How has William Shakespeare made Act 1 Scene 5 of 'Romeo and Juliet' dramatically effective?
How has William Shakespeare made Act 1 Scene 5 of 'Romeo and Juliet' dramatically effective?
In William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', two youths from similar households fall in love, but this can only end in tragedy as the two families bear an ancient grudge against each other.
It is apparent in the first scene that there is great animosity between the families when the servants of the Montague and Capulet families fight. The feud between them must run deep as even their servants are fighting with each other.
Before Romeo and Juliet meet we know that they are from the two different families, Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. We also know that Romeo was previously in love with Rosaline and is rather upset as she turned him down. Therefore Benvolio, Romeo's cousin, is determined to take Romeo to the Capulet party to cheer him up. Romeo doesn't want to go but doesn't want to let his cousin down, plus he still hopes to see Rosaline.
Benvolio tells Romeo that he will find someone more beautiful than Rosaline and that he will make him see her in a different light, "Compare her face with some that I shall show. And I will make thee think thy swan a crow."
Juliet is not yet fourteen and her mother and father are already planning for her to marry Paris, a relative of the prince of Verona. She promises to look at Paris but says she will no commit herself any further, "I'll look to like if looking liking move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye." The audience expect Juliet to meet Paris and decide she will marry him and that Romeo will cheer up and find Rosaline, but there is a rather different outcome than this.
At the beginning of Act 1 Scene 5 there is a lot of hustle and bustle as the serving men are preparing for the Capulet party. This gives the audience a feeling of excitement as everyone is in good spirit. The audience know Romeo will be at the party, therefore there may possibly be tension within the crowd.
When the serving men leave the stage, Lord Capulet makes a speech, encouraging everyone to dance and have fun. He says that any woman who refuses to dance must have corns, "Ah, my mistresses, which of you all will ...
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At the beginning of Act 1 Scene 5 there is a lot of hustle and bustle as the serving men are preparing for the Capulet party. This gives the audience a feeling of excitement as everyone is in good spirit. The audience know Romeo will be at the party, therefore there may possibly be tension within the crowd.
When the serving men leave the stage, Lord Capulet makes a speech, encouraging everyone to dance and have fun. He says that any woman who refuses to dance must have corns, "Ah, my mistresses, which of you all will now deny to dance? She that makes dainty, she, I'll swear, hath corns."
The effect of Capulet's speech is that it makes the audience feel happy and cheerful as he is in such good spirits. This mood is very different from the fighting at the beginning. Capulet seems rather excited as he has not attended a party for some thirty years. There would be the sound of music from Shakespearean times playing and people laughing and having fun in the background. There may still be some slight tension within the audience as Lord Capulet has not yet discovered that Romeo, a Montague, is at the party.
There is dramatic irony between lines 40 to 53, as Romeo sees Juliet for the first time, not yet knowing she is a Capulet. He makes a speech about her and seems to be stunned by her beauty, "Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows." The audience will be thinking that this is sweet, but will also be worried about the chaos it would cause between the Capulet and the Montague families. There would be hardly any noise as this speech is meant to be quiet and romantic, yet also powerful. The two characters, Romeo and Juliet, appear innocent and naieve.
Between lines 54 and 92, there is a lot going on. Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, hears Romeo talking about Juliet and tells Lord Capulet that he must fight him, "Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe. A villain, that is hither come in spite to scorn at our solemnity this night." Capulet tells Tybalt that Romeo is a well spoken youth of Verona and orders him to leave him alone. Yet Tybalt is still determined not to be controlled and carries on arguing with Lord Capulet but finally gives in and agrees. The language used is angry, violent and explosive. Tybalt appears to be potentially dangerous. Lord Capulet talks with reason although there is a great deal of suppressed anger building up as he tries to placate Tybalt. He talks to Tybalt in a derogatory tone.
The audience will be feeling anticipation as they don't yet know whether Tybalt will take notice of Capulet, so they may still be expecting a fight. They will also be worried for Romeo as he seems the good guy at the moment. They will also dislike Tybalt for wanting to fight Romeo, as Romeo has not done anything wrong.
When Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, starting on line 93, they speak in a sonnet. He tells her that if she hasn't ever been kissed it is a sin and they kiss on line 106. He then tells her he passed some of his sin onto her and must kiss her again to take it away, so they kiss again on line 110, "Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again." The scene would be quiet and romantic. Romeo uses religious language in order to persuade Juliet to kiss him, "O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do! They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." Juliet teases Romeo. She plays hard to get and answers to him in quite a sarcastic tone, "Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." All attention would be on these two characters. The audience would feel happy for them yet still worried about the families feuds.
Between lines 111 and 120, Romeo finds out Juliet is a Capulet. Yet Juliet still doesn't know Romeo is a Montague. Romeo is extremely shocked and upset as he has fallen in love with an enemy of his family, "Is she a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foes debt." The loudness of the party would return and everyone in the audience would feel sorry for Romeo even though they were expecting it. Sadness would sink in, as they now realise there's a problem. They're also very anxious to know what'll happen next.
From line 121 to line 126 the party is drawing to an end. Juliet is going aground asking about people so that the nurse doesn't suspect she's asking about Romeo. Juliet is intrigued with all the guests but is hit with shock when she finds out Romeo is a Montague. The audience are feeling extreme tension, even more now near the end of the scene. They are desperate to know what is going to happen between Romeo and Juliet and their families. They are still nervous about the feuds between the Capulet and Montague families.
Shakespeare has made this scene dramatically effective by using the surrounding noises in each scene. He has also included a lot of emotion e.g. love, anger and hate. The audience become emotionally involved with the play as Shakespeare touches them with Act 1 Scene 5.
This scene is crucial to the rest of the play as it is where Romeo and Juliet first meet. It is also where they find out each others families. Love and hate is a universal theme and is recognised in films and plays all over the world today. People can also relate to the love and hate theme as it is something they can experience in their own lives. I think the scene is very emotional, with all the fighting at the beginning, then mellowing out into the romantic sonnet, and then the kiss touches everyone watching. Romeo and Juliet has been a well known and loved play for many years and I'm sure it will be for many more years to come.