“O She doth teach the torches to burn bright!”
The audience understand from this that Romeo believes Juliet’s mere presence radiates energy in such a way that it causes the torches in the room to burn brighter. Romeo talks about Juliet’s beauty by comparing it to that of rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear, which is extremely powerful imagery and adds to the dramatic effect as it is such an extreme contrast of colours whereby we have the dark skin of the Ethiop clashing with her shining white jewel. Romeo then begins to describe Juliet’s beauty using a different style of contrast whereby he describes it as being to rich for use yet at the same time to dear for the earth from which it came from. This also adds to the dramatic effect because the audience understand from Romeo’s description of Juliet’s beauty that she is indeed very beautiful and that he indeed is very much in love with her. Romeo then goes on to compare Juliet’s beauty with the deep clash of beauty and ugliness that you see when a snow white dove flies alongside a group of crows. Again this is another example whereby we see Romeo describe Juliet’s amazing beauty as if it where something to die for. This adds to the dramatic effect over the audience because it together with the rest of Romeo’s description of Juliet’s beauty causes huge suspense, as they want to know what’s going to happen next in this story of love and romance. Romeo then says
“The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand,
And touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.”
This shows the audience that Romeo has now finished with describing Juliet’s breathtaking beauty as he has now began to describe his feelings for her. The audience understand from what Romeo’s says here that he is clearly not satisfied with just watching Juliet and that he wants to meet her, talk to her and feel her. He is so enchanted with her beauty that he feels that by touching her hands with his will somehow cleanse then of their sins. He talks about Juliet as if she is a shrine and this all adds to the dramatic impact felt by the audience because it again raises suspense as they now realise Romeo is very serious. Romeo then ask himself the question as to whether or not he truly loved any woman before he saw Juliet. Romeo knows in his heart that he didn’t and the audience also know he didn’t from the way he answers his own question showing not one second thought about Juliet. The audience know about Rosaline and how Romeo was supposedly in love with her before he saw Juliet, but they also know that Juliet is something special because of the way Romeo speaks of her mere presence like it means the whole world to him. This adds to the feeling of suspense, increases the tension adding to the dramatic effect.
At this point in the play the feeling of suspense amongst the audience is so great because they are so eager to find out what is going to happen between Romeo and young Juliet. The feeling of tension is also very high because the audience know who Juliet is, they know that Romeo’s only true love is a Capulet yet he himself doesn’t know that yet. All Romeo’s knows at this point in the play is that he has experienced love at first sight with a very young and beautiful woman. This is why the feeling of tension amongst the audience is so high at this point in the play. The feeling of suspense is further increased when the audience realise that the evil tyrant Tybalt of the House of Capulet has overheard Romeo’s poetic words of beauty about Juliet. The young and foolish Tybalt says that from Romeo’s voice he must be a Montague.
Tybalt then says,
“Fetch me my rapier, boy.”
When the audience hear Tybalt say this there reaction is a horrified one of disbelief. The audience now realise that Romeo’s life is in extreme danger as one of the most powerful Capulet’s Tybalt has recognized his voice and drawn his sword; this adds to the feeling of suspense raising the tension. How can Tybalt be thinking of starting a fight in the middle of a great feast where people have come to enjoy themselves, not to be involved in a life or death swashbuckling swordfight? The manner in which Tybalt orders his servant to get his sword in such a cool and evil way as if he can take Romeo out like a petty fly is sickening to the audience which raises the feeling of suspense and tension. The audience know from previous encounters in the play that Tybalt is the worst off all Capulet’s and Montague’s. They know from the fight scene at the very beginning of the play that Tybalt is an evil man possessed by a meaningless hatred for all Montague’s, which cannot be explained. They know how much he despises the Montague’s and especially Romeo so they expect something bad to happen which is why the feeling of tension increases adding to the dramatic effect. Tybalt then says,
“What dares the slave
Come hither, covered with an antic face,
To fleer and scorn at our solemnity?”
The audience see here that Tybalt truly believes all Montague’s are evil, villainous scum and that he and the Capulet’s are the good guys. The same can be said for some members of the Montague family although the big difference between Romeo and Tybalt is that Tybalt is an extremist amongst the Capulet’s when it comes to the hate of the Montague’s whereas Romeo is a moderate amongst the Montague’s when it comes to the hate of the Capulet’s. Tybalt is also a man who goes out looking for trouble whereas Romeo minds his own business, which is another reason why the audience like Romeo and despise Tybalt. In the audiences eyes Romeo is their friend whereas Tybalt is their hated foe. Tybalt is the foe because he has been portrayed as a monster from the very beginning of the play. An example of Tybalt being portrayed as a monster is in the fight scene at the beginning of the play where his attitude to Benvolio the friendliest person in the entire play can only be described as evil. Romeo is both the dear friend and ally of the audience because he is a young and very friendly courageous man of honour. Romeo invites friendship whereas Tybalt opposes it. Tybalt then says
“Now by the stock and honour of my kin,
To strike him dead I hold it not a sin”
What Tybalt is saying hear is that he feels it’s his duty to rid the world of any Montague who offends or dishonours any member of his family. He truly believes that striking Romeo down is the right thing to do because in his eyes Romeo is a villainous rogue and so he believes it not a sin to kill a Montague, as they are all villainous rogues. This increases the feeling of suspense and tension adding to the dramatic effect because the audience now realise that there is nothing to stop Tybalt from killing Romeo. This is a key moment in the play where suspense and tension are at an all time high and the only man who can save Romeo now is Lord Capulet but the audience don’t know that yet. Lord Capulet intervenes saying to Tybalt
“Why how now, kinsman, wherefore storm you so?”
