ROMEO AND JULIETHigher

CLIMAX – ACT 3, SCENE II This is a scene of tragic irony. As it opens,

the audience, which already know of Tybalt’s death, is aware that Juliet’s much anticipated happiness will not be fully realised

This scene shows us how Juliet has changed since the start of the play

Shows Juliet experiencing great emotional turmoil and conflicting emotions

LEARNING INTENTIONS:

To be able to identify the use of extended metaphor in the play

To understand the effects of the recurring motif of light and dark imagery in Act 3, scene II

Sky News want to interview you as you are the only credible eyewitness to the terrible events that resulted in the death of Mercutio and Tybalt

In your own words, what happened here in Verona today? Who was involved? From where you were standing, did it look like Tybalt was

acting in self defence or do you think he intentionally killed Mercutio? Why do you believe this?

We have spoken briefly to a very shaken up Benvolio before he was taken away for questioning. He remembers little after the death of Mercutio and cannot fully explain how Tybalt came to be dead-what can you tell us about the death of Tybalt?

LOVE

Romeo and Juliet have not been together since their marriage in Act 2, scene VI when they exchange their declarations of love for one another.

the powerful nature of love can be seen in the way it is described, or more accurately, the way descriptions of love consistently fail to capture its entirety throughout the play

At times love is described in terms of religion (“This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this” Act 1, sc V) and at others is it described as a sort of magic (“Alike bewitched by the charm of looks” Act 2, sc V1)

In Act 2, scene VI Romeo describes love as being an earned commodity:

“Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joyBe heaped like mine, and that thy skill be moreTo blazen it, then sweeten with thy breathThis neighbour air, and let rich music’s tongueUnfold the imagined happiness that bothReceive in either by this dear encounter

Juliet does not like Romeo’s extravagant style of speech and rejects his idea that love can be measured in such a way

“Conceit, more rich in matter than in wordsBrags of his substance, not of ornament.They are but beggars that can count their worth.But my true love is grown to such excess,I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth”

In Act 3, scene II the metaphor of wealth is revisited

In your groups, identify the use of the extended metaphor and discuss the effects

Make sure you are taking notes!

According to Juliet in Act 2, scene VI, love, in other words, resists any single metaphor because it is too powerful to be so easily contained or understood.

People who can actually count up their wealth are only poor. Juliet’s own true love has grown so great that she cannot even count up half her wealth

In Act 3, scene II we see the contrast of rich and poor

As she waits for Romeo at the start she is wealthy:“O I have bought the mansion of a love,But not possessed it, and, though I am sold,Not yet enjoyed”

And as she describes her broken heart:‘O break, my heart, poor bankrupt, break at once”Her heart had been so full of love that she was

unable to count her wealth. Her heart has now lost all of its possessions and so is poor (broke)

One of the plays most consistent visual motifs of light and dark, often in terms of day and night imagery, is apparent in Act 3, scene II

On the sheets in front of you, identify the use of this motif from Act 3, scene II

EVALUATE the text closely. What does the darkness and light symbolise? What are the effects of light and dark as it is described in the part of the play?

“and bring in cloudy night immediately.

Spread thy close curtain, love-

performing night,

That runaways eyes might wink, and

Romeo

Leap those arms, untalked of and

unseen.

Lovers can see to do their amorous rites

By their own beauties; or if love be blind,

It best agrees with night. Come civil night,

Thou sober suited matron all in black,

And learn me how to lose a winning match,

Played for a pair of stainless

maidenhoods.

Hood my unmanned blood bating in my

cheeks,

With thy black mantle, til strange love

grow bold,

Think true love acted simple modesty.

Come night, come Romeo, come thou

day in night,

Whiter than new snow upon a raven’s

back.

Come gentle night, come loving black-

browed night,

Give me my Romeo , and when I shall

die,

Take him and cut him out in little stars,

And he will make the face of heaven so

fine,

That all the world will be in love with

night,

And pay no worship to the garish sun.

O I have bought the mansion of a love,

But not possessed it, and, though I am

sold,

Not yet enjoyed. So tedious is this day,

As is the night before some festival

To an impatient child that hath new

robes

And may not wear them.

Romeo and Juliet’s appreciation of night is shown throughout the play.

The darkness is symbolic of the secret and private way that Romeo and Juliet conduct their relationship and this makes sense in the context of individuals who wish to escape the public world.

But the lovers cannot stop the night from becoming day.

And Romeo cannot stop becoming a Montague.

OXYMORON

What is an oxymoron?

Where have you seen it used before in the play? Give an example?

