In Act 2 Scene 2 when Romeo and Juliet start to declare their love for each other on the balcony, due to what has been said in the Prologue our minds are triggered to the fact their love will not last, which then unavoidably makes us wonder what will happen in the proceeding scenes to make their love fall apart.
Another reason why the balcony scene has such a dramatic effect on the play is because of the way in which their love must be secret due to the fact that they are from families ‘torn apart in strife’.
As the Montagues and Capulets are not liked by each other, Romeo and Juliet falling in love symbolising the union of two families who are enemies adds a certain irony to the play.
Another important reason for why the love declaration between Romeo and Juliet in Act 2 Scene 2 is dramatic is because of the language used throughout the scene.
There is a considerable variety of language used in Romeo and Juliet. By and large, as in other Shakespearian plays, the nobility speak in blank verse, whilst the lower classes employ prose. A clear illustration of this can be seen in the opening scene of the play where the servants exchange insults in prose, but this gives way to blank verse when the more aristocratic members of the cast deliver their lines.
A main technique used by Shakespeare when writing this play is the use of figurative language, which then leaves the interpretation of what is exactly being said up to the point of view of the reader, in this scene we witness Romeo comparing Juliet to the sun as he says:
‘What light through yonder window breaks? / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun’
To some people this may be taken to mean that Juliet is as important to him as the sun is to the world.
In the balcony scene the language that is employed by the cast has a romantic atmosphere to it, which enables the audience to feel a connection between Romeo and Juliet, an example of this would be the speech that Juliet makes on the balcony, she says:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name, which is no part of thee, take all myself.”
In these lines we get a sense of Juliet’s desire to be with Romeo, and how she torments herself with the feeling that only Romeo’s family name alone makes him an unsuitable man to love.
The use of the soliloquy enabling Juliet to think out loud and revel her deepest feelings helps the audience to understand more of how Juliet is feeling.
I think that the use of poetic language in this scene deepens the emotions felt between the characters of the play, enabling the audience to imagine how these two young people must feel in this situation.
Another good reason why this scene may be classed as ‘pivotal’ is because of the way in which the feelings that Romeo and Juliet express to one another seem very rushed and exaggerated.
To people who watch or read this play nowadays would have to take into account the fact that in the days when this play was set, relationships and interaction between members of the opposite sex would have been very different to that of what might happen in this era.
In the days when this play was set, people did not get acquainted with one another before committing themselves to a serious relationship, or saying that they loved one another. Usually among the more important of families sons and daughters would be found a partner by their parents who considered the couple to be a ‘match’ or sometimes people would get married to help the wealth or status of their family.
Using the background information that we are given at the beginning of the play in the prologue, we can gather that in Verona which is where the play is set, the love between Romeo and Juliet would be highly frowned upon due to the bitter feuds that are a common occurrence between the Montague and Capulet families.
The second of the two scenes that are considered to be ‘pivotal’ is Act 3 Scene 1, the fight scene.
One of the important reasons for this scene being pivotal is the way in which the scene reflects the social aspects and how people had to live their lives at that time in Verona. At the beginning of the scene we see Mercutio and Benvolio talking about how there is trouble brewing on that hot day, here we see Benvolio’s eagerness to go inside because of fear that they might run into trouble, this gives us an idea of how vigilant and aware people from the opposing houses had to be, always worrying that they may run into trouble and trying to avoid conflicts whenever possible.
Another reason why this is pivotal also focuses on the social aspects and backgrounds at that time in Verona. When Tybalt challenges Romeo to a fight Romeo declines because of the fact that he has just married Tybalt’s cousin Juliet. The fact that Romeo and Juliet are married is unknown to everyone in this scene, so as Romeo declines Tybalt’s offer to fight, Mercutio who is Romeo’s good friend mistakes this for cowardice and challenges Tybalt on Romeo’s behalf.
Mercutio says:
“Come, sir, your ‘passado’”
This tells us that Mercutio is willing to fight Tybalt, as he is goading him into fighting him instead of Romeo.
This part of the scene reflects the social aspects of the play because it seems that the reason Mercutio became so angry when he thought that Romeo was scared to fight Tybalt was due to the fact that in their way of life it is considered to be a weakness to be scared, and Mercutio doesn’t like the fact of Romeo being thought of as a wimp.
Another reason for Act 3 Scene 1 being pivotal is the way in which it gives the play a more interesting feel to it and from this scene a more exiting genre can be developed.
At the beginning of this scene it is possible to tell by the words which are exchanged between Benvolio and Mercutio that some kind of trouble is about to occur, we can also gather from the prologue that someone is going to die in this play, possibly leading the audience to suspect that this scene will be the one in which we witness one of the play’s characters being killed, or at least something horrible happening to them.
Is it possible that a reason for this scene being pivotal is because of the way in which the whole atmosphere changes, one minute Romeo and Juliet are getting Married and the play is a happy one, leading the audience to believe that there may be some kind of happy ending for Romeo and Juliet, then suddenly everything changes and the whole happy atmosphere is ripped to shreds by the violence that takes place and the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt leave the audience with no hope of seeing the Montague and Capulet houses working out their differences.
When the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt is over, which ends because of Mercutio’s death, Tybalt flees the scene of the fight because he is aware of the fact that he will be in a lot of trouble when the Prince finds out what has happened, the reason that Tybalt might be afraid of what Prince Escalus might do is due to the fact that in Act 1 Scene 1 when another brawl between the houses of Montague and Capulet breaks out the Prince warns that the feuding must end on pain of death.
When we compare Act 2 Scene 2 and Act 3 Scene 1, we can become to realise that they both have the same symbolism and meaning within the play.
We can notice this by looking closely at the way in which both scenes reflect on the fact that headstrong youths try to prevail against society’s prejudices.
This can be seen when Romeo and Juliet exchange their vows of love and commitment to one another (Act 2 Scene 2), and when Romeo and Juliet get married in secret. This results in them going against everything to which their families’ values are held upon. Romeo and Juliet have been brought up to believe that People from the opposing house are not as good or as important as they are, so for them to fall in love and to get married would cause a lot of distress and argument.
Another comparison between the two scenes is the way in which both scenes start off with a certain dangerous feeling about them.
At the beginning of Act 2 Scene 2, the Balcony scene Juliet tells Romeo that him being up at her window is very dangerous and that if the Capulets see him then they will murder him.
The feeling of Danger also occurs at the beginning of Act 3 Scene 1, the fight scene when Benvolio says to Mercutio:
“I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire: the day is hot, the Capels are abroad, and if we meet we shall not scape a brawl.”
This shows us that Benvolio is worried that if they stay outside then they will not escape a confrontation with the house of Capulet.
In conclusion, Act 2 Scene 2 and Act 3 Scene 1 are pivotal due the many different ways in which people can look upon and view these two scenes and because of the many different ways in which the two scenes can be described. When the two scenes are compared to one another I feel that they share few qualities that are the same but nevertheless do possess some very noticeable similarities.