In what ways does Shakespeare in Act 1 Scene 1 introduce dramatic tension and some of the key themes In Romeo and Juliet?
Romeo and Juliet was written in 1599 by William Shakespeare. The basic plot of Romeo and Juliet was not an original idea, but retold in a new and interesting way by Shakespeare. The key themes in Romeo and Juliet are love, hate, disorder, death and time. In Shakespeare’s time women were not treated as equals to men. They were treated as property and their belongings were considered their husband’s. Lower classes in Shakespeare’s lived in awful conditions and sneered at by the higher classes. Shakespeare uses this to his advantage in his play because his male characters show high disregard for the opposite sex and for lower classes in society.
Shakespeare’s use of a prologue is extremely effective in the setting the scene for the rest of the play. He creates dramatic irony and tension by talking to the audience “In fair Verona (where we lay our scene)”. This phrase tells the audience where the story is set and makes the audience feel involved in only one line. “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny” is the third line of the play and already introduces the theme of hate and disorder. It tells the audience that the two families are continuing a feud from a very long time ago and nothing has developed in the way of peace between them.
The first two characters introduced by Shakespeare to the audience are Gregory and Sampson. They are both servants of the house of Capulet. The scene starts off with the two men in a public place. They are both wearing weapons and shields, which shows that both men are either expecting a fight or looking for one. This immediately introduces the themes of violence and disorder, even if not in great detail. The conversation between the two men is very boisterous and involves them bragging to each other about their ‘manliness’. The men use puns in their conversation e.g. “Sampson - I will cut off their heads. Gregory – The heads of the maids? Sampson – Ay, the heads of the maids – or their maidenheads.” The use of puns in speech shows that the speaker is using humour. The fact that the men are talking with humour about raping and murdering women, shows their disrespect and degrading attitude towards women. This also shows that they are ruthless men who don’t mind killing innocents if it means hurting their enemies, the Montague family. Their attitudes reflect on the Elizabethan view of women at the time of Shakespeare’s writing because they were treated badly and not fully respected. This is another example of disorder in Verona at these times.
