How would you direct Act 3, scene 5 (lines 126- 242) from Romeo and Juliet, to show the differences in the way people of different generations behave or react to circumstances?

How would you direct Act 3, scene 5 (lines 126- 242)

from ‘Romeo and Juliet’, to show the differences in the way people of

different generations behave or react to circumstances?

This scene is relevant to the whole play because it shows how the patriarchal society is being challenged, it is also the scene that we see where Juliet grows up, she matures and realises that she has the ‘power’ to kill herself, where as before she didn’t have any power. Earlier in the play Juliet had been introduced to the audience by her father, when talking about her to Paris, from being a very irrelevant character to taking the stage on her own. Another key thing on in this scene is where family relations change. Capulet at the beginning speaks very highly of her precious daughter comparing her to a boat on a stormy sea. But now in this scene he threatens to throw her out on the streets, if she doesn’t obey his order. Also another person who challenges the patriarchal society is the nurse, who decides to stand up to Capulet in trying to defend Juliet, risking her job, at this time this would be completely unacceptable. Although later Juliet gets betrayed by the nurse and orders her to go and tell her mother that she has left.

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An appropriate setting for the scene will be in London in a Castle. I would dress each character according to their personality and what is going on in the scene. At the beginning we see Romeo leave after he spent the night with Juliet. So I would have Juliet in her pyjamas and dressing robe because she didn’t have much time to get dressed probably. As the nurse walks in to tell Juliet that her mother wants to speak to her, she would be wearing a traditional maids outfit in black and white and very simple, to show that she is nothing more than just a nurse and nothing more. On the other hand I would dress Capulet in his best clothes, ready for a joyful day. Which of course doesn’t go to plan. Finally I would have Lady Capulet wearing something posh, looking very well taken care of, it’s her kind of character and she should dress nice.

Joyful Capulet comes to find out if his beautiful wife has given his precious daughter his ‘decree’, with Capulet using the word decree it makes it sound like an order, although he will have a smile on his face, which will be shortly wiped of with Lady Capulet news. ’Ay, sir, but she none’, as her face slowly sinks, Capulet realises what she has just said. Capulet will push past her and rush of to Juliet to confront her.

The nurse being with Juliet since she was born feels the need to defend Juliet in any way that is possible, she stands in front of Capulet trying to defend poor Juliet. ‘You are to blame’. How dare the nurse say such a thing to the Lord of the house, in them days this would have not been acceptable! But the nurse feels she has the duty to stand up to him as she is the only one who knows what situation Juliet is in. As she throws her self in front of Juliet as Capulet goes in to hit Juliet. You can feel his anger on stage, as his voice is raised and face is red.

The dramatic effect of the scene after the audience watch my scene would be shock, it’s unbelievable the way that Capulet treats his daughter; in today’s society fathers do not force their thirteen year old daughters into marriage. The audience will feel sympathy for Juliet. She is left with a huge dilemma, she has married the family’s enemy and now her father is telling her to marry another man. Feeling abandoned the audience will feel Juliet’s pain, how could everyone betray poor Juliet.

The message of the scene is never to disobey dads because id girls disobey their dads they will end up in big trouble. Juliet married Romeo in secret which was a big mistake, so when Capulet tells Juliet to marry the Nobel Paris, she can’t! She’s already married! Her only option will be to kill herself, maybe stupid but this is the only way out of her situation.

I believe that the likely Elizabethan reaction would be amazement at Juliet’s Behaviour, how could she disobey her father!