Assignment For the Romeo and Juliet Essay

Transcription

1 Student 1 Assignment For the Romeo and Juliet Essay For this assignment, you are to write a thesis driven essay, which quotes from the text of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. This essay, which must be at least two pages long, double spaced, and with proper MLA formating, shold address a theme that you see in the whole of the play, and yes, it can be one of the themes that we ve talked about in class such as romantic love. Your piece should be focused solely on one theme, not several, and you must quote from Shakespeare s text and make sure that your quotations are relevant, well-developed, and well explained. As for the paper itself, it all must be in 12 point font Times New Roman, and it must have one inch margins all around. It should have a heading, as outlined in the MLA handout I gave you which is drawn from and it must have page numbers. It need not have a works cited unless you use other materials than our text for Romeo and Juliet. If you use any web resources, then you must cite them. The assignment will be evaluated using the attached rubric, and the deadlines are as follows: First Draft: At the end of week two. Second Draft: At the end of week three. If you have any questions, talk to me or me at deanc1@southernct.edu.

2 Student 1 Student Student Mr. Dean English 4A 2 March 2003 Romeo and Juliet and Human Experience One of the recurring themes throughout most of playwright William Shakespeare's plays are people in unusual circumstances. These plays show the true nature of human beings and their behavior. An example of this is the story Romeo & Juliet. Here, two typical teenagers of that time are dealing with themes of behavior emotions many people deal with today, such as desperation, conflicts with loved ones, and rebellion. Romeo Montague, a well to do young man from an esteemed house in Verona, Italy, is infatuated with a young woman named Rosaline. This is the scenario at the beginning of the play. In the first act, Scene 5, Romeo attends a party at the House of Capulet (his ancestral and sworn enemy) and spies a lovely girl. The girl, Juliet Capulet, and Romeo swoon for each other. Rosaline is soon forgotten. Such is the case with many adolescents. The whole dating culture of modern day teenagers is based on the concept that the heart is fickle and affections may be directed toward a new and better prospect every week, month, day, etc. William Shakespeare no doubt knew this, and perhaps had experienced such feelings, when he wrote Romeo's character. Often times, parents of teenagers experience their children rebelling against them. Most children are obedient to their parents wishes until they reach an age when they start to form a sense of self and begin to want to make their own choices. A prime example of this classic

3 Student 2 conflict is seen in Act III, Scene 5 when Juliet Capulet's mother informs her that Juliet will be married to County Paris (a suitor). Juliet, after having spent the night with her new husband Romeo, is very unsettled and says she will not marry Paris. Juliet had been a reasonably obedient daughter until this scene, but in a moment of frustration and anger her father tells her marry Paris or "...never look me in the face." This piece of the play is an example of the age old parents' ultimatum, "Live by my rules or get out of my house." A prominent emotion throughout Romeo & Juliet is desperation. Desperation makes people do irrational things in order to get themselves out of a circumstance. Prince Escalus, after the third brawl in the streets of Verona, orders the death of anyone caught street fighting in an act of desperation to keep the peace. This is just one instance of desperation from a sorrowful story. At the end of the play, Romeo commits suicide because he believes Juliet to be dead. This happens all too often in modern society when a person can not see any hope. Sadly, few things have changed since Shakespeare's time. Human behavior is very much the same, such as the conflicts between teenagers and their parents and reactions to hopelessness. Perhaps if everybody read and understood the deeper meaning of Romeo & Juliet, people would make sure not to make the same mistakes as those characters in the play because it is likely to end in dire results.

4 Student 1 Student Student Mr. Dean English 4A 2 March 2003 Chance in Romeo and Juliet Most of Shakespeare s plays are based on either tragedy or comedy. A typical Shakespearean tragedy involves love, a breakdown of order, and a hero who must fail due to some human limitation. The play Romeo and Juliet satisfies two of these elements, but it does not portray Shakespeare s traditional tragic hero. In its place Shakespeare points out how chance can manipulate people s lives. There are some instances that can be related to chance, and these instances affect the plot to form a connection between Romeo and Juliet and chance. For example, Romeo is affected by chance throughout the play due to the incidental encounters he has with Juliet, a servant, and Tybalt. In addition, Mercutio is also a victim of uncertainty because of the events that led up to his death. Finally, chance and timing have an immensely significant influence on the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. There are a number of random meetings during the play that cause unforeseen events to take place. For example, Romeo s first involvement with chance is when a servant inadvertently happens upon Romeo and asks if he knows how to read. Romeo reads a guest list for the Capulet ball. After finishing the list, the servant out of appreciation invites him to the ball if he is not a Montague. The servant coming across Romeo was by pure accident, and if this improbable event had not taken place, Romeo would have never been able to meet and fall in love with Juliet. In addition, Juliet is subject to chance in very much the same way as Romeo. Juliet s relationship

