Exam (elaborations)
Key Character Quotes, Structure and Form as well as context
Contains Key Romeo and Juliet character quotes, structure and form as well as context
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Context:● Romeo and Juliet is a play first performed in 1597. It is a Shakespeare Tragedy.
● The play is set in Verona which is in modern-day Italy.
● Italy was known to England for its Catholicsism. England was a Protestant country so
viewed Catholicism negatively as it was known for its apparent corruption and its
excess of passion.
● Verona is built on a patriarchal society with misogyny being a major issue.Women
were expected to be subordinate to men. Juliet transcends the patriarchal boundaries
and defies misogyny showing how headstrong and determined she is.
● Romeo is presented as an idealised Petrarchan lover.
● Superstition was central to the lives of Elizabethans. Fate, itself a form of
superstition, was a central concept in Elizabethan society. Most believed that some
greater force (be it God, the stars etc.) would or has already controlled their destiny.
Structure & Form:
● “A Plague o'both houses” (Foreshadowing) - Climactic point in Act 3 Scene 1 which
acts as a catalyst (structure) to the downfall of Romeo and Juliet in the play.
● Sonnet form is used throughout the play. Sonnets are poetry of love and
Shakespear’s use of the form adds to the romance of the two lovers’ growing
romance.
● There is a very regular rhyme scheme and rhythm.
● The element of foreshadowing is used by Shakesepare to reinforce the idea that
everything in the world is planned and predestined and that nothing we can do is
ever spontaneous because it is already written in the stars somewhere.
● The first two-thirds of the play pretty much read like a comedy. Romeo is a bit of a player
who loves Rosalind and then suddenly Juliet, and there's all kinds of fun tomfoolery.
Then, in the last third the play gets very dark, and ultimately ends in tragedy. Yet
structurally, it is not a conventional tragedy. Macbeth isn't a romcom for the first two
thirds, nor is Hamlet. Is there room to comment on how Shakespeare experimented with
genre like this? Is it a statement on how quickly life can go from rose-tinted glasses to
abject misery? He's certainly saying something.
, Overview of each scene
Prologue
Prologue The prologue sets the scene and prepares us for the story
which is about to take stage. It is a dramatic device used to
create tension and anticipation within the audience.
Act 1
Act 1 Scene 1 The action starts with a fight on the streets of Verona
between the Montagues and Capulets. The fight breaks up
and the Prince threatens the patriarchs of the families that if
another fight like this breaks out they will pay with their
"lives"
Act 1 Scene 2 After this, Paris, a young nobleman, asks Lord Capulet for
Juliet's hand in marriage. Lord Capulet believes Juliet is too
young but invites Paris to a feast that he is throwing,
giving Paris an opportunity to "woo" Juliet.
Act 1 Scene 3 The audience is then introduced to Lady Capulet, Juliet and
her Nurse. They have a conversation about marriage and
Juliet reflects that it is a fate that "1 dream not of."
Act 1 Scene 4 The audience is then introduced to a lovesick Romeo who
through the encouragement of Mercutio chooses to go to
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