The feeling of suspense and tension amongst the audience at this point is still high because they don’t know how Lord Capulet is going to react to Romeo’s presence. Thankfully Lord Capulet is still in a very good mood and is hell-bent on not letting anything go wrong at his feast, he wants it to be perfect. When Tybalt tells him that Romeo the Montague has turned up to his feast uninvited he doesn’t really mind and is quite happy to have Romeo at his feast because of how all of Verona brags of him being such an admirable and respectable youth. He basically doesn’t want Tybalt to make a scene that would ruin the enjoyable atmosphere of his feast and the audience are aware of this. The effect of Lord Capulet’s very surprising reaction towards Romeo’s presence is to reduce the feeling of suspense and tension amongst the audience as they now realise that Romeo’s life is not in anymore danger as he has the protection of Lord Capulet although he doesn’t even know it yet. Lord Capulet then tells Tybalt to calm himself down and to respect his wishes that he leave Romeo alone.
Tybalt then does something that totally surprises the audience raising the feeling of suspense and tension. Tybalt disobeys the boss Lord Capulet by saying he will not endure Romeo’s presence. This is a big mistake on Tybalt’s part because Lord Capulet then proceeds to absolutely slaughter him verbally. Lord Capulet’s language changes dramatically here because his mood has changed from good to bad at a rapid pace. The audience are shocked in the way that Lord Capulet’s mood has changed so quickly from one of happiness to one of fiery anger, the feeling of tension amongst the audience increases as Lord Capulet’s mood becomes worse. This sudden change of mood by Lord Capulet has a dramatic effect over the audience as it raises the feeling of suspense and tension because it shocks them. Lord Capulet humiliates Tybalt by calling him names like “Goodman boy” and “saucy boy”. Although the audience’s reaction to this outburst from Lord Capulet is one of total shock it is also one of understanding because they know that although Lord Capulet is being harsh on Tybalt it is nothing less than he deserves. This moment in the scene adds hugely to the dramatic effect because it is such a powerful moment whereby Lord Capulet makes a total fool out of Tybalt reaffirming his position of authority amongst the Capulet’s.
Tybalt then tells Lord Capulet that he will withdraw but that he will soon meet and kill Romeo in another place, at another time where nothing will be able to stop him, this increases the feeling of suspense and tension and adds to the dramatic effect because the audience feel threatened by Tybalt’s words of vengeance, as they are so much closer to Romeo than he.
Now in this essay I move on to the point in Act I Scene 5 where Romeo and Juliet actually meet each over for the first time. When Romeo and Juliet speak for the first time the feeling of suspense in the audience is huge as there is much anticipation as to what is going to happen between these two star-crossed lovers. It is this point where we see for the first time Romeo and Juliet together.
Romeo’s first words to Juliet are
“If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this,
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss”
Romeo talks about Juliet as if she almost a Goddess compared to him, which shows how deep he considers the level of contrast between he and Juliet to be. The audience see from this that Romeo is real romantic and very clever because he is able to mix his words of love with religious imagery so easily. Romeo believes that he is so unworthy of Juliet’s love because compared to her mere presence he believes himself to be worthless. Romeo compares his lips to two pilgrims starring in awe at the sheer beauty and magnificence of a shrine that he compares to Juliet. This clever use of religious imagery would impress the audience raising the feeling of suspense adding to the dramatic effect. This all shows how powerful and true Romeo’s love for Juliet is. It also shows how clever Romeo is at getting his message of love across to Juliet trough words of poetic beauty and imagery. The reason Romeo uses Religious imagery to get his words of love across to Juliet is because he doesn’t want to force to issue and be plainly obvious in what he wants. Romeo doesn’t want to tell Juliet that he loves her in only three words because he wants to impress her with his natural ability to dish out words of poetic beauty.
Juliet’s first words in reply to Romeo are
“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this,
For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.”
