Romeo & Juliet: Act 3 Scene 1

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Yennie                Romeo and Juliet English Coursework

Romeo and Juliet: Act Three Scene One

In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, act three scene one becomes a very important part of the play. This is the scene that the play has dramatic changes in, whether it is from a classical comedy to a classical tragedy. To express the desired effect on the audience, staging has its large amounts of importance to play in order to gain impact on the rest of the play.

Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, it was written in 1595. It is a play about two young people who fall in love and marry each other despite the fact that the families they come from are worst enemies from ancient times, through ancient grudges. This play is considered to be one of the greatest ever written because of the enormous change which takes place in this scene. Plays of Elizabethan England and earlier were divided into genres. Some examples of genre would be comedy, tragedy, and romance and these genres would follow certain patterns. Comedy and tragedy were completely unrelated, therefore, by having the two plays unite would make it very popular.

 

Today, the genre of “comedy” is associated with happiness and hilarity and is defined by a story or a play that deliberately causes the audience to laugh; this is a different understanding of the word “comedy” in Elizabethan England. In Shakespeare’s England, comedy was usually a story of two lovers who wished to get together but was held back by their elders, the play would then result in a way that the couple would end up married.

Shakespeare’s tragedies were usually quite bloody and ended with the death of a main character; an example of this is in the play of “Macbeth”. They showed a lot of people suffering and dying, usually because of bad rulers.

Romeo and Juliet was not any typical comedy or tragedy, Shakespeare showed his spectators that genres could be combined to create a diverse story. He transformed Romeo and Juliet from a comedy to a tragedy in just one individual scene, which makes this one of the most momentous plays in history. It may be difficult for a modern audience to understand the value of this scene in the play due to the Shakespearean language used. I am going to explore how I could make this easily suggested to a modern audience that this is a very important turning point in the play.

Act three scene one, this is just after when Romeo and Juliet secretly get married. Tybalt has now become Romeo’s relative, but still, he doesn’t know it. Romeo tries to keep calm when Tybalt demands a fight because Tybalt is Juliet’s Cousin.

The reason why this scene is so significant to the play is because it is a major turning point for the entire play. As mentioned before, act three scene one has a combination of comedy and tragedy. Because of this, it makes it a lot more important than usual. Act 3 scene 1 takes place in a public place. As Mercutio, Benvolio, page and servants enter the scene, they already are having small, immature arguments. This pre-empts the beginning of the scene. Benvolio is the moderate person, the pacifist, the type of person who hopes for no trouble, nor will he cause it. We know this because of the first disagreement between the Montague’s and the Capulet’s in Act 1 Scene 1. The beginning of Act 1 Scene 1 is also similar to this scene, friends are talking among themselves and the other houses come on scene, causing trouble. Right at the beginning of Act 3 Scene 1, Benvolio says:

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I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire:

The day is hot, the Capulet’s abroad,

And, if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl;

For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring

This shows that Benvolio does not want any trouble, but it also prepares us for any arguments that will happen during this scene. A tragedy will happen, and it is inevitable that something bad will happen. The love between Romeo and Juliet brings the tragedy, as we know that during this scene they are already married. The phrase “these hot days” that Benvolio says reflect on ...

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