Explore the ways that Shakespeare makes Act 1 Scene 5 of 'Romeo and Juliet' dramatically effective

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Paul Mather 10WS                

Explore the ways that Shakespeare makes Act 1 Scene 5 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ dramatically effective

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In this essay I will be writing about how William Shakespeare made Act One Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet dramatically effective.  Romeo and Juliet is a play, believed to be written in the 16th Century.  The main story of the play is about two tragic love struck teenagers who are unable to be together because their families, the Montagues and the Capulets are enemies.  Romeo is a Montague, Juliet is a Capulet.  There are numerous themes in the play, which include destiny, hate, love and marriage.  The scene is made dramatically effective because it has five sections within the scene.  It has also been made dramatically effective because the play was intended to be watched and listened to, not just to be read from a script.

At the start of Act 1 Scene 5, you would see lots of colourful dresses, dancing and you would also hear lots of music.  Capulet turns to the Masquers at the ball and jokingly says “Welcome, gentlemen, ladies that have their toes unplagued with corns will have a bout with you.”  Here Capulet means that if any of the ladies don’t dance, it means they have corns on their feet.  Capulet is in a good mood and feels jolly.  The audience expect it to be a joyous occasion, where only Capulet’s attend, but they are wrong, as they soon find out.

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In the second section, Romeo makes a romantic speech about Juliet.  Now the audience know that Romeo is a Montague and is a rival of the Capulet’s.  This makes the scene dramatic because it is changes the mood from Capulet’s jolly and humorous speech to Romeo’s calmer, more serious speech.  Romeo’s speech tells the audience for the first time what he really thinks about Juliet.  Romeo says “For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”  What Romeo means here is that Juliet stands out from everybody else at the ball and that he has never loved anyone as ...

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