Romeo And Juliet Task 2

Act 3 Scene 1 and Act 5 Scene 3 are considered by many to be the most dramatic and suspenseful scenes in Romeo and Juliet for a multitude of reasons. William Shakespeare had to consider the probable drunkenness of his Elizabethan audience whilst writing his plays and subsequently had to make them very interesting. The position of Act 3 Scene 1 is in the centre of the play, when everything begins to change. Act 5 Scene 3 is the final scene of the play and had to draw together all the occurrences of the play in a tragic climax of events.

Both scenes are in pivotal places in the play and are therefore the two scenes that have to create the most tension.

Act 3 Scene 1 is longer than the average scene in Romeo and Juliet, which are 41/2 pages long. The length of this scene is approximately 7 pages. Longer scenes have to create more tension, otherwise the dramatic impact will be lessened and they could seem to drag on. Shakespeare's interesting use of language manages to sustain the neurotic atmosphere.

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Benvolio - 'By my head, here come the Capulets.'

Mercutio - 'My my heel, I care not.'

Act 5 Scene 3 is the longest scene of the play because of the dramatic events that unfold. The death of our two protagonists opposes the stereotypical 'happy ending' that would have been expected by the Elizabethan audience.

A lot of tension is created in this play, particularly in the two scenes I am comparing, by the use of violence. Whether it is acted out or just spoken, it creates lots of suspense and entices the audience.

Act 3 Scene 1 opens with talk of violence between the Capulets and the Montagues, which denotes to the audience that there will be some later in the scene. Act 5 Scene 3 focus is on Romeo and Juliet's tragic deaths, but also includes a fight between the County Paris and Romeo.

Both these scenes are concluded by Prince Escalus, who is a neutral authority figure. He ends Act 3 Scene 1 by exiling Romeo to Mantua and Act 5 Scene 3 with the message of the play. As he is portrayed as someone important, this enhances the importance of the two scenes. After which, nothing can revert back to normal. After Act 3 Scene 1, we have lost two vital characters, whose deaths affect our two protagonists. Romeo has lost his best friend and Juliet has lost her cousin. We wonder how such grief will affect them both and their relationship with each other, as Tybalt killed Romeo's best friend so Romeo may not feel like carrying on a relationship with someone related to him, and Juliet may not want to be married to the murderer of her cousin. Juliet's nurse, who is as a mother to her, dislikes him after the death. When before she admired him:

'Why he's a man of wax...'

She now clearly does not approve of him:

'Will you speak of him that killed your cousin?'

Will Juliet's attitude to Romeo also change? We must remember that she is a teenager confused with emotions: grief and love are predominant among these at this point in the play. Her nurse's influence may cause her opinions of Romeo to change from this point, or she may be the typical rebellious teenager of today and defy her. But Juliet's continuing adoration for Romeo seems to be less of a defiant act and more of an inevitable result of fate, creating suspense because we feel that there are no variables in the play: that what happens could not have happened any other way and what is about to happen is just as unchangeable.

Romeo also mentions the idea of fate in this play. Towards the end of Act 3 Scene 1 he says:

'O, I am Fortune's fool.'

He has found his true love but killed her cousin and is exiled to Mantua where he will not be able to see her. He feels as if fate is playing with him and he is helpless against it, reinforcing the idea that the future is already laid out and cannot be altered. Earlier in the play, at the end of Act 1 Scene 4, he also mentions fate.

'Some consequence yet hanging in the stars...'

Romeo is, at this point, heart-broken over Rosaline but can see some greater woe being planned by fate. This shows that he loved Juliet more than Rosaline, as the sorrow of losing Juliet is going to be far greater.

Tybalt came across as the leader for the Capulets, and his death results in the Capulets being left without a figurehead. He was a troublemaker:

'Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon thy death.'

He picked a fight with the most benevolent character in the play, and without such a ruthless leader the Capulets and Montagues may learn to get along with one another. However, these hopes are dashed as the Montagues are too angered by their loss to consider a peace.

Act 3 Scene 1 and Act 5 Scene 3 involve emotions that are still key issues for many today: love and conflict. These two antonyms are juxtaposed in these scenes to create tension and bring the events to life for the audience. Romeo and Juliet both display love for one another and do not seem to particularly dislike and character in the play, which depicts Romeo in a very positive light because Tybalt possesses such obvious hatred for him.

Tybalt - 'Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford

No better term than this - thou art a villain.'

Though it may not necessarily be at him, it is for the Montague family. With the knowledge that someone hates your whole family and wants to kill them, it takes an incredibly kind-hearted person to not hate them. This creates suspense because we wonder if Romeo will snap and fight him.

Dramatic irony features in both these scenes. In Act 3 Scene 1 we, the audience, know that Romeo and Juliet are married so Tybalt is Romeo's cousin in-law. He did not want to fight him in the first place because of his benevolent nature, but he likes the idea even less now that he is related to Tybalt. In what is considered to be the most suspenseful moment of the play, dramatic irony aids to heighten the tension in Act 5 Scene 3. We are aware that Juliet is not dead and will, unbeknown to Romeo, awake any minute. We wonder if she will wake up before he drinks the poison and dies. This dramatic irony helps the impact and message of this play to get to the audience and feel as if they are part of the story. Like in modern-day soaps where we feel as if we know the character because we know things about them that the other characters do not, Shakespeare does the same with Romeo and Juliet.

In the film directed by Baz Luhrmann, a lot of tension is created in Act 5 Scene 3 as Juliet wakes up just after Romeo drinks his poison, meaning she has to watch him die. She then shoots herself in the head - a more modern approach to her suicide than the dagger. The use of blood in both this scene and in Act 3 Scene 1 appeal to a modern audience who would expect it in places where there is violence. It is also a reminder of the characters' mortality - so we can expect death later in the play.

Antonyms are used in the play to help show the similarities and differences between ideologies of love and hate. People perceive them as opposites, but in this play they are portrayed as having many similar consequences. Death is a result of hate (Tybalt killing Mercutio for example) but also a result of love (Romeo and Juliet killing themselves for one another). These conflicting emotions cause the characters to act irrationally but in the end both feelings are obliterated, as love no longer exists between our protagonists but neither does hate between the two households.

These two scenes highlight the divergent theme that runs throughout the play, showing the differences and similarities between love and hate. A lot of dramatic events transpire within these scenes but the ongoing drama is not lost. This is mainly because from the start of them we know that something big is going to happen, but we do not know exactly how. In Act 5 Scene 3 Juliet herself talks about the possible outcome of her drinking the potion and in Act 3 Scene 1 Mercutio and Benvolio discuss the heat's effect and the inevitable clashing of the Montagues and Capulets. Though these proceedings seem inescapable Shakespeare concludes them in a way we do not expect, making the audience wonder what will happen next.