We return to Act 5 Scene 3 again this week – the scene where the bodies continue to tumble… Last week we looked at Romeo, and how Shakespeare characterises him in the lead up to his death. This week we’re looking at the two other key moments in this scene: Juliet’s awakening and death; and the conclusion of this tragic tale...
Oh, Romeo. Poor, melodramatic Romeo. He’s spent Act 5 Scene 1 screaming “I defy you, stars!” and finding a poison to kill himself with, and now he’s made it to the Capulet tomb to visit Juliet one last time...
While Romeo is busy pining in Mantua, Juliet is going about trying to save herself. Her cousin is dead at her husband’s hand, and her husband is now staying the night to consummate their marriage. Act 3 Scene 5 opens with the famous lines “Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day”, but it is very much day, and one Romeo must flee from before Juliet is left to face whatever her parents throw at her...
We’re here! It’s THE FIGHT SCENE. Possibly the most exciting – and certainly the most action packed – scene in the whole of Romeo and Juliet. This is where the tragedy begins to spiral out of control; this is where we first lose characters we have come to know so well...
Mercutio! Best friend of Romeo, nomad who does not belong to either house, resident joker, and performer extraordinaire. Where to start with such a fascinating character?
We open Romeo and Juliet with two servingmen, Sampson and Gregory, trading insults with two Montague men and spoiling for a fight. Why open with a fight, not with our titular lovers, you may ask? Because of the family feud!
Teenage heartbreak, as we know, is rather all consuming. What is even more all consuming for Romeo, however, is his being attracted to literally anyone who is passably good looking. That’s right – today I’m looking in to Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting.
There is not a single moment in this entire play where Romeo is not passionately in love with someone. And, when we meet him at the start of the play, he is heartbroken. And who hasn’t experienced teenage heartbreak?
My first foray in to discovering more about Shakespeare is with Romeo and Juliet. I chose this play because it’s one that I have experienced regularly ever since I was at school, and yet one I have never felt entirely sold on. Star-crossed lovers fall in love, get married, and kill themselves in the space… Continue reading DISCOVERING… Romeo and Juliet
DISCOVERING SHAKESPEARE 