What dramatic effect is Shakespeare aiming for in Act one Scene five?

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Shakespeare Coursework – Romeo and Juliet

Q. What dramatic effect is Shakespeare aiming for in Act one Scene five?

"Romeo and Juliet" is a great tragedy written in 1594. The play is remarkable for its fine language and powerful portrayal of character. "Romeo and Juliet" has been popular with audiences for generations and has been made into several successful films. In this essay I am going to look at the dramatic effect that Shakespeare is aiming for in Act 1 Scene 5. An enormous amount of drama is created in Shakespeare’s play, 'Romeo and Juliet´. There are two main types of drama that are used throughout the play to create drama; these are the use of suspense and the strength of language that the characters use. The themes of this play are explored through a number of oppositions and contrasts. Some of these oppositions are: light and dark, fate and free will, love and hate, death and life, language and reality, public and private. In Act 1 Scene 5, Shakespeare explores many of these contrasts and oppositions through the language and drama of this scene. Act 1 scene five can be divided into six sections: the servants rushing around in disorder, Capulet welcoming the guests, when Romeo first sees Juliet, when Tybalt first spots Romeo and tells Lord Capulet, the lovers’ first kiss, and when the lovers discover each other’s true identity.

The opening of Act 1 Scene 5 is immediately a scene of excitement and people rushing around. There is a strong contrast between the start of this scene and the end of Act 1 Scene 4. The last scene ended on a gloomy and ominous note with Romeo having a prediction of death. Act 1 scene 5 then opens on a different note with servants joking amongst themselves as they clear up from dinner. Shakespeare creates an effect for the audience from this scene by giving them a change from a negative atmosphere to a scene of excitement and activity. Immediately we get an image of party atmosphere, rushing around and desperation. This section starts with the first serving man firing off questions and demands for things to be done. There is the use of imperative verbs, for example, “look to”, “save me”, “let in”, which suggest action and show who is in charge. Shakespeare has used these to create a feeling of activity and anticipation. This section of the scene is also a scene of good humour. A good example of this is that one of the servants is called ‘Potpan’, which is comical because we see a man defined by his job. This part of the scene is also in prose. It reflects the lowly status of the servants in contrast with the way Capulet talks in the next section of the scene. Shakespeare has used prose for the servants and then uses poetic speech for Capulet, to emphasise that there is a difference in society between the servants and the Capulets. It accentuates that Lord Capulet is of a high status whilst the servants are of a low status. The dramatic effect of this section of the scene is that the audience get excited, as there is an anticipation that something is going to happen.

The second section starts with Capulet welcoming his guests to his party. Although he is too old to dance himself, he encourages everybody else to join in because he likes to watch his guests enjoy themselves. Capulet is trying to be a good host, an example of this is the joke he makes about women’s feet: “Will now deny to dance? She that makes dainty, She, I’ll swear, hath corns.” There is a sense of ceremony and occasion in this part of the scene and this scene allows great scope for dramatic effects. Although it is not in the script, the actors would have been dancing and there will be music. For the audience this scene and music would have been a good spectacle as the dancers gathered. His speech is full of references to walking and dancing, and contrasts the hot vigour of youth with the sedateness of age. Providing a contrast of youth and old age. Capulet welcomes his guests noisily and then sits down to reminisce with an older cousin about their youth. The language they use is quite reflective; they talk in a past tense, which suggests the age of the men. Shakespeare emphasises this old age in the next phase, ‘Tis gone’, ‘Tis gone,’ the repetition accentuates it. We also feel that they are old when they have a friendly argument about how long ago it was that they wore masks to a ball. This tells us that they, too, used to ‘gate-crash’ parties, which is why Capulet has no problem with those who are gate-crashing his. Capulet has shown that Capulet and his cousin are very old to show us that they have authority. They use the festival of Pentecost to measure the length of time. In those days religion was much closer to people lives. In Shakespeare’s days everybody had to go to church and everyone had to marry in a church. It was also illegal to sleep with someone before you were married. Religion is very much an issue in this play. For example, later in the play, Juliet is unprepared to marry Paris because her religion prevents her from doing so. It would be a terrible sin to marry again whilst still wedded to Romeo. It wasn’t only that she didn’t love Paris that she didn’t want to marry him, but because of her religion. Shakespeare creates drama in this scene mainly by the opening of the party with would have been very spectacle for the audience, and the contrast in language from the servants to the Capulets. The way in which the Capulets talk creates an atmosphere of respect and authority because you realise how old they are and you associate age with wisdom and knowledge. The section of the scene shows a contrast between old age and youth. There are many references in the play to the brief joys of the body, so soon over come with stiffness, and decay. Many of the play’s images emphasise the pleasures of buds, the brief glory of flowers, the passing seasons and the sad inevitability of death.

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The next section of the scene is when Romeo first sees Juliet. Immediately her beauty stuns him. He associates her with glowing light and says she shines like a ‘rich jewel’. He compares her to a ‘snowy dove amongst crows’, and says she is ‘blessed’. He also says that in comparison to her everything else in the great hall,  even brightly lit by candles and torches, is dull. Her beauty outshines everything else in the room, including Rosaline. Shakespeare makes Romeo describe Juliet as an image of light, to accentuate the fact that to him she is perfect and pure. ...

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