The prologue of the play automatically associates the play with love because it is a sonnet, a 14 line poem that during Elizabethan times was a typical love poem. The prologue outlines the theme and plot of the play. The first point given is that an ‘ancient grudge’ has broken ‘to new mutiny’. The next point outlines the fact that there will be violence in the play, 'where civil blood makes civil hands unclean’. The next point is the introduction of fate ‘a pair of star-crossed lovers’ saying there love is said in the stars, meaning Romeo and Juliet would find each other and fall in love no matter what. The prologue then explains the ending of the play, their ‘death marked love’ will ‘bury their parents’ strife’. Something very noticeable about the prologue is that it focuses on the negatives aspects of the play, this means the play will end unhappily.
Act 3 scene 1 is a very important scene in the play, it is the pivotal scene of the whole play and is greatly linked to act 5 scene 3. A very effective way that Shakespeare uses to create tension in the audience is to use a dramatic irony, where the audience knows something that the characters do not. This is used in the previous scene when Romeo and Juliet marry in secret by Friar Lawrence.
At the start of act 3 scene 1 it is in a public place in Verona. One of the first things to be said is ‘if we meet we shall not scape a brawl’, this immediately creates tension for the audience because they already know that fighting is banned in Verona streets and would lead to greater consequences. The audience also know that Romeo will not fight Tybalt because they are now family. This is where the dramatic irony comes into play. It is a very effective way of creating a dramatic environment. Shakespeare has only used this technique at this point in the play, this shows how important the scene is and has a greater effect on the audience. If Shakespeare wasn’t to use this technique the scene would not have the dramatic effect and probably not be one of the most famous plays written.
The language used in this scene is also very important and is linked to the character development of Romeo and Mercutio. Mercution went from being a light-hearted comical person, ‘one word with one of us?... Make it a word and a blow’. His attitude is the complete opposite once he is injured by Tybalt ‘a plague a both houses’. Romeo went from being a very romantic soft-hearted person and not reacting from Tybalts threats and pleading not to fight ‘good Capulet, which name I tender as dearly as my own, be satisfied’. After Tybalt injured Mercutio, Romeo’s attitude also changed, he became a hard-hearted killer full of ‘fire eyed fury’. Romeo then brutally kills Tybalt.
The character development in this scene is also very effective because they are totally unpredictable in their actions, meaning they are capable of doing anything. This scene is by far the most dramatic scene in the play along side act 5 scene 3, the last scene.
Act 5 scene 3 is the very last scene in the play and is also very dramatic in the way that Romeo dies within seconds of Juliet waking up. This is where act 3 scene 1 becomes the pivotal scene, if Romeo wasn’t to kill Tybalt then he wouldn’t have been banished from Verona, therefore he would have found out that Juliet was just in a deep sleep and not dead. This is how Shakespeare manages to capture people’s minds and make them think about the possibilities of act 3 scene 1.
In my opinion Romeo and Juliet die to end their families feud and to show how powerful love is. I do not think it is the case that if their families had ended the feud earlier they would have lived. Instead I think that Romeo and Juliet were fated to fall in love and die with each other. This why act 3 scene 1 is the pivotal and most important scene of the play. If things had happened differently in this scene then the outcomes in act 5 scene 3 could have been totally different. This is again how Shakespeare manages to capture people’s minds and is why it is a very famous play.
