Romeo and Juliet
The prologue gives the audience an outline to the story and the Chorus speaks the prologue. This is one of many sonnets in Romeo and Juliet. The sonnet begins by telling us of two families, 'both alike in dignity'. They are from Verona where the play is set. There is an ancient grudge between both families, 'were civil blood makes civil hands unclean.' The argument is about to start again and innocent people will get hurt. However when their children fall in love, it is doomed in tragedy. The couple are destined to meet. 'A pair of star-crossed lovers' fate is unchangeable. The young people's death brings peace between the families. The prologue doesn't hide the fact that there is death, especially the two main characters. This introduces many of the main themes in the play such as love, fate, tragedy, death and family/blood. The prologue fills the audience with a sense of anticipation. They are eager to keep on watching and listening, to what will happen to the lovers. The last two lines are written in a rhyming couplet. The play is full of opposites, antithesis and oxymoron, with Montagues against Capulets, adults versus children even an 'ancient grunge' and 'new mutiny'.
Before the scene I'm going to analyse, the play opens with the audience expecting an action packed storyline. It begins with the Capulet servants, Sampson and Gregory, joking together about how they are superior to the Montagues, when two Montague servants appear. Sampson is urged by Gregory to start a problem. A quarrel begins between them, Benvolio tries to make peace but Tybalt, a Capulet encourages them, his aim being to fight. A full-blown riot breaks out. Montague and Capulet join in. The brawl is stopped by Prince Escales who orders the death penalty if they fight again in public. Benvolio is curious to know what is causing Romeo's sadness. Romeo says that
'not having that, which, having, makes them so short'.
He explains to Benvolio that his days are long with out love, but it's love that makes them shorter. Romeo has fallen in love with Rosaline who does not return his affection.
'By giving liberty unto thine eyes, examine other beauties'.
Benvolio wants Romeo to look at other women, not be come totally obsessed with Rosaline.
Paris a friend of Capulet wishes to marry Juliet. Capulet decides this will only happen with Juliet's consent. A Capulet party has been arranged and a servant has been given the invites to hand out. Mistakenly Romeo is given an invite. Persuaded by Benvolio Romeo gives in although he has premonitions that something bad leading to death may happen he goes. Lady Capulet discusses the prospect of marriage with Juliet.
The scene I am going to analyse is Scene 1 Act 5. The scene starts with the serving men. They are arguing unable to find Potpan and are annoyed that he isn't helping. It's hectic and chaotic and plenty needs to be done before they can stop, when Potpan is found his reply is 'Cheerly boys, be brisk awhile, and the longer liver take all' he is saying cheer up trying to encourage a bit of happiness. Sampson is already thinking of the end of the night asking if some 'marchpane', which is marzipan, can be saved, as presumably Nell and Susan are girlfriends who are coming to finish off the remains of the feast.
The mood changes to being more relaxed and stress free with music playing and people seem to be enjoying themselves. This is the second time we hear Capulet talk, he is more relaxed in this environment, he seems jolly and cheerful trying to make the most of the night, entering he talks in blank verse, asking everyone to dance. As a bit of a joke, he as only
'ladies with their toes unplagued with corns'
to 'walked about' meaning dance.
He begins to reminisce with one of his cousins about past times saying it has been a long time since they were young and able to dance. The argument goes on and it is suggested that maybe Capulet is in middle age.
Romeo has seen Juliet and asks a servant who she is. But he doesn't know. Her beauty entrances him. In Romeo's description of Juliet and how he has fallen madly in love he uses several techniques.
'O ...
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'ladies with their toes unplagued with corns'
to 'walked about' meaning dance.
He begins to reminisce with one of his cousins about past times saying it has been a long time since they were young and able to dance. The argument goes on and it is suggested that maybe Capulet is in middle age.
Romeo has seen Juliet and asks a servant who she is. But he doesn't know. Her beauty entrances him. In Romeo's description of Juliet and how he has fallen madly in love he uses several techniques.
