white nightdress. White symbolizing purity and reminding the audience that Juliet is
young being 'not fourteen”(act1 scene3) which means she will still have her virginity in
tact, as was expected of an Elizabethan bride. The religious connotations of the
costume being white are reminiscent of angels which fits with the idea that Juliet is a
'bright angel' and 'a winged messenger of heaven'. Romeo however, would be clothed
in a loose (suggesting his earlier inconstant affections) cream shirt and dark trousers.
The fact that the shirt is not the pure white of Juliet's, again suggests his past if
unrequited affections for Rosaline will. The positioning of both Romeo and Juliet
shows the audience their characters as Juliet is on her balcony which could symbolize
her being heavenly and out of reach as demonstrated when she says: 'what
satisfaction canst thou have tonight'. Placing Romeo beneath her emphasises that
Juliet is celestial, exaggerating the fact that 'Juliet is the sun'. In the theatre itself there
would be different perspectives as people on the ground see Juliet very high, but
those in the high boxes will be looking down on the scene. The limitations of the
seating means the actors have to over exaggerate actions and positionings to make
sure the audience from every perspective can see. This layering of the audience
comes from Shakespeare's time when the the poor groundlings would look up to the
balconies of the rich. Having so many different perspectives on this scene means it
has to be made very clear that Juliet must be as far away from Romeo in order to
exaggerate their separation. The gap between them can symbolize how difficult this is
to develop, a point which is resolved later when Romeo climbs the balcony to
consummate his marriage. The physical separation also shows distance between the
couple's lives and that they shouldn’t be together reiterating the message of the
feuding families.
The selected part of the scene, starts with Juliet declaring her love with the metaphor,
of “my bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep …” aimed at the higher
classes in Shakespeare's diverse audience. Her love for Romeo is represented by the
sea which is free to go wherever it chooses and isn't forced into a life it does not want,
as Juliet is in her betrothal to Paris. It shows that Juliet’s love for him is her own
choice and hasn’t been swayed by anyone. Her love is “deep” showing that it is true
love. Romeo’s part is now in blank verse as opposed to prose. The use of iambic
pentameter gives Romeo status as a character as well as socially. The fact that Juliet
also speaks in this manner makes both her and Romeo equal as characters but also
social equals. This is unusual in the Elizabethan era as women would have had
considerably lower status in comparison to men; the fact they are equal shows
Shakespeare is making a social point, which is also illustrated by the line from the
epilogue “For never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” The
use of “her” again points to the social equalising of the characters for the Elizabethan
way was for the husband to own his wife. Although Shakespeare is at pains to show
the equality of status, he also indicates an imbalance of power in their relationship.
The difference of heights in their positions on stage separates them showing that
Juliet is in control, stressing the imbalance of their love. This is shown physically by
Juliet on the balcony and is emphasised by her directive language “Sweet Montague,
be true. Stay but a little:I will come again.” Her language in this section is broken by
the use of punctuation. Before, her speech flowed like her emotions using
enjambement;
“The more I give to thee,
The more I have for both are infinite.”
This is in contrast to the sharpness and commanding nature of her language after she
is disturbed. Her language in blank verse becomes less formal, appealing to the lower
classes.
The language influences the actions directed. From proclaiming her love with flowing
speech (little punctuation) the actions should also flow simply. Once interrupted by the
nurse, the language becomes abrupt and the actions echo the language. To create the
sense of panic, as suggested by the text, Juliet should turn away and back to Romeo
as though she is torn between reality and her love. The restrictions of the balcony
mean Juliet is unable to move over a wide space, however her actions must then
become amplified for the audience. By doing this they are able to interact with the
emotions on the stage. Shakespeare would have directed and even acted in the
Globe theatre meaning he would have known of its limitations because of this, writing
the play he would have been aware of how the actors would need to emote for the
emotions to be clear. Although having few props, the stage itself gives space for the
actors to work in. In the scene the pillars' can be used to create new perspectives and
vistas to balance out the scene. Once Romeo is left pondering the previous events,
use of the stage keeps the audience focused on him. A variety of heights is also a way
of keeping the audience's interest when Romeo exclaims: “O blessed, blessed night.”
This relates back to Juliet being an angel by the fact that she is blessed or on par with
the angels. By using repetition, Shakespeare is giving an opportunity to add variety in
how the line is delivered to emphasise the iambic pentameter or how the words are
performed in relation to an action. In this case the repetition is building on the meaning
of the words and an action with it emphasises its purpose in the line. In the script,
Shakespeare writes little stage direction other than exit and entrance; this is because
he himself would have directed his own plays on the stage or at least have been
present for the play's direction. For today's audience this means directors can be
experimental and original with the ideas for action and most aspects of the play. This
means that although the language may be hard to understand, the play may still by
any misunderstanding of the text.
