The scene then begins to focus on Capulet welcoming all of the guests into the house for the ball. In this part, Capulet is in a really good mood and is cracking jokes; “Ladies that have their toes unplagued with corns will have a bout with you”. Capulet uses emotional blackmail to make the women dance and prove they have no corns on their feet. The mood Shakespeare is creating here is one of happiness and excitement. I think the atmosphere amongst the audience would be one of excitement as they watch the guests pour in through the doors dressed in glorious fancy dress suits and having a wonderful time socialising amongst themselves, whilst dancing to music. The scene introduces many characters, such as: Tybalt, Capulet, Lady Capulet and all of their family and friends. The idea of such a crowded party suggests that something big is bound to happen.
Then Shakespeare creates even more excitement and tension to the scene by adding Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio. By doing this Shakespeare creates a really great tension, as Romeo is a Montague, the enemy of the Capulets. Romeo should not be at this ball and the fact that he is there creates an extremely high amount of tension as Romeo is now in the enemies’ house. This point of the scene grips the audience as we already know that Romeo and Juliet are going to meet but we still become tense wondering whether Romeo will be recognized or not. Shakespeare then uses this excitement that he has built by making Romeo instantly fall in love with Juliet the moment he sees her. This create a lot of tension and uses dramatic irony as the audience know they are each other’s enemies but they don’t know and are yet to find out. Shakespeare convinces the audience of their love by the language Romeo uses to describe Juliet’s beauty and his newfound love for her. “Did my heart love till now?” This shows the audience that Romeo has fallen for Juliet and he has never felt this way towards Rosaline or towards any other girl before, showing that Juliet is special. This part of the scene is a complete contrast to the love that he thought he shared with Rosaline. The purpose of Romeo going to the ball was to find Rosaline, but he completely forgets this when he sets eyes upon Juliet.
Shakespeare then ruins this moment of “Pure love” and throws the audiences emotions in the opposite direction by exposing them to the wrath of Tybalt. When Tybalt sees Romeo he is enraged, “What dares the slave come hither, covered with antic face”. This is said when Tybalt recognizes Romeo and he becomes very angry. When Romeo is recognized, the audience would immediately become tense and feel terror for Romeo, as Tybalt now wants to “strike him dead, I hold not a sin.” Meaning he wants to kill Romeo and he wont feel any guilt. Then, to the audience’s relief, Capulet becomes involved and manages to calm the situation. He does this by threatening Tybalt if he dares to begin fighting, “Take no note of him; It is my will, which if thou respect, show a fair presence, and put of these frowns”. We are given proof that Tybalt is calm as he says, “I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, now seeming sweet, convert to bitt’rest gall.” This calms the audience down a bit but still keeps them tense as we now wonder what will happen to Romeo in the future.
Shakespeare then breaks this drama and again creates an atmosphere of excitement by making Romeo meet Juliet, exchange romantic words and then having their first kiss. He then follows this by making them fall in love with each other. This is very exciting for the audience, as they already know that the two are destined to be lovers, but they also know that it will end in tragedy. Another good example of dramatic irony as the characters do not know this. Also he uses dramatic irony here to create a contrast of tension and excitement in the audience. This is a very good technique that Shakespeare uses as it keeps the audience gripped to the play. Shakespeare then turns Romeo and Juliet’s conversation into a sonnet. In this period of time, this was the most common way of writing love poetry and expressing ones love for another. “My lips, two blushing pilgrims” here Romeo is saying he thinks he is not worthy to “profane” with his “unworthiest hand” to the “ holy shrine” which is Juliet. In the period of time this was set, these words were considered very sweet and romantic. The contemporary audience would have been very impressed with this sonnet. The instant love shared between Romeo and Juliet makes the events that follow later in the play more believable and tragic.
The nurse then parts Romeo and Juliet. This is where Romeo finds out Juliet’s name. Capulet. Romeo is very shocked by this news, “My life is my foes debt”. This shows the audience the sorrow in his words, as Romeo now knows that the two cant possibly be together due to their family histories. Even though Romeo is shocked by the news, he decides to keep it a secret from his friends. His decision to hide this from his friends would create great tension amongst the audience as they already realise that this decision will probably led to even more complications and drama.
The scene finally comes to an end with Capulet, who is disappointed by all of his leaving guests. Despite this he is still in a cheery mood even after Tybalt almost created chaos at the party. As the guests are leaving, Capulet desperately tries one last time to get them to stay, “Nay, gentlemen, prepare not to be gone; we have trifling banquet towards”, but his attempt is unsuccessful and the guests continue to leave. Shakespeare uses the end of the party to clear the stage of actors apart from the Nurse and Juliet. This creates tension, as the Nurse is about to tell Juliet that Romeo is a Montague. This is another good example of Shakespeare using more dramatic irony by letting the audience know that Juliet is a Capulet, and Romeo is a Montague. But the characters have yet to find out. By doing this Shakespeare is making the audience become tense even though they already know the truth about the two lovers. We then hear Juliet’s reaction to the news and we are able to tell that she is heartbroken. “My only love sprung from my only hate”. This is a very dramatic end to the scene as Juliet is obviously still going to pursue her love for Romeo, leading to further complications and eventually causing their deaths.
This scene is possibly the most important and exciting part of the play. All of the characters and all of the events that happen at the ball all have a part in the tragic ending to the play. For example when Tybalt recognizes Romeo he wants to kill him there and but is stopped by Capulet. This carries on in the play as it makes Tybalt want to seek revenge and accidentally leads to the death of Mercutio and Tybalt himself. This raises the hate between the Montages and the Capulets. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony throughout the entire play. He uses it at the ball and towards the end when Juliet pretends to die and Romeo kills himself thinking she is dead, then Juliet stabs herself with a dagger when she finds Romeo dead. The audience know all these events are going to happen but the characters don’t. Personally I liked the play and thought it was amazing the way Shakespeare uses dramatic irony and creates a contrast of tension and excitement. I like the twist at the end of the play where Romeo doesn’t know that Juliet is dead and kills himself, then Juliet wakes up, finds Romeo dead and kills herself. I also like the way that these two deaths brought the Capulets and the Montagues together and created a peace between them.