5 Student 2 with Romeo also transpires as a result of happenstance because if Juliet s father did not give Paris permission to marry her, there would have been no reason for the party. Furthermore, when Romeo meets Juliet for the second time, the meeting occurs as a result of an unplanned excursion by Romeo because he abandoned his friends and happened to wander into the Capulet s orchard while Juliet just happened to be on the balcony. Just like with Romeo, it is circumstances out of her control that draw her into the forbidden relationship. Chance not only causes certain characters to meet, it also sways some of the characters to react beyond their control. For instance, when Romeo stumbled into Tybalt at the party and Tybalt says, This, by his voice, should be a Montague. If Tybalt did not know Romeo was at the party, there probably would have been no confrontation between them in the street the next day. In addition, Romeo does not want to fight with Tybalt, but Mercutio decides himself to fight him. While Mercutio is dueling with Tybalt, Romeo attempts to intervene, and this causes Tybalt to stab Mercutio. Although Mercutio made the wrong choice to fight, some of the responsibility for the altercation may be placed on chance because in Romeo and Juliet's time Verona was a fair sized city and inadvertently seeing an acquaintance was unlikely. Whether one deems Mercutio s death as the result of misfortune or a conscious decision, it is clear that their meeting materializes as a result of chance. Chance and timing play the largest role in deciding if Romeo and Juliet would live or die. Friar Laurence had two chances to deliver the message to Romeo regarding his plan. The first and most practical method of sending the message was through Balthasar. His alternative plan was to send the message with Friar John. Timing was an important factor because Friar Laurence had just missed his opportunity to send the message with Balthasar and reverted to sending it

6 Student 3 with Friar John. As chance would have it, Friar John was locked up in a condemned house because of the plague and was not able to deliver the vital message. Upon learning this Friar John states, Romeo Hath had no notice of these accidents, and futilely tries to inform Romeo of his ruse. As a result, Romeo receives information from Balthasar that Juliet is presumably dead, which will lead to the tragic reuniting of the two lovers in the tomb. Romeo enters Juliet s tomb and discovers Paris mourning over Juliet. Unfortunately, Paris arrives before Romeo and loses his life. If Paris had not been there, Romeo would have beheld Juliet s miraculous awakening, and they would have fled the bitter feud that made their love impossible. Moreover, when Friar Laurence finally finds Romeo, he is too late because Romeo could not bear to see his beloved Juliet in the tomb and has already drunk the deadly poison. Friar Laurence states What unkind hour / Is guilty of this lamentable chance. If the Friar had entered the tomb sooner, he could have confided his scheme to Romeo and no harm would have come to anyone. Furthermore, the friar left the tomb when he heard the call of the watch and this gave Juliet the opportunity to snatch Romeo's dagger. If the errant watchmen had entered the tomb seconds earlier, they could have prevented Juliet from taking her own life. This astonishing ending alone is enough to suggest that the entire plot has an emphasis on chance. Whether you believe in chance or you think you control your own destiny, the plot of Romeo and Juliet is heavily influenced by chance, as opposed to the actions of the characters. For example, an illiterate servant sets off a chain of events that culminates in Romeo and Juliet being thrust together by an unexpected interaction. In addition, Mercutio s death is brought about by the chance meeting and the conflict between Romeo and Tybalt. Finally, chance has a powerful influence on the incidents that led up to Romeo and Juliet s dramatically ironic deaths. Chance has such a substantial role in Romeo and Juliet that it not only affects nearly all of the

7 Student 4 characters, it changes the overall outcome of the story because if chance and timing were on the side of the characters the play could have easily been a comedy.

8 Student 1 Student Student Mr. Dean English 4A 2 March 2003 Fate in Romeo and Juliet Throughout many great novels there are events where fate takes place at some point in the story. In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, fate occurs very often. Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet realize they cannot peacefully coexist in the town of Verona and that a tragic fate is inevitable. The two families, Romeo s Montague's and Juliet s Capulet's continue their rivalry from the first scene to the end of the play, where an inevitable event takes place. Romeo is in love with Juliet, who is the daughter of an enemy to the house of House of Montague, and conversely, Juliet is in love with Romeo who is the son of an enemy to the House of Capulet. Their innocent love is the first step in a chain of events that lead to the fate driven tragedy. After Romeo invites himself to the Capulet s part, he and Juliet experience love ant first sight. When Mercutio, Romeo s friend and son of Prince Escalus, fights Tybalt, the kinsman to the House of Capulet, Mercutio dies. Romeo takes revenge of his friends death by killing Tybalt, which results in Prince Escalus banishing him from Verona. Fate causes Count Paris, a young count and kinsman to the prince, to desire Juliet's hand in marriage at the time of her marriage to Romeo. Count Paris desire causes an untimely death for Romeo and Juliet. Although in some stories fate is rarely used, in the play of Romeo and Juliet, fate is very imminent.

