Shakespeare: Scene Analysis Papers

STUDENT A

ELA 12

Mrs. Q

28 February 2022

Act III, Scene ii

Introduction

At this point in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, we have made it through a lot of the rising action and the tensions are continuing to rise during this scene. This play starts with the Capulet and Montague families feuding on the streets, with tensions high after they fistfight they are all sent away by the Prince. We come to the Capulets hosting a ball to celebrate the courting of Paris and Juliet who have been betrothed by Juliet’s parents. During this ball, Romeo and his friends crash the party and he and Juliet fall madly in love. After the ball, as Juliet sits on her balcony wistfully remembering the night, Romeo appears and they confess their love and promise to marry each other in the morning which they then follow through with on the next day. On the street afterward, Romeo comes upon his friends fighting with men from the Capulets and the brawl ends with Mercutio dead. To get revenge Romeo ends up killing Tybalt who is Juliet’s cousin and has to flee from punishment. This is where we come upon the scene that we will focus on.

Act III, scene ii contributes greatly to the development of the theme that, love and commitment can blind all transgressions. In this scene, we come upon Juliet learning of what Romeo did to her cousin Tybalt and though she is angry at first, she ends up blaming Tybalt for his own death and threatening suicide due to Romeo’s banishment, showing how her love for Romeo truly blinds all the things Romeo has done, even murder.

Scene Study

      Act III scene ii starts with Juliet longing for Romeo’s arrival and to her disappointment, the Nurse brings horrible news. The Nurse rambles on as if in shock of everything that has transpired going on about how horrible and how much blood there was. This is all leading Juliet to believe that it is Romeo is who died. Juliet, “O, break, my hear, poor bankrupt, break at once!/ To prison, eyes, ne’er look on liberty./ Vile earth, to earth, resign. End motion here,/ And thou and Romeo press one heavy bier.”(3.2) This soliloquy is showing Juliet’s heartbreaking as she believes her husband which she just married is dead. When she says “To prison, eyes, ne’er look on liberty” (3.2) what it means is her eyes will never look on anything good again, she forbids it. This shows how much Juliet feels that the man she has only known for two days means so much to her. Juliet as a character has been so sheltered throughout her life and the first man she believes to fall in love with she says she will never fall in love or see something beautiful ever again, which shows just how swept up in feelings she is even if it is not really love that she is truly feeling.

Once the Nurse tells Juliet that it was not Romeo that was dead, that Romeo actually killed Tybalt her cousin Juliet’s emotions switch very quickly. Juliet goes on to spout about how Romeo is a “serpent hid with a flowering face” and “Despised substance of divinest show.”(3.2) This man she believes to be perfect and beautiful turns out to have a horrible soul is what she is pointing to. Juliet feels hurt and deceived by this man she thinks to have loved which is shown by all of the strong words she is using when talking of this “serpent” and a “devised substance.”(3.2) This is showing how Juliet is first dealing with her loss of a family member and showing her anger for Romeo her new husband, where she is quite angry, rightfully so and making her have to wrap her head around what will happen to her and how she will handle this new loss.

The Nurse tries to confirm Juliet’s feelings and says, “No faith, no honesty in men. All perjured… .”(3.2) These words seem to snap Juliet out of her anger for Romeo when she states, “Blistered be thy tongue”(3.2) as she chides the Nurse for talking of Romeo in that way. That is when she realizes she was doing the same and has only been his wife for three hours, now getting angry at herself for saying these things. Now, instead of Romeo, she blames her cousin for his own death calling him “villain cousin,” which I believe she justifies those words with the fact that if Tybalt had the chance he would have killed Romeo who is her husband. This shows how during that time frame Romeo and Juliet were written, a husband’s word was law, and girls were taught that since they were young by their families because that was the social norm so by even saying such words against him was considered horrible and could get her in a lot of trouble. Juliet as a character is now learning the struggles it takes with being a wife and making a commitment in marriage and how it means you should not go against your husband.

Connection to Theme

Act III, scene ii is a point in time where the play is just about to turn, which is a part of the rising action, and the tensions are continuing to rise. Juliet after only three hours of blissful marriage to her husband is found with her husband killing her cousin and he is now banished from the city. Juliet now has to process this loss and her feelings towards her husband. Juliet now ends up making the decision to support her husband showing so much maturity in her character. Before everything that has happened in the last few days, Juliet would have sobbed into her pillow not leaving her room for days but now she has a husband to support and help through this tough time. This is the beginning of her thought process that leads to the climax so this scene is still a part of the rising action.

