There are many different characters in “Romeo and Juliet” that help make the story more interesting. The characters have different statuses in society. The main characters in this scene are Romeo, Juliet, Capulet, the nurse and Tybalt. Although Romeo has a high status within the Montague family, at the Capulet’s party he is only a gatecrasher. Juliet is the guest of honour at the party as the party is intended for her to meet Paris. She has authority over Romeo in a teasing way and also has respect for him. She is told what to do by the nurse when her mother is looking for her. Capulet is the host of the party and Juliet’s father. He gives order to the servants and also to Tybalt when he stops him from killing Romeo. He has respect for Romeo when he tells Tybalt not to kill him and also shows respect for Paris who is very wealthy, and wants to marry Juliet. The nurse is a servant that acts as a mother to Juliet. She has authority over Juliet but receives orders from Lord and Lady Capulet. She has respect for Romeo and Juliet at the party. Tybalt is a Capulet. When Tybalt sees Romeo at the party he wants to kill him but Capulet stops him not wanting his reputation to be damaged in front of Paris. Tybalt has respect for Capulet as he does what he is told even though he didn’t want to.
In this scene Shakespeare uses different language techniques in order to portray the different characters. There is very romantic language spoken by Romeo when he sees Juliet for the first time. He expresses his love in a monologue. Shakespeare uses lots of imagery using similes, metaphors, and personification. An example of a simile is when Romeo says “shows a snowy dove trooping with crows / As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows”. Juliet is compared to a dove amongst crows who are the other people at the party. Shakespeare has used the idea of ‘black and white’ here. It shows how extreme Romeo’s feelings are, and it also shows how simple their love is as there is no grey zone. Also Romeo describes Juliet using personification when he says, “she hangs upon the cheek of the night / Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear” Romeo is describing Juliet as a rich jewel. This suggests that she is valuable and hard to get. Romeo is also saying that she stands out against the darkness of the night and against everyone else at the party to him. Shakespeare’s use of similes, metaphors and personification has the effect that it makes the scene more romantic. It helps to portray Romeo’s feelings in this monologue to the audience because of Shakespeare’s use of descriptive language.
In the play Romeo’s monologue talking about his love for Juliet is immediately followed by contrasting and very aggressive language from Tybalt when he recognises Romeo at the party. For example when he says “To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.” Tybalt is saying that he wants to kill Romeo and that he doesn’t think it’s wrong. The contrast between Romeo and Tybalt’s language makes this scene an effective piece of drama because the contrast increases the tension and makes it more exciting.
Another way Shakespeare uses language to make Act One Scene Five an effective piece of drama is by shifting between poetry and prose when different characters speak. The higher status characters e.g. Romeo, Juliet and Lord Capulet speak using poetic structure. This emphasises that they are more important and makes the drama more interesting for the audience. The lower status characters e.g. the servants speak in prose. This shows that their characters are unimportant and that they are lower class. This is shown at the beginning of the scene when the servants are getting ready for the party. For example, one servant says “When good manners shall lie all in one or two men’s hands, and they unwashed’d too, ’tis a foul thing” they are speaking in prose complaining that only one or two people have to do everything to prepare for the party.
When the higher status characters speak in poetry it shows that they have something more important to say than the lower status characters. In this scene, when Capulet and all the guests arrive, the characters are all higher status and speak in poetry. For example Capulet says:
“Welcome, gentlemen! Ladies that have their toes
Unplagu’d with corns will have a bout with you.”
This also keeps the audience interested when there is a switch between poetry and prose making the scene an effective piece of drama.
This scene in “Romeo and Juliet” helps to set up the rest of the play. This is because it includes lots of the different aspects of the story. “Romeo and Juliet” fall in ‘love at first sight’. Also the feud between the families is shown when Tybalt wants to kill Romeo. The scene ends with Romeo and Juliet in love but both of them are shocked to find out that they are from the different families. Juliet says “My only love sprung from my only hate!” This interests the audience as they are intrigued to find out how the lovers will be together, as the play moves into the second act. The audience are intrigued because it is clear that Romeo and Juliet being together will cause trouble. This shows that this scene is an effective piece of drama as it keeps the audience captivated and it makes them want to continue watching it.
Shakespeare made “Romeo and Juliet” an effective piece of drama despite the limitations he had. In particular the shape of the stage. The theatre was circular shaped and the stage came out from one side. The shape of the stage meant that fewer props were used. This is because they couldn’t be brought on from the sides of the stage (like theatres today) because the sides of the stage are exposed to the audience. The only props used were what was brought on by the actors. The stage was also outside, meaning that when the weather was bad or there wasn’t enough daylight for the performances they were cancelled. These limitations did not prevent “Romeo and Juliet” from being an effective piece of drama because Shakespeare wrote the play in such a way that props and lighting weren’t needed. It was the interaction between the characters that made it an effective piece of drama.
Social and historical aspects of Shakespearean times are shown in this scene of “Romeo and Juliet”. The attitudes to marriage in those times were that arranged marriages were common in order for a family to have a financial gain and become more powerful. Women were also seen as unimportant as their choice of who they wanted to marry was not taken into consideration. This is shown in “Romeo and Juliet” in the way Lord Capulet wanted Juliet to marry Paris for power. In Shakespearean times, the cast of Shakespeare’s plays were all male. People thought that it was inappropriate for female to be on stage.
The themes in the play are ‘love at first sight’, ‘arranged marriages’ and ‘feuding families’. Romeo and Juliet fall in love at first sight. This theme is relevant today as people often fall in love with looks before they know each other properly. Juliet and Paris were going to be married as a result of an arranged marriage. In Elizabethan times, arranged marriages were common, the main reason for them was to benefit the family. Juliet was being forced to marry Paris so that her family would become more powerful, have a higher status and have more money. This theme is not so relevant today because arranged marriages are not very common apart from in certain religious groups. The two families feuding caused Romeo and Juliet to commit suicide. In the end the families realised that their rivalry over money caused this. This is a theme relevant today because there are riots and gangs that behave in a similar way that the two families did in the play.
In conclusion, I think that Act One Scene Five of “Romeo and Juliet” is a very effective piece of drama. This is because of the contrasting language used, use of imagery and shifts from poetry to prose. This keeps the audience interested throughout the scene. A lot happens in this scene and it is very fast moving. This makes this scene a more exciting drama. The scene also sets up the rest of the play; this keeps the audience interested, as they want to find out what is going to happen next.
