In Act 1 Scene 5 there is a sense of excitement and romance but also an undercurrent of danger. Where and how are these moods created? How do they affect the audience's feelings about the characters at this point in the play?

Authors Avatar

In Act 1 Scene 5 there is a sense of excitement and romance but also an undercurrent of danger. Where and how are these moods created? How do they affect the audience’s feelings about the characters at this point in the play? How does this scene point towards later events in the play?

Act 1 Scene 5 begins with a frantic mood. This shows a sense of excitement. The servants are rushing around in organised chaos, preparing for Capulet’s party. This creates an active atmosphere and is continued by Capulet welcoming the guests. “Welcome gentlemen, ladies that have their toes unplagued with corns, will walk about you: ah, my mistresses, which of you all will now deny me to dance? She that makes dainty, she I’ll swear hath corns: am I come near you now?” Capulet is in a jovial mood as he jokes and encourages guests to dance. Here the audience become slightly more partial to Capulet’s character and the audience begins to see Capulet as a pleasurable gentleman.

Join now!

The audience feels a sense of romance when Romeo gives his description of Juliet’s incredible beauty. “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright: it seems she hangs upon the cheek of night, as a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear: beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear: so she shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, as yonder lady o’er her fellows shows.” In this description Romeo announces how his love for Juliet is definite and strong. He forgets his love for Rosalind in an instant, which makes the audience question the depth of his emotion ...

This is a preview of the whole essay