caught. The Nurse warns them and Romeo leaves, moments before Lady Capulet enters.
On being told of the marriage Juliet refuses. When Lord Capulet arrives and this is explained to him he explodes with anger. He accuses Juliet of being ungrateful. Juliet answers Lord Capulets’ questions with riddles with two meaning these just confuse and anger him. He says that if Juliet does not go to church on Thursday he will drag her there. Both the Nurse and Lady Capulet try to defend Juliet, but to no avail. Lord Capulet decides that if she does not get married to County Paris he will disown her.
Juliet now has only one person she can turn to, Friar Lawrence, if he cannot help she will resort to suicide.
After spending a night secretly with Juliet, Romeo is more optimistic. Now he feels that he has someone to protect (Juliet), he acts more sensible which explains why he convinced Juliet that he must leave her,
“I must be gone and live, or stay and die.”
He reassures her that he will return, and that they will be together again. This is a great contrast to his suicidal behaviour in Friar Lawrences’ cell, when he first found out that he had been banished.
The final Scene shows the extent of Romeos’ love for Juliet. His final speech is full of love and it shows that his suicide is not a reckless act. He loves Juliet more than life itself and believes that the only way in which the can be together is in death. He does not kill him self out of spite or the feeling of despair, but out of his love for Juliet and his unwillingness to carry on living without her.
In conclusion the play “Romeo and Juliet” still appeals to an audience today as it did when it was written for many reasons. These include the use of tension to keep to audience on edge and the interesting use of language such as innuendoes and puns. Also the content of emotions and contrasts. Alough I did not enjoy the play “Romeo and Juliet” as much as some of Shakespeares’ other plays, I still think that the way in which Shakespeare wrote it was very effective.