The audience immediately understand from Juliet’s words that she is indeed interested in Romeo as he is interested in her. As soon as Juliet calls Romeo good pilgrim the audience know that she is playing along and therefore she obviously likes Romeo and the manner in which he speaks to her. Juliet gives Romeo a very modest response, which immediately tells Romeo that she likes him too. She tells Romeo that he is being too harsh on himself and his mannerly approach to her clearly shows that. Juliet then tells Romeo that even Saint’s as high up as they are sometimes touch pilgrims hands, this increases the feeling of tension because the audience know that Juliet is playing along and playing very well indeed as they can sense that love is in the air. At this point in the play Romeo and Juliet are holding each other’s hands and Juliet describes holding each other’s hands like a holy palmers kiss. This is not enough for Romeo though because he wants more, yes he wants a real kiss so he asks Juliet if she wants to move it another level to a holy saints kiss letting lips do what hands do. The audience’s reaction to this discreet form of flirting is one of intrigue and enjoyment. The suspense and tension amongst the audience increases just before Romeo and Juliet are about to kiss for the first time, which is another key moment where the dramatic effect over the scene is at a high. Romeo asks Juliet to kiss him but Juliet tells him that saints do not move suggesting that he make the first move to kiss her. Romeo then tells Juliet not to move whilst he cleanses himself from his sins by kissing her lips. Romeo is extremely clever here because he knows that if Juliet plays along with this little game, once she has kissed she will have taken a sin from him. They kiss each other and then Juliet playing along because she obviously liked Romeo’s kiss tells him in a panicky manner that now she has the sin! Eager to kiss Juliet again Romeo is quick to pounce on this opportunity by asking her to let him take the sin back. At this point the audience see how desperate Romeo is to kiss Juliet again in the way he speaks to her about taking back the sin. It’s quite funny really and I’m sure the audience would find this moment of dramatic impact quite funny as well! Juliet then tells Romeo that he kisses by the book meaning that he’s a really good kisser and the audience would immediately feel a sense of pleasure from this little moment of intimacy adding to the dramatic effect of the scene.
Romeo is the first to find out that his only love sprung from the loins of his only hate. He finds out that Juliet is a Capulet when he asks the nurse who Juliet’s mother is. She tells Romeo that her mother is the lady of the house Lady Capulet. It is at this moment that the level of suspense and tension rises dramatically because Romeo now realises that his one true love Juliet is Capulet and the audience immediately feel the deep sense of sadness and injustice that faith has brought to poor Romeo’s face. The feeling of suspense and tension increases amongst the audience as they wonder what Romeo is pondering after he has heard the tragic news. The audience know though that Romeo’s love for Juliet is more powerful than any divide created between the Capulet’s and the Montague’s. So therefore the audience know that Romeo will pursue Juliet no matter what because to him life simply isn’t worth living without her. Romeo then leaves the feast with Benvolio who tells him that there are plenty more fish in the sea. We the audience know that it simply isn’t true for Romeo because he really loves Juliet, Benvolio just doesn’t realise that yet. This makes the audience feel desperately sorry for Romeo and the unfortunate situation he is in which increases the feeling of suspense and tension adding to the dramatic effect.
Juliet then finds out that her dear love Romeo sprung from her only hate when she asks her nurse to find out who the young gentleman she met at the dance was. Juliet then tells her nurse that if this man is married she will never marry until she reaches her grave, which is a moment that adds deeply to the dramatic effect of this scene. Juliet’s nurse tells her that the young man whom the audience already know she so dearly loves already is Romeo a Montague. Juliet in a parody of total dejection speaks of how her only love Romeo sprung from her only hate the Montague’s. It is a terrible twist of faith, which brings these two star-crossed lovers together causing the audience to feel terribly sorrow for Juliet’s plight as they have just done for Romeo. The moment in this scene were both Romeo and Juliet find out each others identities is a key moment of drama in the play as the dramatic effect created by each moment has a very powerful effect over the audience and the outcome of the play.
In conclusion writing this essay I have discussed and explained the key moments of drama that create a feeling of suspense and build up tension both at the start of the play before anything has happened and in Act I Scene 5. I have discussed how all of these moments of drama manage to create suspense and build up tension affecting the audience. Romeo and Juliet is one of the best plays I have ever read, it is a masterpiece by William Shakespeare. I cannot help but try to imagine how clever this man must have been in order to have written a play as complex as Romeo and Juliet. Although this play is a tragedy, every time I read it I cant help but laugh at the irony of it all. I laugh at the fact that it seems so real yet at the same time so unreal. I love the way Shakespeare uses his great sense of humour to create superb comedy in parts of the play and this is what makes it so much more real. I know it seems a little sick to say that a tragedy of a story like Romeo and Juliet where nearly all of the main characters die is somewhat ironically funny but it is and that’s what makes it such a great play.
This is the end of my essay and thank you for reading it; I hope I have explained the importance of dramatic impact over the audience as best as I can.