9 Student 2 First, one of the fates that occurs during the play is that Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love. Before the party even starts Romeo is timid about going to the Capulet s party: MERCUTIO. Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance. ROMEO. Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes/ With nimble soles, I have a soul of lead/ So stakes me to the ground I cannot move. ( ). If Romeo did not go to the party, he would still be heartbroken by Rosaline, a Capulet, who recently broke off their courtship. Following orders of Capulet to find the people listed on the invitation and inform them of the party, the illiterate servant fatefully runs into Romeo and asks him if he will read the list. When Benvolio, Montague s nephew and Romeo s friend, sees that Rosaline is invited to the Capulet party, he starts nagging Romeo to crash the party. Romeo still does not think that Benvolio s idea of crashing the Capulet s party is a good one. Before Romeo is persuaded, he speaks about an unknown danger hanging in the stars. This notion of events expected to occur because of being written in the stars explains how life is predetermined by fate. Based on his fate, Romeo senses that a situation of terrible consequences may occur. It is after Benvolio finally persuades Romeo to go to the party, where he meets the Capulet s daughter, Juliet. My only love sprung from my only hate./ Too early seen unknown, and known too late./ Prodigious birth of love it is to me/ that I mist love a loathed enemy ( ). Juliet falls in love with Romeo knowing that he is the Capulet s hated enemy and in doing so will probably result in a misfortune for them both. Fate set up their love, which they both foresee is part of their destiny. Second, Romeo s banishment from the town of Verona, plays a role in their fate. Even before all the fighting begins Romeo denies Tybalt s offer to fight. This causes Tybalt to become

10 Student 3 more of a hot head than he already is, and starts relentlessly pestering Romeo to fight. Tybalt, disapproving of Romeo s chivalry, instigates even more trouble by calling him a villain. Romeo responds by saying to himself that he loves Tybalt, for now they are cousins through marriage. Mercutio interferes with their arguing and picks a fight with Tybalt. Romeo and Benvolio try to break up the fight, but Mercutio ends up getting stabbed by Tybalt. "This day's black fate on more days doth depend:/ This but begins the woe others must end" ( ). If Mercutio did not fight Tybalt neither of them would have lost their lives, but because of Tybalt s incessant nagging, Mercutio fought Tybalt and died. And for Tybalt s actions Romeo strikes him down. And for that offense/ Immediately we do exile him hence./ I have a interest in your hears proceeding/ My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding./ But I ll amerce you with so strong a fine/ That you shall repent the loss of mine ( ). Since there has already been enough blood shed for that day, Prince Escalus decides to banish Romeo instead of hanging him. Third, fate causes Count Paris to become interested in Juliet just at the time of her marriage to Romeo. Not knowing about Juliet's marital status, Lord Capulet agrees to Paris' request for the hand of his daughter and plans a wedding for Juliet and Paris: CAPULET. Wife, go you to her ere, you go to bed,/ Acquaint her here of my son Paris love,/ And bid her-mark you me?-on Wednesday next-/ But soft-what day this. PARIS. Monday, my lord. CAPULET. Monday! Ha ha! Well Wednesday is too soon./ A Thursday let it be, a Thursday, tell her,/ She shall be married to this noble earl. ( ). To escape from her father s wishes to marry Paris she goes to the Friar, who joined Romeo and Juliet in marriage, to seek help. The Friar gives Juliet a potion that will make her seem lifeless

11 Student 4 for forty-two hours. When the Capulet s see that she is dead they will take her to the family tomb for a funeral. After the service they will seal the tomb door. Juliet is reluctant to take the potion for this reason. She fears that if she wakes too soon that she will suffocate and die before her love reaches her. Thou shall continue two and forty hours/ And then awake as from a pleasant sleep./ Now when the bridegroom in the morning comes/ To rouse thee from thy bed, there art thou, dead ( ). Friar Lawrence attempts to send a message to Romeo about the plan of Juliet, but, due to fate, the messenger cannot leave Verona because of the plague. Romeo happens to hear about Juliet's death from his servant Balthasar and decides he must join Juliet's fate in eternity. Before Juliet awakens from her trance, Romeo drinks the poison given to him by the Apothecary, and dies, at her side. After noticing that Romeo had killed himself, she commits suicide by thrusting a dagger into her chest. If she had awakened a little earlier, their deaths would not have happened. This is a tragedy of fate rather than of character or action. In conclusion, throughout the play of Romeo and Juliet, a reader can sense the evidence of fate that Shakespeare produces. Fate brought Romeo and Juliet together, and and set all other events in motion. But in the end, it was their fate to die as one. Fate can make things happen, such as the case in Romeo and Juliet, but it was also the love between them, the deep emotions that ran through their hearts mixed with the scorn and hatred driven in by their parents. Even though their parents had driven in hatred and scorn toward the other family, it was Romeo and Juliet who found love with each other, creating their own destiny. All pieces are from