The mood of the opening scene is calm and peaceful, as Romeo and Juliet exchange their love for one another. ‘Its not yet near day, it was the nightingale, and not the lark.’ Later in the scene, we see the first change of mood, as Juliet objects to her parent’s wishes. She is then bombarded with insults, from her once loving father and faces rejection from her mother. This is dramatic as the audience are drawn in for further interaction between the characters.
Dramatic irony is when the audience are aware of an incident, but the characters on stage aren’t. An example of dramatic irony was when Juliet saw the vision of Romeo’s death, not knowing it would come true. ‘O god, I have an ill-divining soul! Methinks I see the, now….as one dead in the bottom of a tomb…..either my eyesight fails, or thou look’st pale.’ This is interesting and elongates the audience’s interests as they crave for the tragic ending.
Up until this scene the Capulet family are a loving and caring family. When Paris asks lord Capulet for Juliet’s hand in marriage, he is asked to reconsider other girls due to Juliet’s age. This shows Capulet wants the best for his daughter. In contrast, he turns into an affronting figure bombarding Juliet with endless insults. ‘Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch... My fingers itch….. And that we have a curse in having her… out on her, hilding!’ We learn that the family relationship was not strong, but weak.
Families in the Elizabethan times viewed marriage as an arrangement to enrich the family’s position. Lord Capulet demands Juliet to marry Paris whether she agrees or not. Lord Capulet has the right as he is the patriarchy of the household. He demands of the marriage to uplift the family’s grief of Tybalt’s death. We learn from Juliet that adultery is wrong and should never take place.
Shakespeare’s original audience would have felt sympathetic for Capulet as he could not control his own daughter. This at that was is shameful. However, the modern audience today would feel sympathy for Juliet, as there is equality and Juliet is obliged to marriage who she wants. I feel the play was dramatic as it had a lot of high peak tension and pivotal scenes that engaged the audience throughout the play.