INDIVIDUALLY:

Identify the use of oxymorons in this

scene

NOW:

discuss your findings in your group

taking note of the conflicting ideas as

suggested by the text

“O serpent heart, hid with a flow’ring face!Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave?Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical,Dove-feathered raven, wolvish ravening lamb,Despised substance of divinest show,Just opposite to what thou justly seem’st,A damned saint, an honourable villain.O nature, what hadst thou to do in hell,When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiendIn mortal paradise of such sweet flesh?Was ever book containing such vile matterSo fairly bound? O that deceit should dwellIn such a gorgeous place

Shakespeare’s use of the oxymoron in

this scene represents the emotional

conflict Juliet feels on discovering that

Tybalt is dead and Romeo is the cause.

ACT 3, SCENE III

Romeo is overcome with grief and wonders what his sentence will be

On discovering that he is to be banished, Romeo declares that this is a fate worse than death as he will have to live without Juliet

The nurse brings Romeo the ring from Juliet and this physical symbol of their love revives his spirit

Love, in Romeo and Juliet, is a grand passion, and as such, it is blinding; it can overwhelm a person as powerfully and completely as hate can

The passionate love between Romeo and Juliet is juxtaposed, from the moment of inception, with death: Tybalt notices that Romeo has crashed the feast and determines to kill him just as Romeo catches sight of Juliet and falls instantly in love with her.

In the play, love emerges as an amoral thing, leading as much to destruction as happiness

LOOK AT THE START OF ACT III, SCENE III…

On your whiteboards, identify one thing that Friar Lawrence says that links Romeo to the idea of destruction

Identify one thing that Romeo says to reinforce this idea

“Affliction is enamoured of thy parts,And thou art wedded to calamity” (Friar

Lawrence)

“What sorrow craves acquaintance at my hand, That I yet not know” (Romeo)

The respective manners in which the young couple respond to their imminent separation helps define the essential qualities of their respective characters.

In rapid succession, we are shown the reaction first of Juliet, then of Romeo to the news of Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment.

In your groups discuss the following questions and find evidence from the play:

1. How do they each react to the situation?2. Identify and explain any differences in

their reactions? Find evidence from the play.

3. What do we learn about their characters from Act III, scene ii and Act III, scene iii?

ACT 3, SCENE IV

Capulet assures Paris that Juliet will abide by his decision

He promises Paris that the wedding will take place on Thursday-today is Monday

ACT III, SCENE V

Romeo and Juliet have spent their first night together

Lady Capulet sympathises with Juliet over her grief for the death of Tybalt and her hatred for Romeo

Lady Capulet prepares Juliet for her marriage to Paris in two days time

Juliet refuses and reinforces her refusal to her shocked father

The nurse advises Juliet to forget Romeo

LINK PHRASE

LINK PHRASE

PEE CHAINS

POINTEVIDENCE (Quote)

EXCLAMATION

We know this because … says…This is apparent in the line ...This is shown by …

This quotation shows ...This example highlights ... This suggests that…Shakespeare says this to suggest that…

DRAMATIC IRONY

Dramatic irony is when the words and actions of the characters of a work of literature have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters. This is the result of the reader having a greater knowledge than the characters themselves.

IMAGERY Similes Metaphors Identify the use of imagery by the characters

Juliet’s relationship with her nurse

Think about her attitude towards Juliet Has her character changed?

Juliet’s relationship with her mother

What does this scene tell you about the relationship Juliet has with her mother?

What does this scene tell you about Lady Capulet’s role in the family?

Juliet’s relationship with her father

What is Capulet’s attitude towards his daughter?

Does it change throughout the scene?

Light and Dark Motif How is it represented in this scene?

Juxtaposition of love with death and destruction

The changing character of Juliet

What evidence is there that Juliet has changed/is changing?

How has she changed?

Shakespeare consistently links the intensity of young love with suicidal impulse

Love is generally the opposite of hatred, violence and death, but Shakespeare portrays self-annihilation as the only response to the overwhelming emotional experience that being young and in love constitutes

The couple are plagued with thoughts of suicide , and a willingness to experience it

In Act III, scene iii, Romeo brandishes a knife and threatens to kill himself on discovering that he is to be banished from Verona and his love

PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES…

Imagine you are Juliet (or one of the other characters from Act III, scene V if you prefer!)

Write a letter to ‘This Morning’ agony aunt, Denise.

Inform her of the situation you find yourself in

Share with her your frustration, disappointment and anguish (this could be said for all of the characters in this scene if you are not being Juliet!)