Act I Scene I is the opening scene to Romeo and Juliet and is very crucial. It is the first fight we see taking place, though we later find out it is the third civil brawl that had broke out in Verona between the two families; it is also the scene we witness Escalus issue his warning that whoever disturbs his streets again will be sentenced to death (which plays a role later in the play).
The mood in the scene is very hostile, however is quite amusing in places to emphasise how comical and petty the arguments are. Later the atmosphere is conveyed as chaotic as the fight breaks out
“Clubs, bills, and partisans! Strike! Beat them down! Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!’”
This quotation supports that no one knows why they fight, or why they are on a certain side but fight for fighting’s sake. This feeling is portrayed continuously throughout the play as are others such as confusion, animosity and antagonism.
Immediately after this scene there is a contrasting scene where we see Romeo pining for his current obsession’s love, Rosaline and though it has a feeling of unhappiness it is mainly about love, not hate. The other noticeable thing is that Romeo does not seem at all worried about the feud despite most other members of the family to have been involved and trying to fight.
“O me! What fray was here?
Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all.
Here's much to do with hate but more with love.
Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate”
This illustrates his fixation has taken over all other cares and that he is impartial to the happenings around him, because though at first he seems to be concerned about a fight, his mind quickly turns back to his own problems and therefore starts to talk about love again. This also shows his selfishness and how he is quite immature and self-involved.
Act 3 scene 1 is one of the most crucial scenes in Romeo and Juliet, where both Tybalt and Mercutio are slain. In this scene there a very strong atmosphere of resentment and violence and seems to be purely based around the two.
“O calm dishonourable, vile submission!
Alla stoccata carries it away. (draws his sword)
Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk?”
In this quotation, we see that Mercutio is not willing to compromise, nor is Tybalt and it is clear that a fight would erupt shortly after their exchange of insults, once more emphasising the feeling of tension. Benvolio seems to represent the voice of reason, appearing to be the peacekeeper, whereas Tybalt and Mercutio are keen to start a fight. Shakespeare uses insults to portray the characters’ personas, for example Tybalt often uses insults to dishonour the Montagues like ‘boy’ and ‘man’ in the context of a servant towards Romeo to disrespect him showing that he takes pride and honour seriously (hence why he was so aggravated when Romeo was at the Capulet feast). There is also a paragraph in which Shakespeare uses purely animal imagery, playing on Tybalt’s nickname, King of Cats; he does this several times for example when he refers to him as a ‘rat-catcher’ but more noticeably
“Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives; that I mean to make bold withal, and as you shall use me hereafter, drybeat the rest of the eight. Will you pluck your sword out of his pitcher - by the ears? make haste. lest mine be about your ears ere it be out.”
This quotation uses a great deal of imagery such as metaphors and personification when he refers to the sword and sheath, showing how Mercutio plays mind games and is possibly deeper or perhaps mentally unstable. Mercutio seems to see things further than others and doesn’t use concise or predictable insults, but seems to like to tease his opponent first. Even when Mercutio is dying, he doesn’t make the death the main focus of his words, he in fact claims to be fine before he curses both families. This comes as quite a shock to some people, as he seems to defend the Montague’s as his own family throughout the play, so when he says “May a plague curse both your families “ it has an impact on the audience and gives a feeling that maybe, for once the feud has gone too far. After Romeo and Tybalt fight and Tybalt is killed, the whole mood changes because, after being drawn into the situation you begin to worry yourself and question what will happen next creating a dramatic tension. The people within the play do not know of Romeo and Juliet’s marriage, but being that the audience know he makes the circumstances have a bigger effect on you, and create a feeling of being involved further.
Comparing this to Act I scene I this is, though less chaotic, but more dramatic fight scene. It is full of very personal and biting insults whereas in Act I scene I it just appears to be a petty brawl. Also in this scene two people are killed whereas in Act I scene I people are barely injured making it a great deal less dramatic.
This completely contrasts with the previous scene, Act 2 scene 6, as Romeo and Juliet have just got married and all seems to be going well for once, I feel Shakespeare makes this scene so perfect and high spirited so that the following scene had a larger impact on the audience, which I think worked. It almost sets a false sense of security that maybe it will have a happy ending, making you forget the prologue, drawing you in the happiness until the dramatic irony is highlighted in the next scene as two deaths are sure to end badly.
Act 5 scene 3 is a very important part in the developing tragic outcome of the play. Inevitably we knew how it was going to end and all the events that led up to it and seeing all the drama and tragedy throughout emphasised the ending more by adding to the deaths, emotion and drama. This links to the tragedy, because Paris who had been an innocent outsider is killed adding to the sadness and making you feel involved. In this scene the metaphor of Juliet being the light in the tomb is used, portraying Romeo’s love for Juliet, and he shows his sorrow in his speech. Fate plays a very large part in this scene, because everything happens either too late or too early. This creates a dramatic effect on the audience because of how close everything comes to working out, and as the audience also know the plan and feel involved, it almost makes them want to shout out what is happening to fix the situation. In this way, using innocent or young people’s death, Shakespeare depicts how paltry situations can get out of hand and end tragically.
In conclusion, the play successfully builds up cleverly to a tragic ending with each scene fitting in perfectly like a jigsaw to another. By drawing the audience into the story Shakespeare creates a larger impact on them, particularly the ending as it is evidentially the most tragic scene. In despite of the prologue, and the fact that people knew the play ended with the deaths of Romeo and Juliet the way it was written had people doubting it up until the very end, creating a very dramatic finish.
