Romeo and Juliet - Act 1 scene 5

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Romeo and Juliet

(Act 1 scene 5)

By the end of act 1 scene 4 the audience are full of anticipation.  They know about the long running feud between the houses of Capulet and Montague and the warning from Prince Escalus that if they quarrelled again their “lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace”.  (He threatened to kill them if they ever fought in the streets again).  After this the audience see Romeo walking along by himself in melancholy.  He’s upset because he’s in love with Rosalyne but she doesn’t feel the same about him.  The audience’s anticipation dramatically turns to tension and excitement when Romeo and his friends find out about a ball Old Capulet is hosting and that Rosalyne would be going.  The audience are full of tension and excitement because they want to find out what Capulets reaction will be when the arrive and what will happen between Romeo and Rosalyne.  This however makes the audience wonder about the play because Romeo is in love with Rosalyne when the play is called Romeo and Juliet.  The audience are also aware that Juliet is to be meeting Paris, her husband to be.  Before Romeo and his friends leave for the ball Romeo speaks.  He says that some how the events of tonight will lead to his “untimely death”.  (We have to remember that in the time Shakespeare was writing he didn’t have all the sophisticated scenery and lighting we have today.  He was reliant upon the structure, stagecraft and language of his plays.  This play had to be done at night so some scenes look effective).  

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        There is a definite change of atmosphere at the beginning of Act 1 scene5, from Romeo and his friends being outside in the cold dark night to being inside Capulets busy, lively house with smiling cheerful people.  Shakespeare however had trouble changing the scenery for this scene, he decided to use the servants in the play to bring on the scenery for this scene but in doing this it makes the audience think that the servants are getting the house ready for the ball.  Shakespeare did this because he had no modern staging methods.  This builds up excitement and anticipation ...

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