How does Shakespeare create tension in act 1 scene I of Romeo and Juliet?

English coursework Yameen Seedat

“How does Shakespeare create tension in act 1 scene I?”

In my essay, I will be focused on how Shakespeare attempts to build tension and why he decided to include the greatest amounts of tension in act one, scene one of the romantic tragic play of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare was born in the year 1564 in his home town, Stratford upon Avon. Shakespeare’s father worked as a Glover.

Shakespeare had directed many successful historical and comedy plays before he produced his masterpiece, which he named Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet was the first of the series of tragedies which made him an important and well known play writer.

Romeo and Juliet was based on a true love story which had taken place in previous times or many believe it was based upon a historical tragedy, ‘Pyramid and Thisbe’. The play was based in a place called Verona, which was the Hollywood of its time because of its notorious crime, elegant fashion and hegemonic culture.

Shakespeare wanted to try something in his play ‘Romeo and Juliet’. He wanted to combine opposites such as; love and hate, peace and war viewed through the lewd, cynical and violent exchanges between Capulet and Montague. This is perhaps what makes this play eternal. If the combination wasn’t right it would be an end to his career as a play writer, as the audience was very critical, because of the prices they paid to view the play.

Romeo and Juliet is probably the most popular play ever written. To understand how the play progressed to this level, we need to look at the historical context and features that would have affected the story and the play.

Romeo and Juliet was produced in 1596. The 15th century was when rich and famous families were known for their glamour and flaunt of wealth, women were expected to respect their parents and family honour was important. Romeo and Juliet challenges these social Elizabethan norms. Many of Shakespeare’s audience were rich people from the city of London and were the type of ‘high-culture’ image that the house of Montague and Capulet possessed. Shakespeare chose Verona as the set location for the play because on an important factor; astrology, which was practiced professionally in the city. The people who lived in Verona were all interested in astrology to such an extent that they would have a horoscope drawn for their newly born children. In this play astrology is one of the main themes as it was in his other plays; Macbeth and measure for measure. Astrology was important as this was what controlled many of the characters’ fates.

Romeo and Juliet was written in a time where most the people were catholic. In this time as mentioned previously, morals were taken very high and held in high-esteem. Sins like murder, suicide and adultery were thought as acts of mortal sin. The actions of Romeo and Juliet are contrary to this, which could have been a way through which Shakespeare could have been refuting popular catholic customs. This was why priests called the theatre places of sin and Shakespeare a ‘heretic’.

In Shakespeare’s time the sense of honour was totally different from today. In his time people believed that the smallest wrong must be punished as a matter of personal pride or to keep high level reputation. This is why the civil conflicts occurred in the streets of Verona. In Shakespeare’s time theatres were important types of entertainment as the people then did not have alternatives like the television and internet which we have in modern times. The theatres in Shakespeare’s time weren’t comfortable like the cinemas we have today. The fact that the theatre was open aired like the globe made the audience restless. The audience had to sit on wooden stools. This would eventually start getting uncomfortable and would divert the audience’s attention, and so Shakespeare had to make sure his play would have tension, action and drama to keep the audience’s attention held firm towards the play. Failure to do so would follow in a tide of rotten vegetables being thrown by the audience in disapproval.

Shakespeare creates tension in the introduction of the play by mentioning how ‘civil blood makes civil hands unclean’. By hearing this, the audience would realize that a conflict was definitely going to ensue. Whilst the audience have that thought in their minds, Shakespeare introduces two characters from the house of Capulet (Sampson and Gregory). The two characters start by showing their hatred for the Montagues. The audience would then wonder if the words of Sampson and Gregory have reached the Montagues. Then the audience would realize that a conflict was on the verge to happen and Shakespeare implies tension by creating a conflict.

For the stage setup the surroundings would be expected to be dim with light concentrated on the two conversing characters in such a way that their facial dismay would be evident. A suggestion for staging the scene is that there would be no sounds in the background and a complete focus given to the characters as they carry out their conversation.

Sampson: Gregory, on my word, we’ll not carry coals. (act 1 scene 1 line 1)

Sampson is making out that he will not tolerate any more rubbish; he will not be disgraced by the Montagues again.

