In the build up to Act 1 Scene 5 the audience expects Romeo to recover from his love-sickness and try to cheer up, or even find Rosaline at the party and settle differences. They expect Juliet to be looking out for the County Paris, whom her dad has agreed for her to marry, to get to know him better and see what kind of a person he is really like.
The first main thing that happens in Act 1 Scene 5 is Lord Capulet giving his speech to the masquers. He is in a very happy and jovial mood at this time in the play. Shakespeare has made this dramatically effective by showing Capulet in a joyous mood. Unlike, in the rest of the play this is one of the times that Capulet shares his humorous side with the audience.
“Ah, my mistresses, which of you all
Will now deny to dance? She that makes dainty,
She I’ll swear hath corns. Am I come near ye now?”
As leader of the house he is not prone to share his humour very often. At this moment in time everyone is in a happy mood as well as the audience. All thoughts of a tragedy have gone and everyone is in a partying mood. The fighting that occurred at the beginning of the play is now a distant memory in the mind of the audience and the actors. Shakespeare has built up the optimism in the audience. It is as though nothing can go wrong.
Soon after Capulet’s speech we see Romeo talking about Juliet’s dazzling beauty. This is quite a huge change in tone. We switch from the happy and joyous character of Capulet to the more serious deep love thoughts of Romeo.
“O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear-
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear:
So shows a snowy dove trooping with the crows,
As yonder lady o’er her fellow shows.”
Shakespeare has made this dramatically effective by showing Romeo’s feelings towards Juliet. This is because only a few scenes ago we saw Romeo drowned in his own love for a completely different girl, Rosaline. By showing that Romeo has admiration for Juliet too the audience is set to think that either Romeo is a playboy type of youth or he has, in all the partying, genuinely forgotten about Rosaline.
While Romeo is busy praising Juliet’s astounding beauty, Tybalt has noticed him and recognised him by his voice. He is absolutely enraged at the thought of Romeo being present at a Capulet party. He wishes to have him slain and calls for his servant to fetch his sword. The audience remembers Tybalt from Act 1 Scene 1 where he started the fight and refused to stop when Benvolio asked him to. This again is a switch of tone. It has gone from the flowery and love struck tone of Romeo to the angry and infuriated tone of Tybalt’s.
“This, by his voice, should be a Montague.
Fetch me my rapier, boy.
What dares the slave
Come hither, cover’d with an antic face,
To fleer and scorn at our solemnity?
Now by the stock and honour of my kin,
To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.”
Shakespeare has made this effective by introducing Tybalt back to the play. He is an infuriated character that is very short tempered and must be avoided at all times. The audience is made worried by the presence of Tybalt and knows the danger he poses to Romeo and the soon to be love affair between Romeo and Juliet. However matters are calmed when Capulet enters the scene again and calms Tybalt’s anger by cursing him and reminding him that Romeo is a “well-govern’d youth”. The audience now feels a sense of relief as matters are slowly played down by the wary Capulet.
In the next part of the scene we see Romeo and Juliet meeting with each other in their shared sonnet. When they meet, they both talk in a religious and saintly tone. They put themselves to each other as saints and sinners who would like for their sins to be purged in an exchange of blissful kissing. We see Romeo as the more dominant and sexually aroused whilst Juliet tries to maintain a safe distance. Romeo insists on them kissing whilst Juliet is too unsure whether the whole meeting will go down right. However as they both exchange their first kiss then Juliet has been totally taken over and hyptonised by Romeo’s love for her that she open up completely. She is the first to speak and insists that they kiss again so that their sins do not go into each other.
This part of the scene has been made dramatically effective by Shakespeare by him adding a sonnet for the two lovers to exchange their feelings for one another. It has also been made dramatically effective as the audience witness a love scene for the first time in the play. This is the part where the whole play begins. It is made even more tense and suspenseful by the fact that the audience is worried that Romeo and Juliet will get caught by Tybalt or Juliet’s nurse or parents and both will be duly punished and Romeo also facing death if Tybalt was to find out. The tension grows to a climax when the nurse interrupts and the audience is thinking whether or not she has seen the love scene. However, it turns out that she hasn’t and the audience is allowed to breathe again.
After this the two lovers enquire about each other and find out that they are in love with their enemies.
“Is she a Capulet?
O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt.”
Shakespeare has made this dramatically effective by leaving this right to the end. The audience is set to think in the same way as the lovers. They are thinking if the relationship will work out right and run smoothly or will the tension and pressure be too much for the lovers. There is a sense of uncertainty as to whether or not the relationship will be able to continue at all. At this point the scene ends leaving the audience in confusion.
I think that Shakespeare has successfully made this scene dramatically effective by changing characters and tone throughout. The mood switched from being jovial, to serious love, to anger, back to love and then to bewilderment and fear. Shakespeare has made this scene the foundation to the whole play. We see all the emotions shared throughput the whole play in this one scene. We also see the plot of the play, which is love and hate at the same time. Even today when audiences around the world watch this play they are bound to notice the two contrasting emotions felt throughout the play. They all feel the love and the hate that is present in the play. They are the essential and ideal ingredients for a tragic and romantic play.
