Discuss the dramatic impact of Act 3 Scene 5 in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

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Mark M. Addison        Page         

English Coursework

Discuss the dramatic impact of Act 3 Scene 5.

        Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, and in particular Act 3 scene 5 is full of dramatic tension, fuelled by various themes. Among the most prominent of these themes are those of secrecy, conflicting public an private worlds, dramatic irony, and the major contrasts in the beginning of the scene when compared to the end of the scene. Many of the stark contrasts that fill the play are clearly seen in Act 3 scene 5, and these include some of the major issues of the day (late 16th century Britain) such as those of life and death, and loyalty and honour. As well as these contrasts there are also contrasting references to light and dark, such as the darkness of the night hide the lovers and the use of whiteness or paleness which was often used for images of beauty and love, and also the constant reminders of the contrasts between the character’s attitudes throughout the scene. In this scene, Shakespeare uses oxymoron, contradictions contained in the images themselves to great effect, and this coupled with his mastery of imagery makes this a powerful and dramatic scene. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ predates the four great Shakespearean tragedies of ‘Hamlet’, ‘King Lear’, ‘Macbeth’, and ‘Othello’. Whilst still being a tragedy it does not follow the classical pattern of the other four where a person, usually of high social status, is doomed to disaster and death because of one fatal weakness of character. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’s fate and death are still prominent but there are still overtones of chance, consequences of passion, the effect the old have on the young and in the end it is ultimately the friar’s weakness of character which leads them to die. In this scene, all of these factors play a part making it full of dramatic tension.

        The scene begins with Romeo and Juliet’s intimacy and the pain of knowing they must part. The audience knows that they will never see each other alive again because of the chorus’ part at the beginning of the play and because of Romeo’s pending banishment, thus making it full of dramatic irony. Romeo says, “Let me be tane, let me be put to death,” and here he is referring to if he stays with Juliet he will be found and killed. He also says, “Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so.” This also makes it dramatic because the audience knows Romeo will die because of Juliet’s and his love, and this will climax to become very tragic at the end because he is saying it in a light-hearted manner. At the end of the scene Romeo says to Juliet in what will be his final words to her, “more dark and dark our woes!” The last time they see each other when they kill themselves is in the tomb that Shakespeare describes as a dark place and these premonitions of theirs help in creating a opening full of dramatic irony and tension.

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        In lines 64 to 105, Juliet and Lady Capulet discuss her proposed marriage to Paris and it is in these line that Shakespeare makes his mastery of language clear, whilst building up the tension. In this scene, the most important feature of Juliet’s speech is her ambiguity. For example, when she and her mother are talking about her outpouring of grief, Juliet agrees with her mother that it is Romeo who is making her mournful (and her mother thinks she is talking about Tybalt’s death) and she states in lines 93 to 95, “Indeed I shall never be satisfied/ With ...

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