How Does Shakespeare Shape Our Response to the Lovers’ First Meeting in Act 1 Scene 5?

How does Shakespeare shape our response to the lovers’ first meeting in

Act 1 Scene 5?

Romeo and Juliet is a play based around two lovers, who have been brought up into families undergoing an ancient feud (the feud is between the Montague family and the Capulet family). The play is set in Verona in Italy and was written by an English play writer call William Shakespeare, in 1595-1596. Shakespeare was given the idea for this play from a poem named “The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet” by Arthur Brooke. Shakespeare then took the general story line of this poem and changed it into a popular play, which has lived on through the ages.

Shakespeare used many techniques in this play to prepare the viewing audience for the lover first meeting. His techniques set the mood of the play and related to what was happening. It is important to remember however, that the techniques Shakespeare used in this play was very popular at the time it was written, it would fill in for the lack of special effects.

Shakespeare opens the play with a prologue (a typical technique used in tragedies), which would be preformed by the chorus and was told in order to give the audience a brief outline of the play. Shakespeare would have used this in his plays to inform the audience of what was happening and get them excited for the forthcoming play. The prologue was preformed in a sonnet, which consists of 14 lines and 10 syllables per line. This was very popular in Shakespeare’s day (Elizabethan times).

The prologue states that there are two families equally “alike in dignity” who make “new mutiny” from an “ancient grudge”. In this prologue Romeo and Juliet are described as “a pair of star-cross’d lovers” who “take their lives” This is important, as the audience in Shakespeare’s day, believed that the stars foretold your destiny and whatever the stars foretold could not be changed. So as a result we know that, these two lovers will fall in love and will take their lives as a result of their families feud. Shakespeare uses word such as “foe” “mutiny” “rage” and “lovers” to set the mood for the forthcoming play and the lovers first meeting.

The opening of the first scene in Romeo and Juliet is a fight scene, which starts as a result of, some of the servants of the two families getting into an argument. This scene is a strong reminder of the violence about to unfold in the play; an officer gives his view of the violence by saying “Clubs, bills and partisans! Strike! Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!” this language would have only have been used in a tragedy. This scene also revels the true hatred between the two families, in which the two lovers would soon have to endure. During the fight in the opening scene Shakespeare introduces two characters of different qualities. One of these characters is Benvolio who is part of the Montague family and is Romeo’s cousin; the other is Tybalt who is part of the Capulet family and is Juliet’s cousin. (We also get our first glimpse of Romeo.)

Benvoilo is immediately seen as a responsible character and tries to stop the fight “I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword, or manage it to part these men with me.” Where as Tybalt is always up for a fight and tries to let it continue “What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues and thee.” We immediately see Tybalt as a troublemaker and someone who is always up for a fight.

The prince stops the fight and threatens the two families by saying “If you ever disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.”

The prince automatically resets the mood of the play reminding the audience that the play is based on love and not of violence.

After the fight we hear conversation between Romeo’s parents and Benvolio, which is over the unusual behaviour of Romeo. We find out that Romeo is upset and shielding himself from the world in order to grieve. When Romeo speaks to his cousin Benvolio he explains that he is still in love with a woman named Rosaline, however the audience assume Romeo is in “courtly love” which is not true love. We can tell this because; Romeo is over dramatic with his feelings towards Rosaline, saying “O brawling love! O loving hate.” This is very dramatic.

Romeo’s speech is also filled with many oxymoron’s’ which shows he is contradicting himself by saying words such as “bright smoke” “cold fire” “feather of lead” “sick health”. Both sets of words have different meanings, which shows Romeo is confused.

I believe Shakespeare would have added Romeo’s feelings towards Rosaline in the play, to make the lovers first meeting seem more romantic