By hearing this phrase, the audience realize that a clash will arise if the Montagues arrive on the scene due to the hatred. They may also think that if a clash did arise, a death could possibly take place. Shakespeare constructs a slight amount of hatred to slowly enhance tension.

As regards to stagecraft, Sampson and Gregory would both be wearing costumes which indicate ...

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Sampson: Gregory, on my word, we’ll not carry coals. (act 1 scene 1 line 1)

Sampson is making out that he will not tolerate any more rubbish; he will not be disgraced by the Montagues again.

As regards to stagecraft, Sampson and Gregory would both be wearing costumes which indicate to the Capulet cross. So preferably a dark color would be worn as the Capulet cross is dark blue. Sampson and Gregory would also have swords wielded to ensure that the picture of peace is removed from the audience’s mind.

Gregory then responds to Sampson in such a way that increases Sampson’s rage.

Gregory: No, for then we would be colliers. (act 1 scene 1 line 2)

There are two fragments to this quote, first of all by stating the obvious Gregory is adding to Sampson’s fury. The second way the audience can understand it is by assuming that Gregory is trying to express similar feelings as Sampson that he has had enough just like Sampson. Whichever way it may be, it slowly enhances the amount of tension. By this time the audience would be waiting for some kind of action to arise.

Sampson then explains.

Sampson: I mean, an we be in choler, we’ll draw. (act 1 scene 1 line 3)

Sampson is making out that ‘if the Montagues make us angry, we’ll draw our sword’. The audience would then wait for a conflict to emerge. This shows that Shakespeare has successfully increased the amount of tension.

Reputation was very important in Shakespeare’s time as previously mentioned. Most of the audience were from London and so they would be fully aware of this. So the audience would have a brief idea that neither of the two (houses of Montague and Capulet) would tolerate any insults.

The tension then grows as Sampson says,

Sampson: I strike quickly, being moved (act 1 scene 1 line 5)

In this quote Sampson is saying that he will hit hard if he is pestered. This line shows us that Sampson is proving his masculinity, he removes all misunderstanding that some of the audience may have had which may have been that he only talks and doesn’t take action. This then builds the tension up even more. Movies such as Die hard and Tarzan show male honour and masculinity.

Sampson then confirms his hate for the Montagues by saying,

Sampson: A dog of the house of Montague moves me. (act 1 scene 1 line 7)

In this quote Sampson is making out that ‘one of the dogs of the house of Montague can pester him’. He refers to the Montagues as ‘dogs’. This is the most offensive insult which has been said about the Montagues until this part of the play. Any Montague would attempt to kill Sampson if they were to hear what he had said. At this point the audience would be expecting one of the Montagues to spring out seeking vengeance. Shakespeare decided to make the audience wait for the action which caused a lot of tension.

Gregory starts mocking Sampson;

Gregory: To move is to stir, and to be valiant is to stand. Therefore if thou art moved thou runn’st away. (act 1 scene 1 line 9)

A suggestion for the stagecraft would be that Gregory would tease Sampson with his sword.

Gregory is making out that the Montagues make Sampson angry enough to run away. A point we must keep in mind is that in such historical times, pride, honour and reputation didn’t necessarily have to be with foreign parties. Brother would slay brother for pride and son would kill father for reputation. This shows that it did not matter whether a friend or a foe insulted you, it would still be considered as an insult. So the audience would possibly expect an internal conflict to occur or if not an internal conflict, then at least expect Sampson to start a conflict with the Montagues due to the amount of rage building up within him.

Shakespeare still avoids introducing any action, thus resulting in great amounts of tension building up within the audience. This confirms that Shakespeare was indeed a success in the playwriting word. Some of the important aspects of Shakespeare’s play were imitated or used as a stencil in some of the movies we have today. One of these movies is the well known movie ‘never back down’. In this movie the most important qualities are pride and respect. The characters in this movie try to maintain their respect by making sure any offender is dealt with accordingly. Other movies such as ‘step up’ are also about pride and respect.