The theme that develops through Act III, scene ii is, love and commitment can blind all transgressions. This is shown that once she gains the knowledge of what Romeo has done she supports the actions he ended up committing. During her soliloquy in this scene, she ends up getting mad at herself that she would believe Romeo is not a perfect man (especially because they have only been married for three hours). This shows that no matter what he does she will support him all the way even if she does something as horrible as killing her cousin Tybalt. Due to the love, she holds as well as the marriage vows of commitment no matter what she must support him through all the wrongdoings he commits. This theme will continue through the play especially when you take into account the foreshadowing in this scene of Juliet talking of how she will follow Romeo into death. Juliet has let the love and commitment for her husband overrule her life which will ultimately be her downfall.

STUDENT B

ELA 12

Mrs. Q

28 February 2022

Romeo and Juliet - Act V, scene iii

Introduction

  At this point in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the major points that lead to the climax have occurred. Juliet’s parents have set a plan for her to marry Paris, even though she’s already married to Romeo without their knowledge. Out of desperation, she goes to Friar Lawrence and gets a potion from him that’ll make her appear dead when in reality, she’s in a deep sleep. The Friar also sends out a letter that would tell Romeo the plan of getting Juliet from the tomb. The next morning, she is found supposedly dead in her bed by the nurse, leading to Paris and the Capulets discovering as well. At the beginning of Act V, scene iii, Paris will enter the scene with flowers to place on Juliet’s tomb. An important piece of context for Act V, scene iii is that Romeo doesn’t get the letter in time and is told that his wife is dead. Before the scene begins, Romeo goes to an apothecary to get poison for himself.

  The events in Act V, scene iii contribute to the development of the ongoing theme that love to someone can become blind, bringing one to do irrational acts based on their sights for love and lust. In this scene, Romeo comes into the scene with the intention to kill himself beside Juliet, And to succeed in his intent he kills Paris due to being provoked. Romeo is no longer thinking rationally after his wife has died, willing to do anything to be with her, even if it means death itself.

Scene Study

  At the beginning of the scene, Paris and the Page enter the graveyard with Paris giving a short monologue to his Page. His monologue states that he wishes to be unseen at the graveyard and that his Page should warn him of strangers entering through. Once the Page moves further out to keep guard of any trespassers, Paris moves to Juliet’s tomb and continues his monologue, delivering the statement of grief, “nightly shall be to strew thy grave and weep.” This establishes the fact that Paris, having not known Juliet for that long, had loved her dearly and will grieve for her death. As he finishes his continued monologue, the Page whistles to warn Paris of someone coming near, which Paris questions who would be walking through the graveyard and disturbing his moments of grief, “to cross my obsequies and true love’s rite?” This opening monologue establishes Paris’ grieving love for Juliet and also begins the soon-to-be demise of Paris at the hands of Romeo.

  As Paris moves away from the tomb to hide, Romeo enters the scene with Balthasar while giving another monologue. This monologue, compared to Paris’s, is full of blinded intentions and aggression. During his talking, he mentions a subtle intent that Balthasar doesn't fully believe to be completely true, “is partly to behold my lady’s face…”(Shakespeare, 5.3) However, as he continues on, he begins to threaten Balthasar to stay away, stating that he’d “tear thee joint by joint And strew this hungry churchyard with thy limbs”(Shakespeare, 5.3). This threat is hostile, unlike Romeo as he continues on with that his intentions are “savage” and “wild”. He’s willing to do absolutely anything to harm someone if one were to disturb him from his intentions. As his companion moves away in the graveyard, Romeo comes to Juliet’s tomb with a sorrowful but rageful continued monologue. Wanting to enter the tomb to be with his wife, Romeo is interrupted by Paris who re-enters the scene. Paris believes that Romeo is wishing to bring revenge on Juliet’s dead body, questioning Romeo if “vengeance be pursued further than death?” Riled up by his blinded anger, Romeo threatens Paris to stay away, that he is giving a “madman’s mercy” to him for the wishes not to cause harm, even though he’s threatened to harm Balthasar earlier. In refusal, Paris, and Romeo fight, ending up with Paris being slain by Romeo. Requesting to be laid in the tomb with Juliet, he complies with Paris’s request.

