How does Shakespeare make act 1 scene 3 of

Authors Avatar

Shakespeare Coursework                Romeo and Juliet

How does Shakespeare make act 1 scene 3 of “Romeo and Juliet” dramatically effective?

        “There lies the man, slain by young Romeo,

        That slew thy kinsman, brave Mercutio.”

These are the words of Benvolio, at the end of this crucial scene of the play. “Romeo and Juliet” is one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, and this is because of its dramatic effectiveness. The way that Shakespeare, even in the modern day, conveys to his audience, every thought and emotion going through his characters heads. In this essay I am going to explore the ways that he does this, through his characters, and the words they use, as well as the way he has set up the story.

In every one of his plays, Shakespeare has written in five acts. In the first he stets the scene, in the second he develops the story, and sets up the key point for the third and key act. This key act is the one I am looking at. So far in the play, Shakespeare has set up his pair of lovers, and had them get married. He has also given pretence for this fight to happen, in that Tybalt saw and recognised Romeo at the Capulet party. The scene in question is the one after Romeo’s marriage to Juliet, and it is the first time he has seen his cousin and friend since the marriage. In the scene Tybalt comes, looking for a fight with Romeo, but when Romeo denies him the honour, he fights, and kills Mercutio. The death is blamed on Romeo, but Tybalt comes back, and fights Romeo, who kills him.

One of the key things in this scene that shows the dramatic effectiveness is the dramatic irony. This is when the characters do not know something that the audience do. In the scene there is a lot of dramatic irony. Romeo and Juliet have got married, but in the scene Romeo is the only one who knows. This is show when the others act in astonishment to Romeo’s exclamation:

“… The reason I have to love thee

Doth much excuse the appertaining rage

To such a greeting…”

Juliet’s cousin takes it as a act of cowardice, replying, “Boy, this shall the injuries / That thou hast done me,” Where as Mercutio takes it as “dishonourable, vile submission!”

Join now!

These quotes also show another method Shakespeare has used to create dramatic effectiveness. He has used a wide range of contrasting characters. The three in this scene are Romeo, Tybalt and Mercutio. Mercutio is a quick-witted wordsmith, who can run rings around any one when speech making. In contrast, Tybalt is very blunt with what he says, preferring to be short and to the point. Shakespeare uses this contrast to great effect: “Mercutio, thou consortest with Romeo.”

                “Consort? What, dost thou make us minstrels?”

Through these exchanges, Shakespeare brings life in to the fighting, and humour in to boring ...

This is a preview of the whole essay