Gregory then makes a weighty statement which is the base of the theme in act 1 scene 1.

Gregory: The quarrel is between our masters, and us their men (act 1 scene 1 line 18)

In the quote above Gregory is explaining that the ‘quarrel’ is not only with the master but rather each and every member of the two houses. He is also making out that the ‘quarrel’ has been taking place for a long time. Even though the audience already know this, Shakespeare reminds them in order to increase the tension.

This quote might have us thinking, why a conflict between two masters from separate houses has an effect on each and every member of their house. Not only does the conflict include members of the household but it also includes the slaves of that household. Shakespeare includes the following quote in the prologue; ‘from ancient grudge break to new mutiny’. This means, ‘continue an old feud with new breakouts of violence’.

Sampson insults the Montagues by saying,

Sampson: ‘I will be civil with the maids. I will cut off their head’.

Sampson is explaining that with the women he will be polite. However, he will harm the men. At this point, the audience would really be eager for some action to occur. They would also be waiting for the Montagues to hear what is being said about them. The audience would be feeling nervous by now.

Sampson also insults the Montagues by saying

Sampson: ‘Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads. Take
it in what sense thou wilt.’

This means that he will either cut off the women’s heads or take their virginity. So Sampson’s idea of being ‘civil’ with the women is that he will rape them. This is also a very offensive insult to the Montagues. Abraham and a servant from the house of Montague enter at this point. Excitement would rise within the audience as this is what they had been waiting for.

A suggestion for the stagecraft would be that the background light would be dimmed but would ensure that Sampson and Gregory can be seen. Then a main light will be focused on the 2 characters, from the house of Montague, as they enter. They’d be costumed in such a way that the audience would be able to tell the difference between them and the Capulets. A suggestion would be for them to wear orange as this is on the other side of the color scale from blue. The difference must be shown because if the audience do not recognize the new characters they might assume that the new characters are also from the house of Capulet. This would have a big impact on the tension, which Shakespeare has built, in a negative way.

Now the audience know that two characters from the house of Montague have arrived, they are certain that the action mentioned in the prologue will now commence. At this particular moment the audience wouldn’t take the risk of looking away even for a second. Shakespeare cleverly uses this technique as it boosts the tension greatly in the audience’s minds.

Once the two members from the house of Montague enter, Sampson says,

Sampson: ‘Quarrel! I will back thee.’ (act 1 scene 1 line 30)

In this quote Sampson is telling Gregory to start the fight and that once Gregory starts, he will aid him. Sampson should look nervous at this point. This will make the audience think whether Sampson will attack or not. This will create further tension.

Gregory then says,

Gregory: ‘How, turn thy back, and run?’ (act 1 scene 1 line 31)

The audience would now be wondering whether what had been said before were just talks or if Sampson would actually do something. Even though the audience know that a conflict is going to occur according to the prologue, they will begin having doubts about it. This is also a way by which Shakespeare increases tension.

Sampson and Gregory then conspire against Abraham and Balthasar (the two characters from the house of Montague).

Sampson says,

Sampson: ‘Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin.’ (act 1 scene 1 line 34)

Sampson is suggesting that they take the law on their side by letting the Montagues start the fight. Abiding the law was very important for them as moral issues were taken very seriously in Shakespeare’s time. Crimes which have become a part of everyday life such as; murder, rape and adultery were considered inhumane in his time. Another reason why Sampson wanted to abide the law is that the punishment back in Shakespeare’s time was much harsher than nowadays.

Sampson then insults the Montagues;

Sampson: ‘I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.’ (act 1 scene 1 line 36 & 37)

Sampson knows that the Montagues will die for the sake of their reputation, just as he would. So he judges that the Montagues will either start a brawl or just bear it, this is very unlikely because if they decide to bear it, their reputation is at stake. The audience will know that the conflict mentioned in the prologue is on the verge of happening, and that the Montagues will not bear such an offensive insult. Shakespeare has the audience’s attention fully focused on the play at this time.

