Romeo and Juliet's meeting is a turning point in the play. What aspects of Shakespeare positioning and crafting of act 1, scene 5 are important for the audience watching it?

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Romeo and Juliet’s meeting is a turning point in the play. What aspects of Shakespeare positioning and crafting of act 1, scene 5 are important for the audience watching it?

Act 1, scene 5 is important because it’s an insight into how Romeo and Juliet’s relationship will end which is shown through symbolism. This scene is pivotal to the whole play as it shows the relationships that are explored at length later in the play. It gives the audience a background and history of the people and a greater understanding of the consequences. This scene also acts as a catalyst and as a result of the actions in this scene in the deaths of the ‘star crossed lovers’ whose fate has already long been decided. For an audience it is where all the action has truly begun. It is an exciting and positive scene contrasting greatly with the scene that it has followed.

         

At the end of scene 4 Romeo’s speech is a prediction of the events to follow. He talks about fate and how it controls him and will later bring his ‘untimely death.’ He doesn’t believe he has a choice in what will become but knows that it will happen as it’s ‘hanging in the stars.’ I don’t think that Romeo and Juliet was created for you to be waiting for a shocking ending. The ending is entirely predictable not only because it is very much alike to the story of Antony and Cleopatra and based on the Greek legends Pyramus and Thisbe, But because it is a story that is talked about because of it’s painful ending full of misunderstandings. Also the play often refers to the ending ‘and expire the term of a despised life clos’d in my breast, by some vile forfeit of untimely death’ this shows how Romeo sees the pain in his heart for the lost love. This will be replaced with a new love of some sort, which will only result in his death. It is a very serious speech and there are only two characters on stage. It is saddening and is lonely not only because Romeo expresses his loneliness but in contrast to the next scene which is busy and bustling with lots of characters. Benvolio and Romeo are the only two characters on stage at the end of scene 4 another contributing factor to the stillness and sadness of the scene. Benvolio acts as a foil to Romeo showing how serious Romeo is through his own light-heartedness.

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        The servants at the beginning of scene 5 are used to create atmosphere. They ‘hurry about the stage’ shouting orders at each other and acting as a foils to the Capulet family showing how rich they are because the Capulets have so many busy servants. It shows how important the ball is going to be because the servants are working so hard to make it perfect. Capulet is seen as self-assured he doesn’t seem threatened by Romeo’s arrival and doesn’t worry that people will think he has no authority because his enemy’s son is at the party though it is ...

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