  Romeo begins another long monologue as he opens Juliet’s tomb to place Paris’s body with her. Believing that he jumped to conclusions earlier when he heard Juliet’s name, he regrets his actions of slaying Paris and Tybalt before. Getting into the tomb alongside the bodies, he makes a statement that this death will not be a happy death like other mens’ end. He questions how Juliet is still beautiful in her tomb, that “unsubstantial death is amorous, And that the lean abhorred monster keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour?”(Shakespeare, 5.3) This statement in his monologue reveals his thoughts on how he believes death is keeping her beautiful to be its mistress, to be with death forever. Out of his fear, Romeo will “stay with thee, and never from this palace of dim night depart again.”(Shakespeare, 5.3) For his love, he will stay with her forever in death, and eventually kisses her lips out of grief. Grabbing the poison he had earlier bought from the apothecary, he drinks it and dies beside Juliet’s body.

  After Romeo’s demise, Friar Lawrence rushes into the graveyard in search of him and Juliet. Balthasar returns to the scene to speak with the Friar, stating that Romeo has been at the tomb alone for over half an hour. Out of worry, Friar speaks that he fears that “some ill unthrifty thing”(Shakespeare, 5.3) has happened to Romeo alone and makes his way to the tomb. Before the Friar goes to the tomb, Balthasar speaks of how he dreamt that Romeo had fought another and they were slain. Once he makes it to the tomb, his fear becomes despair as he finds Romeo and Paris dead in the tomb with blood across the ground. As Friar Lawrence despairs their demise, Juliet wakes up and begins to question where her Romeo is. Hearing a sound, the Friar begins to try persuading Juliet to leave the tomb and to come with him to hide, saying that “thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead, and Paris too.”(Shakespeare, 5.3) No longer wanting to stay, he leaves after Juliet refuses to go with him, for she “will not away.” Finding a cup of empty poison in Romeo’s dead hand, she mourns that he left no drop to assist her after his death. Hoping to find poison on his lips, Juliet kisses him but finds no avail, but remarks that his lips are still warm. As she begins to hear the watchmen enter the yard, Juliet takes Romeo’s “happy” dagger and stabs herself in the gut, and perishes.

Connection to Theme

 Act V, scene iii plays as the falling action and resolution of the performance. After the climax of Juliet drinking the potion to pretend she was dead in the previous scenes, it all begins to tumble downhill from there. Romeo at this point of the scene is willing to kill Paris just to be with his dead wife, Juliet. Once Juliet awakens from her sleep, she refuses to leave the tomb when the Friar tries to take her away to safety and instead kills herself alongside her Romeo. This plays as the falling actions of the climax, the resolution begins to form after the dead bodies of Juliet, Romeo, and Paris have been found in the tomb. After the discovery, the Capulets and Montagues converse in the deaths of their children and the Prince’s sideman. At the end of the play, the truce of Capulets and Montagues is set in place as the Prince settles a statement of the dead couple, Romeo and Juliet.

  The theme that is set in place for this play is that love can become one’s blindness, bringing someone to do irrational acts for their temptation of love. At the beginning of scene iii, there was no indication of persuasion except the fact that Paris tried to protect Juliet’s tomb from the exiled Montague, which riled Romeo enough in his blindness of love to kill him. Secondly, after the fact that Romeo was deep in love enough to kill someone, this blind love was enough to even kill himself out of mourning for Juliet. Before Romeo killed himself to be with Juliet, he was a man who didn’t see any value in killing others. When Mercutio was murdered by Tybalt, Romeo’s act of killing him was more of an accident than intent. However, as he fell in love with Juliet, his mindset began to change into a manner of doing anything to be at Juliet’s side, even if it means killing or poisoning himself to die beside her. As for Juliet, at the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, she was pure with youth and didn’t have thought of love or marriage. Though, when she met Romeo, she tumbled down into love herself, blinded to only be with him when she had been assigned to marry Paris. Unwilling to try loving Paris for her family, she’d rather die than be without Romeo. This theme plays into action with how their perspectives change after they meet one another, and become irrational with their emotions.