The play starts to progress rather swiftly from here onwards. This means more things are happening in a shorter period, and this grabs the audience’s attention. Biting a thumb at someone in those days was taken as an insult. A bit like, ‘giving someone the finger’ nowadays.

Abraham: ‘do you bite your thumb at us sir?’ (act 1 scene 1 line 37)

Just as Sampson and Gregory do not want to break the law, in the same way Abraham does not want to break the law and so he is confirming whether Sampson bit his thumb at them or someone else.

Sampson: ‘I do bite my thumb sir.’ (act 1 scene 1 line 38)

Sampson is trying to act intelligent at this stage. He would possibly hold his sword, ready to withdraw it, with a smirk on his face. This would dishonour Abraham which seems to be the less intelligent from the two.

Abraham: ‘do you bite your thumb at us sir?’ (act 1 scene 1 line 39)

Abraham repeats his question as he wants a straight answer. He would probably look tense and serious at this moment.

Sampson then cleverly plays with his words and replies saying,

Sampson: ‘No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir; but I bite my thumb, sir.’ (act 1 scene 1 line 44)

By saying this, Sampson intends to irritate Abraham so he starts a conflict. Abraham still confused tries to get to the bottom of the argument.

Gregory asks Abraham an ultimate question which breaks the silence.

Gregory: ‘Do you quarrel sir?’ (act 1 scene 1 line 45)

In this quote Gregory is asking Abraham if he is picking a fight with them. Abraham is now a little confused as to how he will answer. If he answers ‘yes’ a conflict will begin and he will also have the law against him. If he answers ‘no’ it might affect the reputation of the Montagues, as word will go around that the Montagues declined a fight with the Capulets. At this point the audience would be expecting the unavoidable fight to commence by Abraham saying a strong answer like ‘yes I am’. Abraham knows that going against the law is a foolish choice and so Abraham says,

Abraham: ‘Quarrel, sir? No, sir.’ (act 1 scene 1 line 46)

Abraham could do some hand gestures indicating disagreement.

Sampson realized Abraham is not getting annoyed so he tries to influence him to start a fight. He says,

Sampson: ‘But if you do, sir, I am for you. I serve as good a man as you.’ (act 1 scene 1 line 47)

Here Sampson is aggravating Abraham. He is saying, ‘But if you do fight, sir, then I will fight you. I work for as good a man as you do’. The tension is a very high level at this point as the audience are waiting for action as they have already been informed about the conflict which is about to commence.

Abraham then thins about what has been said and cleverly questions Sampson.

Abraham: ’no better.’ (act 1 scene 1 line 48)

Here, Abraham is informing Sampson that Sampson’s employer is not as good as his own employer. The characters would have to maintain a constant high speed in delivering their lines. If they were to say their lines even a little slower, some of the audience could get bored of hearing endless insults. Also the continuous chain of insults increases tension.

Benvolio is entered as the insults continue. The audience instantly recognize him as a member of the house of Montague by his costume (which would probably be dark blue). The tension increases as there are more Montagues now than Capulets. Another reason the tension increases is that the more people involved in a conflict the greater the tension.

In Shakespeare’s time number was very important. If an army of fifteen men were at war with an army of sixteen men, the army with sixteen men would be supposed to win the battle. This state would leave the audience thinking that the Capulets would attack the Montagues first hoping for victory or that the Montagues will attack the Capulets with confidence as they have more men. The audience are alert of these and are waiting for one of them to take place.

Benvolio tries to bring to an end to the argument using peace.

Benvolio: part, fools! Put up your swords. You know not what you do. (act 1 scene 1 line 54-55)

Here Benvolio is breaking up the fight. He tells them that ‘they do not know what they are doing’.

The tension slowly starts decreasing but shoots up within seconds as Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) enters. Shakespeare increases the amount of people involved in the conflict which also raises the tension.

The stage would have the three Montagues on one side and the two Capulets on the other. As Tybalt enters the play, a spotlight would be focused on him as he walks up to the other Capulets.

Tybalt then begins to converse with Benvolio.