For the second section (Act 2 Scene 2 lines182-191) lots of the language use is
similar to the first section chosen (repetition and whose part is in control). This part is
significant because although using the same devices it portrays a different feel as this
part shows the two lovers parting.
In response to Juliet's speech where she wishes “I would thee gone, and yet no
further than a wanton's bird; Who lets it hop a little from her hand, Like a poor prisoner
in his twisted gyves.”, Romeo replies “I would I were a bird.”, showing how much he
would like to be her thrall, being her “prisoner”, which shows Juliet still has the upper
hand emotionally. Juliet then agrees “sweet, so would I ...” suggesting the control, has
been taken over by Romeo as Juliet succumbs to his point of view. The next part
however proves that she is still in control as shown in “...Yet I should kill thee with
much cherishing.” The word choice here is what gives her the sense of authority “kill”
being the operative word. Anyone who can kill is instantly in control because the action
is so powerful and even though here she is killing him with “much cherishing,” (love)
the words still indicate her power. Juliet's dominance of the scenes progression is
again shown by “Goodnight, goodnight.” Previously in the scene she has said “'Tis
almost morning; I would have thee gone:” which is a command. She is telling Romeo
to leave but the main point is that the repetition is emphasising the meaning. This
could suggest how anxious she is for him to leave for previously there has been a
rude intrusion, possibly breaking the connection. This intrusion comes to voice the fact
that she is worried about being caught when she says “Tis almost morning...” giving
the reason why she is so worried for soon the rest of her household will awaken. Her
emphasis is urging him to go as this is the second time he has been told to leave. The
fact that the scene appears to be repeating itself with Juliet again wanting Romeo to
depart, means the audience may begin to lose interest in the action. However, little
devices such as an oxymoron, the attention is brought back; this device is shown in
“parting is such sweet sorrow,” the oxymoron being that sorrow appears to be the
opposite of sweet. Making the audience think about details in the dialogue draws their
attention back to the scene. Juliet's lines are now no longer in blank verse, but her last
lines rhyme “parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say 'good night' till it be morrow.”
This arrangement is something Shakespeare often employs to signal beginnings and
endings of his scenes for example: “But come, young waverer, come, go with me, In
one respect I'll thy assistant be.”(Act 2 Scene 3). Having this style recurring means the
audience will pick up on the importance of the rhymes and so will be able to tell that
the rhymes mean finality and the ending of the scene.
Being the end of the scene, the couple, as suggested in the text, are engrossed in
their own world. This means there is little action to engage the audience's attention in
this scene. Juliet's exit breaks the intensity of the scene, Romeo responds to this by
following the direction she has taken. Once she has left he is able to move freely on
the stage in order to express the feelings in the text. However, throughout Juliet's part
Romeo still has to portray his emotions and thoughts even if he has nothing to say.
Pillars or simple paces across the stage give the audience enough to be able to
understand both characters views on the final events of the scene. The punctuation in
the text breaks up Romeo's final speech “Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to
rest! Hence I to my ghostly sires close cell,” This punctuation shows Romeo
considering his next actions and outlining them to the audience. Romeo is able to use
the stage pillars a prop, for example as a stage device to exaggerate his love for Juliet.
Overall Shakespeare was able to overcome the limitations of The Globe because of
his knowledge of the theatre. By knowing the size, shape and pillar positionings, he
could direct, act and write to conquer the restrictions. As his writing was for the theatre
where he would perform and direct, his stage directions are implied rather than stated
in the text. With the short sentences, broken with punctuation he suggested the mood
is panicked, much like the look of the text. This method meant that the restrictions
were dealt with more easily on the stage because there wasn't a set idea, it was just
the interpretation (with the limitations in mind) of how the director would play it,
whether it was Shakespeare or not. Hints from the dialogue about control suggest the
positions of the characters to exaggerate the importance of the dominant character.
Having Juliet in control means Romeo wouldn't wander to far from her whilst in her
presence. Actions flow naturally from the actors' own interpretation of their character's
feelings with the different emotions shown in the language. To conclude Shakespeare
used his text to portray the emotions he wanted to achieve. Actions and stage
positionings are inferred from in the text. Finally not having set stage directions meant
parts could be changed to work around any problems the theatre may have
presented.