'O doth teaches the torches to burn bright'
is a hyperbole exaggerates her beauty and it is also alliteration. Romeo also uses other flamboyant comparisons,
'so shows a snowy dove drooping with crows'
he compares light to dark. 'So shows a snowy dove' is also sibilance, Romeo uses 's' and 'o' to slow down and soften his words. He talks about her being 'too rich for use' as in she is far too precious. 'For earth to dear' she is too beloved for this life, the world. When Romeo says 'and touching hers makes blessed my rude hand' he feels that he would feel rude and unmannerly, rough compared to her, as he sees her so gentle as if she were an angel.
'Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night'
this is a rhyming couplet and the whole of Romeos soliloquy is spoken in rhyming couplets. Romeo suddenly forgets about this woman he thought he loved; maybe this is love at first sight? Making Rosaline is a thing of the past. Compared to Juliet's beauty Rosaline was a mere childish crush. Or could it be the fact that Romeo is trying to get over Rosaline and hankers over the first attractive girl in his sites? At this point Romeo is still unknown of whom Juliet actually is. But the audience know that Juliet is a Capulet.
By this point Tybalt has realized who Romeo is. It suddenly goes from Romeo being all in love and in a complete daydream to a confrontation of hatred from a Capulet. Another comparison. Tybalt speaks in rhyming couplets and a para-rhyme.
'What dares the slave
Come hither, covered with an antic face'.
Tybalt questions Romeo on why he has come to mock and sneer at their festivities, 'to fleer and scorn at our solemnity'. Tybalt at this point obviously wants a problem to occur but when Capulet overhears and is angered by this, asking him why he wants to start a fight. 'Uncle this is a Montague our foe.' But Capulet doesn't believe that Romeo is here to cause problems. Capulet is angered even more so when Tybalt still refuses to enjoy the night and forget about Romeo. 'It fits when such a villain is a guest: I'll not endure him'. Capulet then insults Tybalt by calling him a 'Goodman' he uses sarcasm, as Goodman was always the head of the household then calling him a boy treating him as a little child. Capulet also says 'you are a saucy boy' meaning he is easily wound up, easy angered and 'princox' which is a cocky youngster.
Once Romeo has caught up with Juliet, during their first real meeting they begin to talk in a sonnet which isolates them from the festivities into there own world; he uses religious imagery to talk of love. Using words like 'profane', 'holy', 'shrine', 'sin', 'pilgrims', 'devotion', 'palmers', 'faith' and 'trespass'. He talks about Juliet comparing her to a holy shrine and him being a pilgrim worshiping her. Juliet describes kissing as a pilgrims hands praying.
'For saints have hands that pilgrims' do touch
, and palm to palm is a holy palmers kiss'.
Juliet takes the images Romeo uses and gives it further life
Romeo: 'Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?'
Juliet: 'Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer'.
By kissing her Romeo means that he is praying and that I will take away his sin, but once he has kiss Juliet of course she wants another kiss she tells him you have given me your sin and Romeo replies to Juliet 'Give me my sin again'. They kiss again, Nurse interrupts them, she is looking for Juliet, as her mother wants to speak to her. Romeo ask 'what is her mother' wanting to know who she is. Nurse replies with the answer that she is the lady of the house. Romeo of course will be shock to find out Juliet is a Capulet. Capulet then ends the party ready for the banquet, 'We have a trifling foolish banquet towards'. Juliet is curious to who this handsome stranger she has just kissed is. She asks nurse '
go ask his name - If he be married,
my grave is like to be my wedding bed'
this is the first time Juliet talks in such a solemn mood. Imagining Death as her bridegroom but the personification of death marrying Juliet is appears again. Nurse informs her that Romeo is a Montague, ' my only love sprung from my only hate' the only person Juliet has ever loved happens to be the opposing family, again another opposite love/ hate and even more in Juliet's lines, unknown/known, early/late. Did Juliet speak these lines out loud in front of nurse? I think she kept them private to herself, as earlier Juliet tries to indirectly ask nurse to find out Romeos name.
The second scene I'm going to analyse is Act 3 Scene 1.
