'To what extent does act one of 'Romeo and Juliet' influence the events in the rest of the play and the tragic demise of the star-crossed lovers.

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'Romeo and Juliet GCSE Coursework Essay'

'To what extent does act one of 'Romeo and Juliet' influence the events in the rest of the play and the tragic demise of the star-crossed lovers.

'Romeo and Juliet' is an example of a Shakespearean tragedy, which is the polar opposite of a comedy (This means its totally different in every way). In other words, it is a drama with an unhappy ending. The play was also intended for the Elizabethan theatre, which was arranged in a different way to our theatres nowadays. The stage used to be set out with three different levels, which was perfect for some of the scenes in Romeo and Juliet (e.g. the balcony scene) and there were different areas for the audience to watch the production. There were seats for the more wealthy people and there was a pit for the peasants. Having both the wealthy and the peasants watching the show was good for the performance, because the peasants used to heckle at the actors along with the rich people and they both used to get involved in the play. Shakespeare's plays were written for everyone that wanted to watch them. His plays were not just written for the wealthy. Also the actors were just normal people. The actors were not famous; they had just learnt the lines and put on a performance. 'Romeo and Juliet' is a play not a book, it is meant to be performed not read. Many people refer to it as a book but it's not, it's a play.

In act 1 there are a lot events that dramatically effect the rest of the play dramatically. Some of these events are: The Prince's sentence is passed on the two families after another fight in Verona, Juliet's rejection of Paris and the Capulet's promise that he would not force her to marry him, Peter wrongly informs and invites Romeo, Benvolio and the other Montagues to the mask ball, Romeo and Juliet meet and find out who each other are, Tybalt's grudge and anger with the Montagues.

Each one of these events in one way or another link to the death of the "star-crossed lovers" (for example Peter's invitation of the Montagues, lead to, Romeo and Juliet meeting, which leads to, them marrying, which leads to, Romeo being banished, which leads to Romeo and Juliet dying.) Each one of these events joins with one another and this is what I will be talking about in this essay.

Before the play commences, an actor comes onto the stage and reads the prologue. The prologue is similar to a blurb on the back of a book. We find out the entire events of the play through it. The prologue is a typical Shakespearean sonnet as it is only fourteen lines. It consists of three quatrains and it ends in a concluding couplet. The prologue tells us the main points of the play and it shows us the different moods put across in the play e.g. "star-crossed lover" and then "death marked love". This shows how the mood changes in the play, by changing the mood in the prologue.
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The first of the main events in Act One is the Prince's sentence that is passed onto the two families. This leads to a chain of events, which eventually leads to Romeo and Juliet's death. Once the Prince's sentence was set upon the Montagues and the Capulets, there was at once a sense of dramatic tension set up. This is because Tybalt has so much hate for the Montagues and he is just about to let his rage out, when the Prince comes to stop them. This leaves the hate building and building inside Tybalt and eventually its ...

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