Romeo and Juliet - How successfully does Shakespeare use Act One to prepare the audience for events that happen later in the play?

Romeo and Juliet

How successful does Shakespeare use Act One to prepare the audience for events that happen later in the play?

The play Romeo and Juliet is set in “fair Verona”, Italy. Shakespeare based his play on a poem by Brooke and brought it to the theatre in 1595. Although it is set in Italy many things mentioned could be found in Elizabethan England for example the Capulet’s party. This suggests to me that Shakespeare had little knowledge of Italian life. The play also highlights the position of women in Elizabethan times.

At the beginning of Act One we are introduced to Sampson and Gregory who are from the Montague’s and the other from the Capulet’s and they are in the market place of Verona. They are messing around joking to each other and in the process puns are used such as collier, choler and collar. In the time this was set, this would have being considered very funny to the audience. Sampson and Gregory start to mock each other by biting their thumb, which was considered very rude then. This causes a fight to break out and this shows us that the rivalry and hatred between the Montague and Capulet’s also continues at all social levels as well. This introduces us to the fighting that goes on between the two families. We are introduced to Romeo and discover he is in love with a girl called Rosaline. He gate crashes a Capulet party and meets Juliet, the daughter of the Capulet’s; he says he has never loved until he meets her which is ironic because before this he was saying how he loved Rosaline. At this party Tybalt sees Romeo and swears revenge at a later stage, as he isn’t allowed to cause any trouble at the party. This later leads to Mercutio’s death and Romeo’s exile.

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There is no sub plot because Shakespeare wants all the attention focused on Romeo and Juliet. The play is a tragedy because we find out from the Prologue that Romeo and Juliet are “star cross’d lovers” and are destined to die. This lets us know that it is tragedy; Shakespeare has made it a tragedy because it is based on a poem, which was also a tragedy. The chorus rather than a character speaks the prologue because it is more like a narrator and this distances the characters. It is written as a sonnet because this gives the prologue a more formal atmosphere. The prologue introduces us to the play and what it’s about. It tells us that the two lovers die because he wants the attention to be focused on “how they die”. The Chorus at the end of Act One is once again spoken as a sonnet and it basically summarises what has happened in Act One to give you a better understanding.

The first “main” character we get introduced to is Tybalt. This is at the beginning in the market place when a fight breaks out. My impression of Tybalt from this is that he is ruthless and cares only for himself and other Capulet’s; he doesn’t hesitate to draw his sword if his pride has been injured. I think this because when he first intervenes in the arguments going on he says

“What art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?”

Then Benvolio speaks and Tybalt replies with

“What drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word,

As I hate hell, all Montague’s and thee”.

This shows that there is a lot of anger flowing inside him and that he is ready to fight, he doesn’t make any attempt to stop a fight from happening he basically tries to make one happen. We next meet Romeo who is on his own and is approached by Benvolio, who is trying to find out why Romeo is so unhappy. My first impressions of Romeo are that he isn’t the fighting type, he doesn’t believe in all the fighting that goes on and he avoids it. He also seems so in love with a girl named Rosaline and is speaking of how he loves her so much, which becomes ironic later in the Act. The audience is introduced to Juliet when she is at the Capulet house and her mother wishes to speak with her about her feelings on marriage and Juliet replies to this by saying “It is an honour that I dream not of”, which is ironic because of events later in the play. I think that Juliet is an honest person and will speak the truth given the chance. Finally we meet good Mercutio who is one of Romeo’s good friends. In a way he is like a brother to. He is a very witty person and has a quick working mind. Mercutio has a hate fed rivalry going on with Tybalt, but at the same time they have a respect for one another’s fighting abilities. Mercutio seems to me as one of the people who likes to be centre of attention as he is always involved in puns, jokes and teases.

Shakespeare makes the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet in Act One scene five romantic by the things, which are said to one another like for example

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this, my lips two blushing pilgrims ready stand, to smooth the rough touch with a gentle kiss”.

This is basically saying that he worships her and that he is really attracted to her, Juliet replies to this by saying

“Good pilgrim you do wrong your hand too much which mannerly devotion shows in this, for saints have hands, that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy Palmers’ kiss”.

By this she is simply saying that she is attracted to him too. What makes this romantic is that there is danger involved too, because they are both from the two rival families and Romeo is in the Capulet threshold which adds a lot of danger to their first meeting as if they get caught there will be a lot of commotion over this. He writes their meeting as a sonnet to add to the romantic atmosphere.

Shakespeare uses his scenes well and creates atmosphere from them, like after the prologue there is a comical skirmish scene in the market place, which is resolved by the prince. This scene foreshadows the fight later on in the play between Tybalt and Mercutio in which they both die. When Rome is declaring his love for Rosaline this is preparing us for the true love he feels for Juliet. The masked ball is used to add to the atmosphere by the way the two lovers get to first meet at the Capulet’s masked ball, but there is also a lot of tension here as Tybalt sees Romeo and this fuels his hatred and anger and leads him to declare his revenge on Romeo which later leads to Romeo being banished from Verona. The comical scenes with the nurse add slight relief, which is needed, as we know by the end of the play the two lovers will be dead. The fights scenes in the play merge with the romantic scenes, which appeal to a wider audience. The way Shakespeare changes the mood in some scenes from playful to serious is a good technique because it creates a tense atmosphere because it draws the audiences attention and has them in suspense awaiting what will happen next. The secret meetings Romeo and Juliet have add romance and get the audiences adrenaline going because there is the risk of getting caught and if they did get caught it would cause a lot of trouble between the two families. Also the messages passed by Friar Laurence adds to the concealment and adds to the tension, as we don’t know if they will reach Romeo in time. The discussion between Juliet and Lady Capulet about her marrying Paris that takes place immediately before Juliet meets Romeo is a very effective use of dramatic irony. Romantic imagery is used quite a lot throughout the Act which is there to prepare us for the intensity of their loving relationship. The irony to this is the way Romeo expresses his love for Rosaline is very similar to the way he declares his love for Juliet. A lot of poetic language is used in the Act, especially imagery that is connected to light and says that Juliet’s beauty would make the moon “envious”. Which is in a way linked with what the chorus says in the prologue, which is “star cross’d lovers”. Juliet is also associated with wealth and luxury because of her family and where she lives. A bit of Antithesis is also used, for example “my only love sprang from my only hate”, “death marked love”. The association of love and death is present throughout the play. Juliet talks of her wedding bed as being her “grave”. The use of puns was popular in the Elizabethan times and is used rather frequently in the play like for example “collier, collar and choler”. The jokes in the play were used by Shakespeare to relieve the building tension. Mercutio’s is not just in the play to be a mere jester, with his crazy words he punctures the romantic sentiments that exist within the play. Some examples of this are

“You are a lover; borrow Cupid’s wings, and soar with them above a common bound”, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love; prick love for pricking, and you beat love down”.