Benvolio is out with Mercutio but is unhappy as he wants to go, because he knows if they stay and the Capulets turn up there will be a fight. 'And if we meet, we shall not 'scape a brawl'. Mercutio doesn't want to believe Benvolio is afraid of a fight, so he tries to kid Benvolio into a different frame of mind. He says that Benvolio is like a fellow who goes into a tavern, slaps his sword on the table and says that he hopes he doesn't have to use that sword. Being told this shocks Benvolio; he asks 'Am I such a fellow?' In a joking way Mercutio tells Benvolio that he is very quick to anger and would do anything to get into a fight, 'and as soon moved to be moody, and as soon moody to be moved'. Mercutio wittily takes Benvolio's "to" to mean "two," and says that if "there were two such, we should have none shortly, for one would kill the other". Meaning that if there were to Benvolio's they would kill each other. Mercutio they reels out a list of all these insignificant reasons why Benvolio has gotten into an argument,
'Thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking nuts,
having no other reason but because thou hast hazel eyes'
Mercutio concludes that Benvolio has no right to advise him not to quarrel.
'And you wilt tutor me from quarrelling.' Benvolio tells Mercutio that if he were as quarrelsome as him he wouldn't last long, ironically this is more than right; Mercutio dies in about ten minutes.
Tybalt enters; he is looking for Romeo who isn't here at the moment, Benvolio is worried but Mercutio doesn't fear them. Tybalt wants to speak with them but Mercutio isn't in the mood for being nice and polite he tells Tybalt
'and but one word with one of us?
Couple it with something; make it a word and a blow'
Mercutio wants to pick a fight, but he doesn't quite succeed because Tybalt is intent on catching up with Romeo. When Tybalt asks Mercutio is he 'consortest' with Romeo "Consort'st with" means "associate with," but it could also mean "sing in concert with"; Mercutio deliberately takes it in the second sense and acts highly insulted, drawing his sword Mercutio and says 'here's my fiddlestick., here's that shall make you dance'.
Desperate to stop the fight Benvolio urges them to stop fighting in public, as there is the death penalty. He tells them to go somewhere private because people can see. But when Romeo enter we realise that the reason Tybalt has come is here as he leaves Mercutio, 'well be peace be with you sir, here come my man.' Ignoring Mercutio he confronts Romeo and accuses him of being a villain. Romeo doesn't want to fight especially to some one who is his family, now he has married Juliet. But of course no one in this scene knows this except Romeo and the audience. Romeo then denies being a villain and declines a fight and starts to leave. Tybalt is getting angered he didn't come here to listen to Romeo s words of love and tries to insult Romeo but it just passes by Romeo and he turns but does not draw, Romeo says that he loves his name as much as the name Capulet for the reason that he is part of the family, 'and so good Capulet, which name I tender as dearly as my own.' Tybalt isn't the only one who isn't impressed by Romeos words of love; Mercutio thinks that Romeo is being cowardly and Tybalt has scared him into giving up. Now Mercutio wants to fight even more now, 'Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk?' 'Rat-catcher' is a sneer at Tybalt's name, because he shares the same name as of the King of Cats in the beast fable of Reynard the Fox. 'Will you walk?' is a phrase meaning Let's go someplace where we can settle this, although Mercutio doesn't want to walk anyplace, he wants to fight Tybalt right there in the street. Romeo isn't happy about them fighting, he tells Mercutio to 'put thy rapier up.' Neither of them backs down and they begin to fight. As Romeo tries to push Mercutio away from the action, Tybalt thrusts under Romeo's right arm into the unprotected left of Mercutio's chest, straight into the heart. Then, having stabbed Mercutio in this cowardly manner, Tybalt panics and runs.
