The scene then moves on to Lord Capulet welcoming his guests to the party. He is in a good mood and greets his guests warmly. This causes the tension created by the servants to dissipate slightly and the audience can relax a little. Lord Capulet’s speeches are very flamboyant and full of life. A festive atmosphere is rapidly established.
Lord Capulet:
His speeches are full of noble language that contrasts greatly with the coarse language used by the servants previously.
The next event in this scene is when Romeo first sees Juliet. Her beauty stuns him.
Romeo:
His language is very rich and even nobler than that of Lord Capulet. At this point in the scene, we see the tension rising again as Romeo sees Juliet and instantly falls in love with her. However, as his speech goes on, the tension evens out, as the audience settle into Romeos sudden love for Juliet.
He then goes on to speak ten lines about Juliet’s beauty and how incomparable she is to Rosaline. Her beauty stuns him.
Romeo:
It is through Romeo’s language that Shakespeare shows that Romeo is of a noble birth, and this distinguishes him from the servants. His language is also very intense, which makes the audience believe that he is sincere in his love of Juliet. Also Shakespeare’s subtle use of rhyme causes us to see how pure and real his love is, as Romeo’s soliloquy is written in rhyming couplets.
The tension is raised now because of the audiences’ awareness of Romeo being a Montague, and Juliet being a Capulet. The audience gets to see them fall deeply in love with each other, with them totally unaware of their respective identities. The audience knows that when they do discover each other’s identities, they will be horrified and that the consequences cannot be good.
Immediately Romeo finishes waxing lyrical about Juliet, we hear Tybalt in a furious rage because a Montague is at the Capulet party.
Tybalt:
His sudden rage and fury at seeing Romeo causes the dramatic tension to soar as the audience anticipate his actions. His violent, forceful language contrasts greatly with Romeo’s gentle, sweet words. However, Lord Capulet intervenes and Tybalt is halted before he can act on his anger. He argues with his uncle because he won’t let him fight Romeo, because it would spoil the party. Their dispute is heated and the tension steadily rises.
Tybalt:
Lord Capulet:
Their language is violent and aggressive which would cause the audience to sit up and take notice of the strong emotions involved.
The tension drops when Tybalt obeys his uncle and agrees not to act on his anger that night. He does however leave a lingering tension with the threat.
Tybalt:
In other words, he shall seek revenge at another time, just to please his uncle. It is with these words that he exits the scene. This leaves the audience at a loss as to what is coming next. This would cause an increase in tension because of eager anticipation for the next installment of the blooming romance.
The next section of the scene is where Romeo and Juliet meet and share their first (and second) kiss. Their language is the key point when explaining how Shakespeare creates an isolated bubble around the pair of lovers. They speak lovingly to each other, and lots of references to religion and faith are made. They talk about “holy shrines”, “blushing pilgrims” and holy palmers”. However the majority of what they say is concerning the body. They speak of “two blushing pilgrims” meaning lips and their hands touching as “holy palmers kiss”. These references to religion and faith are used to simulate images in the audiences’ minds, of purity and sincerity.
They seem to exist only for each other, and are isolated and set apart from the rest of the party. This separation is defined by their gentle, loving language, which contrasts with the violent, bustling activity of the party.
At this point in the scene, their conversation is written in sonnet form. In Elizabethan times the sonnet was the most popular form of poetry. They were usually written as love poems, to the writers beloved. The audience of the time “Romeo and Juliet” was written would have understood this, and it would have been a clear message to them that Romeo and Juliet were talking about love. This form of poetry also ensures that Romeo and Juliet seem to be moving in a world of their own.
Just after they are separated, Romeo discovers that Juliet is a Capulet, his enemy, and the dramatic tension reaches its peak.
Romeo:
Not long after Romeo discovers their enmity, Juliet finds out for herself. This only prolongs the high level of dramatic tension.
Juliet:
Their reactions are ones of despair and horror. They don’t understand how they could each have fallen in love with their only enemies. Their despair is only short-lived because they each know that, despite the barrier created by their enmity, their love is pure and absolute.
Juliet:
This is Juliet’s way of saying that if Romeo is married; she would die because it would break her heart. This emphasises just how deeply they have fallen in love with each other.
Then at the end of the scene, Juliet is called to her mother, and the build up of dramatic tension is dissolved.
Shakespeare also uses his extensive control of the English language to control the dramatic tension. Using violent language during the heated argument between Lord Capulet and his nephew, and sacred, religious words during the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet. He uses rhyme to emphasise the emotions behind a moment. The servants speak in blank verse, which shows them as low class people using common, coarse language. Romeo speaks in rhyming couplets when he first sees Juliet, this would encourage the audience to take notice of what is happening, and creates an impression of Romeo as a nobleman.
Such uses of language and rhyme would have had to be used because in Elizabethan times, there would have been no sophisticated props or such like. Shakespeare had to use different styles of language to differentiate between classes and characters.
Throughout this crucial scene, the level of dramatic tension fluctuates. Shakespeare ensures this by using strong contrasts- the noise and frivolity of the party, and the gentle, quiet love between Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare uses various techniques to ensure the dramatic tension is maintained throughout this scene. One of these techniques is to use contrasting language and imagery. Also to use different rhyme schemes to display different feelings.
In my opinion William Shakespeare is a very talented writer and has used his mastery of the English language to manage the dramatic tension throughout Act One Scene Five.