Lighting would be dim, as I feel that bright lighting would be out of place for a story of such tragedy.
The actors would be dressed in historically accurate clothing (eg. very little for the natives and Western clothing for the visitors), which shows the audience that each are different, for the sole reason that I wish to prove that it is only clothing and culture which dictate the differences between the two groups of people.
There are four "movements" within this scene. I would suggest that the first one was from the beginning of the scene until Romeo's exit. This is slow-paced and relaxing for the audience to watch, so I would play relaxation music, which would make a clear contrast with what is about to follow. I would instruct the actors to say their lines slowly and quietly also, to decrease the pace.
The second "movement" would be the entrance of Juliet's mother, up until her father's entrance. This section would start off as slow-paced as the former, but it would quicken when the marriage plans were announced. I would instruct the actress playing Lady Capulet to be gentle and sympathetic to Juliet whilst she is crying, but to get quite angry (but not as angry as Capulet) when the marriage was refused. I think some violin music would be suitable for this section.
The third would be the entrance of Capulet. He enters the room and the violin music is playing, but when he is angered, I think both the pace of the music and the pace of the scene should increase. Therefore, I would instruct the actors to speak their lines louder and more rapidly than before. I would decrease the brightness of the lights, and possibly have some lightning in the background to symbolise the storm that is brewing inside Capulet.
The last, but certainly not the least, is Juliet's isolation by her mother, father and nurse. I believe this to be the most crucial moment in the scene, but the pace in the play is too slow for my liking. I would therefore increase it by increasing the volume and tempo of the music and speech to dramatic effect.
The gradual isolation of Juliet is important, because it means that she has no-one to turn to for help except Friar Lawrence. I would see this portrayed in my version in the music and lighting. Every time Juliet feels cut off, the lighting and music would reflect this.
Lighting is very important in the play. Darkness in R&J means death, foreboding, sadness and secrecy, whereas light means hope, life and love. When the lovers are dead in the dim tomb, the night outside emphasises the sadness and tragedy of their death.
However, Act III, Scene V is the only scene to associate light with sadness, because it is the light which causes Romeo to leave her. Romeo says that as more light appears, their sadness grows greater.
There are a lot of references to death and foreboding in this scene. Many of them are directed towards Juliet ("I wish the fool were married to the grave"), but some are about Romeo ("let me be ta'en, let me be put to death"). Shakespeare put in these references in order to give a clue (to those observant enough to notice) to the ending of the play or, more accurately, the fate of the two lovers.
Fate plays a big part in Romeo and Juliet. From the start, they are described as “star-crossed” which means ill-fated. The overall structure of the play and the way it unfolds brings across a sense of inevitability about the ending. Romeo and Juliet cannot escape from the inevitable conclusion, as, just when things appear to be improving, a new and worse disaster strikes. Lord Capulet, in line 155, threatens to drag her on a hurdle, which is a device for dragging criminals to their execution. The Elizabethans believed the curses of parents to be particularly ominous, so this is another hint by Shakespeare.
The scene is of intelligent construction. Many of Juliet's lines have layers of meaning, such as line 67 where Juliet confesses to being unwell. Lady Capulet automatically assumes that she is weeping for Tybalt, as she couldn't possibly know of their marriage. Another example is lines 75-76: "Feeling so the loss, I cannot choose but ever weep the friend." Friend can also mean lover.
The character I have chosen to dedicate my character study to is Lord Capulet. I chose him because he is the most difficult character to assess because of the fickleness of his personality, and is therefore one of the most interesting characters.
He is a wealthy man who has married a woman much younger than himself. He appears to be a man of short-tempered authority in this scene, but at other times in the play, he speaks kindly and lovingly towards Juliet. At the beginning of the play, he believes her to be too young to marry Paris, but in this scene he changes his mind, with disastrous consequences. Only at the end of the play, in his grief, is he a sympathetic character once more.
Interestingly, up until this scene, unnecessary haste has been associated with the younger characters in the play. On line 118 (“I wonder at this haste, that I must wed ere he that should be my husband comes to woo”), Juliet is shocked at the haste of her father in expecting her to marry and man whom she hasn’t even courted yet.
When Capulet arrives, his speech is initially ironic. He uses storms in reference to Juliet’s weeping, yet it is he who will storm about in fury at Juliet’s refusal to marry Paris.
Juliet’s parents only see this refusal as ingratitude, and her mother becomes, by the end of the play, a cold, selfish and unsympathetic woman who still thinks of herself whilst mourning her daughter’s death. Capulet flies into a rage and tells her she may beg and starve in the streets before he would allow her to disobey him. He behaves like a tyrant, and refuses to listen to reason by the Nurse. It is in this respect that he can be likened to the Prince, Escalus by his position of authority and “deafness to pleading.”
I believe that Capulet should make a dramatic entrance. Thus, I would instruct the actor to throw open the doors recklessly and stride in purposefully. On the previous line, Lady Capulet says “Here comes your father”, so I would make sure that he could be heard before he was seen, perhaps the sound of his drunken celebrations.
He would be initially stern regarding her weeping, before changing his tone to sympathetic before Line 136 (“How now, wife?”).
I would advise the actor playing Capulet to be overemotionally and unnecessarily angry at Lady Capulet’s statement “I would the fool were married to the grave.” Both parents cannot understand why Juliet refuses to marry a wealthy and highly regarded gentleman, like Lady Capulet did. They could not possibly know of her matrimony to Romeo.
It may not seem possible, but I would recommend the actor to increase the level of Lord Capulet’s wrath in reply to Juliet’s remark about a hateful action intended as a loving one.
Even Lady Capulet believes he has gone too far on Line 157 (“Fie, fie! What, are you mad?” but Lord Capulet will not be pacified. He believes at the start of the play that Juliet should love the man that she marries, but, due to Tybalt’s death, he seeks to enliven her misery. Therefore, the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio are responsible for much of the hardships which the characters suffer during the play, and, ultimately, leads to their demise.
He then calls Juliet a traitor and threatens to have her dragged to church on a “hurdle”, which is a device used for dragging traitors to execution, which is another reference to death. I believe this to be the pinnacle of Capulet’s anger.
When he claims that his “fingers itch”, I would persuade the actor to raise his hand as if to strike her, before realising his folly by the expression on Lady Capulet’s face.
The Nurse is one of the most trusted members of the Capulet household, yet she is ill-treated by Capulet when she tries to protect Juliet. Everything she does, she does for Juliet’s benefit, yet, as the play progresses, she joins the crowd which do not understand and oppose the love of Romeo and Juliet.
When Capulet abuses the Nurse, he begins to calm down, yet still retains the annoyance ever-present in his personality in recent times. Capulet then goes on to state that Juliet can beg and starve in the streets before he will allow her to disobey him. This is the same man who was so lenient about his daughter’s marital status earlier on in the play. Much like his entrance, I would make Capulet’s exit equally dramatic. I would advise the actor playing the part to stride out, slamming the door behind him. It is interesting to note that each character reacts differently to Juliet’s refusal. Capulet is vividly angry, and he slams the door upon leaving. Juliet’s mother is quietly morose and would exit in a manner that befits such a mood, like a slower and gentler closing of the door. The Nurse, meanwhile, is in a better mood. The advice she gives to Juliet (“I think it best you married with the County”) is well-intentioned and Juliet tells her that she will marry, so the Nurse’s mood is likely to be lighter than that of Juliet’s parents. Therefore, I would suggest that she should exit rapidly, eager to tell the news to Lady Capulet.