Romeo and Juliet - review

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Romeo and Juliet Coursework

Romeo and Juliet is a play about two families who have an "ancient grudge". The children from both families fall in love and are seen as "a pair of star-crossed lovers"; their relationship results in tragedy.

Violence plays an important part of the play because without violence there would be no storyline and the play wouldn't fit into the tragedy genre. A tragedy is when the main character has a fatal flaw usually resulting in their death. Romeo and Juliet fit into this genre because the two main characters, Romeo and Juliet die at the end of the play. Also most tragedies have a "chorus" to introduce the play, Romeo and Juliet also has a "chorus".

Most people in Elizabethan times believed in fate and it was common to go to confession. Fathers wouldn't expect other family members to disobey them, so in Act 3, scene 5 when Juliet says she won't marry Paris an Elizabethan audience would be shocked. "Proud can I never be of what I hate". Capulet also shows family value when he says he will disown Juliet if she doesn't marry Paris. Capulet is so upset when Juliet refuses to marry Paris because he is a man of honour and doesn't want to go back on his word.

A Shakespearean audience would believe in all the premonitions made so they would worry about what was going to happen to the main characters. They believed in what the stars said whereas a modern day audience wouldn't take it so seriously.

The Elizabethans loved their language and liked to play with words, in Act 1, scene 1 Gregory and Sampson are talking, "No for then we should be colliers", "I mean, and we be in choler, we'll draw", "Ay, while you live, draw you're your neck out of a collar". This is a play with the word colliers, Gregory and Sampson would have thought that it was very clever to play with their language like that and throughout the rest of the play lots more word play is seen.
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Lots of oxymorons are used in the play, Romeo in Act 1, scene 1, says "loving hate", "serious vanity", "bright smoke" "cold fire" and "sick health". This demonstrates that they love to play with words.

Act 1, scene 1 is the first violent scene in Romeo and Juliet. There is a fight between servants from the Capulet and Montague families. But Benvolio breaks it up "Part, fools!" The Prince makes a speech and says if there is any more fighting then they will be put to death, showing the audience that if there was any more fighting ...

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