Mercutio being a bit of a joker tries to play his injuries down although they lead to his death. 'I am hurt. A plague on both your houses, I am sped. Benvolio asks I he is hurt Mercutio tells him 'Ay ay a scratch, a scratch'. Romeo tries to keep Mercutio up beat by saying to him ' Courage man the hurt cannot be much' Mercutio answers with more irony; his wound isn't as deep as a well or as wide as a church door, but it will do. He knows his life slip away; Mercutio can still pun about himself and his fate. He says,
'Ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man' Mercutio, who is always joking and never grave, but tomorrow he will dead. With a second to himself Romeo talks to himself about how Juliet made him be so weak and he is ashamed that he let Tybalt offend him by calling him "villain," but more ashamed that Mercutio is dying because he fought Romeo's fight. Benvolio enters and tells Romeo that
'O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio is dead.
That gallant spirit, hath aspired to the clouds.'
Romeo then speaks in a rhyming couplet,
'This days black fate on moe days doth depend,
This but begins the woe others must end.'
Romeo fears that there will be an evil out come of the today's event but he knows that he must now fight Tybalt to avenge Mercutio's death, but this will not be the end of it; when Tybalt returns Romeo lets his anger get the best of him. Tybalt insults Romeo by telling him he will go with Mercutio, 'shalt with him hence'. Romeo is determined to fight to the death, and his passion over comes Tybalt's technique the fight scene is very short and ends in Tybalts death. Both Benvolio have realised that Romeo has made a mistake, Benvolio advises Romeo to go 'Romeo away be gone, the citizens are up and Tybalt is slain'. He knows people we come and see Tybalt is dead, 'O I am fortunes fool' he has realised the implications of his actions and flees.
Due to a fight in public Prince Escales has to sot out the problem as before he has ordered the death penalty. He asks who had started this all 'where are the vile beginners of this fray?' Benvolio comes forward and announces he can explain. Pointing to dead Tybalt, says that he killed Mercutio and was killed by Romeo. Shocked by seeing her dead nephew Lady Capulet is unable to control her self and flies into a paroxysm of anger and grief, O Tybalt my cousin! O my brother's child!' As its thought that Lady Capulet and Tybalt were supposed to be very close. She demands revenge on the Montagues 'Prince, as thou art true, For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague'. The Prince ignores Lady Capulets comment and asks Benvolio once more who began this. Benvolio speaks mainly of the truth; tell of how Tybalt came to fight Romeo, and ended up killing Mercutio. He lays most of the blame on Tybalt but he did not mention the fact that Mercutio had been winding up and making unnecessary comments to Tybalt. Benvolio didn't lye during the telling of his account. However Lady Capulet is insistent that Romeo couldn't have kill Tybalt by himself in a fair fight. The Prince is not impressed with the argument, asks a rhetorical question: 'Romeo slew him, he slew Mercutio; who now the price of his dear blood doth owe?' Lady Capulet wants Romeo to be killed, but the Price already feels that Mercutios live has been pay for with Tybalts. But Montague goes on saying that he believed that Romeo has justified himself, 'the fault that concludes but what the law should end,' make Tybalt pay his life for Mercutios, which the law would have done anyway. Price Escales 'I have an interest in your hate's proceeding, my blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding.' He, however, has the responsibility of keeping the peace, so he promises both sides that he will levy such heavy fines that they will be very sorry that Mercutio and Tybalt died, he makes up his mind of Romeos punishment and that it should be that Romeo is banned from Verona if he comes back he will then have his life take away.
The scene I prefer is Act 1 scene 3, this is because, there are more themes going on, its more exciting the fact we know that Juliet is a Capulet and Romeo is a Montague. The way they can blend in and be unknown to the rest of the bustling party, they become in their own little place. The audience at this point are the only one who know that their love shouldn't happen, or would be frowned upon. The discovery of Romeo by Tybalt will cause Tybalts death later on in the play as he wants revenge but Capulet wants none of it at his party and what him to leave. The scene has different, moods though out it, with the madness and chaos of the kitchens while when we move to the main hall it becomes more relaxed while people dance, and tension when Romeo is discovered. There is placidity, and tranquility when Romeo meets Juliet and they fall in love. But at the end there is a giant wave of anguish, despondency, when Juliet is told that Romeo is a Montague. I think it would be great to watch on stage, the lighting would be constantly change to fit the mood, there would be much need for props.
