Another strong theme carried throughout "Romeo and Juliet" is love, which is introduced in the first scene. Romeo is portrayed as a romantic man who is deeply in love with Rosaline but this love is not returned. “Out of her favour where I am in love”. However, he is shown up in scene five as a fickle lover due to the fact that as soon as he sees Juliet he is deeply in love with her and has totally forgotten about Rosaline before he has even spoken to Juliet. This prepares the audience and makes them not surprised when in a later act they get married very soon even though it is so soon after their meeting. A device used by Shakespeare in Act I to great effect is the oxymoron. An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms are combined to produce a dramatic effect. For example “O brawling love, o loving hate…feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health”. Shakespeare has used this device in order to reflect the hatred and conflict that will arise from the love of the two principle characters.
An important function of the first act is to introduce the characters and their traits. This is so that the audience can understand the reasons why the characters behave in the way they do. From the first time we see Tybalt we can see that he is a character with an antagonistic temperament “ What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word,” this clearly shows his aggressive nature when he says that he does not like peace so he likes to be in fights and surrounded by violence. This aggressive behaviour is presented to the audience so that it can be developed in later scenes and prepares the audience for the act of killing Mercutio, and we understand more why he has done it as it is in his nature. Another character who is introduced in this first scene and developed later in the play is Benvolio. His name, Benvolio, is very close to the latin, ‘benevolus’ meaning friendly so this would give the audience an insight into his character before he even spoke. At the time when the play was written this would have been more effective because lots of the audience would have known latin and would be able to anticipate what his character would be like. The first thing that Benvolio says is “Part fools. Put up your swords, you know not what you do”, this immediately presents to the audience his role as a mediator which is developed later in the play and used especially in Act III. The way in which William Shakespeare presents the characters and their natures to us at the beginning of the play prepares the audience for the roles that they will play in the following drama.
The setting of the ball is introduced in scene II. Within the play, the purpose of the ball is so that Juliet can meet Paris and decide whether or not to marry him, an early indication that romance will develop at the ball. Additionally, it makes the audience aware of the fact that there is another contender for Juliet’s affection and prepares them for conflict to come, which mounts in Act III Scene V with Juliet’s father. The fact that Romeo (a Montague) finds out about the Capulet ball by chance is setting the scene for future conflict. Romeo agrees to attend the ball to prove that there is no one fairer than his love, Rosaline. “One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun ne’er saw her match since first the world begun.” However, the audience knows that ultimately, Romeo and Juliet are together, and from the plot they can see the potential for love in the coincidence in their meeting. Since the audience know the ending, they can predict the conflict and difficulties facing their love.
Scene III has two purposes. Firstly it is to further develop the knowledge of conflict as emphasis is placed on the meeting between Juliet and Paris. Secondly, the tension of the audience is developed as the start of the staging of the ball is delayed, and therefore they are forced to wait to witness the meeting of Romeo and Juliet. Additionally, this scene provides the present day audience with an insight into the historical social context in which the play is set. The importance of physical beauty is emphasised and shown to be an important factor “And find delight writ there with beauty’s pen.” The idea of women marrying young (Juliet is not yet 14) and the way in which the marriage between Paris and Juliet is being arranged and managed by her parents. The result of this insight is that when Romeo and Juliet get married the audience will be more receptive to the idea as at the time in which the play was set this was normal practice. Also, the fact that Juliet’s parents are promoting the relationship between Juliet and Paris shows that it will be a bigger issue, and cause more conflict, when she falls in love with Romeo than it would have been if the only issue was that he was a Montague.
The sense of tension is further developed in scene IV. Mercutio relates to Romeo a dream he has had. The dream gives a sense of foreboding which reinforces Romeo’s own sense of apprehension for his own destiny. “For my mind misgives some consequence…by some vile forfeit of untimely death.” It would appear from this that Romeo is aware that going to the ball being held by his family’s enemies, will trigger a course of events that will end in tragedy. The audience already knows that it will end in tragedy from the prologue, and this scene therefore serves to heighten the tension using the device of dramatic irony.
The general feeling in scene V is one of friendship and good humour. Romeo first sees Juliet and he immediately transfers his affections from Rosaline to Juliet, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight, for I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” The audience anticipation in the tragic end for the lovers is heightened by contrast of the very next speech when Tybalt recognises Romeo “This by his voice should be a Montague. Fetch me my rapier, boy.” Additionally, Tybalt’s speech again shows his aggression and this leads to the audience anticipating that some form of violence will come of his aggression later on in the play if not now. When Romeo and Juliet finally meet and then kiss the mood is very agreeable and there is a general feeling of goodwill. This mood dramatically changes when they find out what households they each come from and that they are lifelong bitter enemies. This is shown when Romeo says “Is she a Capulet? O dear account, my life is my foe’s debt.” and Juliet later says “My only love sprung from my only hate!” This is the first strong indication that tragedy will arise and the audience can now more clearly predict why the eventual death of the two lovers occurs.
The first act has therefore established the themes of love, hate, death, family loyalty and conflict. It has effectively primed the audience for the subsequent acts in the play and prepared them for the drama to come. The controlled release of information allows the audience to anticipate what is going to happen later in the play. Allowing them to know what is going to happen at the end of the play is effective because it helps to hold their attention and makes them want to find out and understand why it happens. By providing the audience with good insights into the characters of the main players, laying the foundation of the main themes and giving background plot knowledge, the audience is well prepared for the drama that is to come.