Tybalt: What, art thou drawn among these heartless ? Turn thee, Benvolio! Look upon thy death. (act 1 scene 1 line 56-57)

Tybalt orders Benvolio to ‘turn thee’ which means ‘turn to me’. This shows that Tybalt is challenging Benvolio. He also says ‘look upon thy death’, by this Tybalt is sure that he will win the challenge which will result in Benvolio's death. After hearing this, the audience would look forward to a similar reply, but are then surprised by what Benvolio says.

Benvolio: I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword, or manage it to part these men with me. (act 1 scene 1 line 58-59)

Benvolio then notifies Tybalt that he is ‘only trying to keep the peace’. He then orders Tybalt to ‘put away his sword’ or ‘use it to help him break the fight’. Shakespeare cleaver cleverly creates tension in this part of the play where no suspense is included. He does this by mixing emotions such as; love & hatred and peace & war. The way Shakespeare mixes these emotions makes the audience tense in dull parts of the play.

Tybalt then puts across the hatred he has for the word ‘peace’. He says,

Tybalt: I hate the word as much as I hate hell, all the Montagues, and you! Fight me, coward! (act 1 scene 1 line 60-61)

The three things Tybalt mentioned would be ringing in the audience’s minds.

Benvolio’s attempt to create peace is not working. The audience know now that the conflict will commence but still have a little bit of hope that it will not occur. This tension at this point is very high.

Finally the part for which Shakespeare has been building up tension arrives. Benvolio and Tybalt fight. Three or four citizens also join the fight. It is what Shakespeare mentions in his prologue; ‘civil blood, makes civil hands unclean’. For stagecraft no music would be played as the clings of the swords would want to be heard. The costumes of the citizens would be totally different to the other characters as this would make it easier to differentiate the main characters with the citizens. This part of the play is very tense as the conflict is not only between the Capulets and Montagues but also a few citizens. Another reason it is tense is that each of the members involved in the conflict are all attempting to murder. The more people involved the more exciting a fight is. This is also seen in modern times.

Capulet and lady Capulet enter. We can now tell the conflict is very serious as one of the masters has entered onto the scene. As soon as the master enters the scene, the fighting would stop just as a child would stop fighting if his parents entered. Shakespeare does this to divert the attention to the new characters, which have just entered, as they play a very important role in the play. The two new characters (Capulet and lady Capulet) should be wearing high quality, expensive clothes to show that their rank is very high.

Shakespeare then adds a little bit of humour. Lady Capulet replies to Capulet with a silly answer, she says, ‘A crutch, a crutch! Why call you for a sword?’ in reply to Capulet’s request for his ‘long sword’.

Shakespeare then introduces two more characters; Montague and lady Montague. Just as when the Capulets entered the fight would stop again for a while and music would be played. Now that the two masters are present, the tension would be highest at this point.

Both, the Capulet and the Montague begin to exchange insults. Both the masters are ready for battle while their wives prefer peace. The conflict goes on a little longer and is then stopped by the recently arrived prince. The tension all ends at this point in this scene.

Overall, Shakespeare creates tension by extending the period in which everything occurs. If he desired, he could have only involved the four characters which were introduced in the beginning throughout the conflict. But instead he chose to extent the whole process by first introducing Sampson and Gregory. He then introduced Abraham and the servant. He then introduces Benvolio and Tybalt, who are both very good with their swords and also respected a lot. He then introduces the masters of both houses. He finally introduces the character who has the highest authority in Verona, and uses him to end the scene. The only reason Shakespeare does this is so that the tension can rise to its peak.

One of the ways why tension rises in this scene is because Shakespeare bases many themes in this scene. The first theme which was introduced was hatred, we were shown hatred when Sampson and Gregory were expressing their hatred for the Montagues.

The second theme introduced was war, when a conflict commences between the Capulets and the Montagues.

Law and order was then introduced when the prince entered.

The final theme and most important theme in this scene was love. This is shown near the end of the scene when Romeo expresses his love for a nun (Rosaline).

The Capulets and Montagues clearly have an issue of hatred between them. The question is why is the hatred so immense and why can’t they find a solution to this hatred.

Another important concern is that, if the conflict is between the masters, why are the families involved including the slaves.