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How does Act One serve as an important and effective opening to the play? In your response, comment on the manner in which Shakespeare establishes main characters, important relationships and key elements within the play.
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Theng Yong Yuan(39)_3BN
ReplyDeleteIn Act One prologue, Shakespeare establishes the foundation of the play by introducing the location of the play, the two rival ‘clans’ which are quite similar to each other in most aspects and summarises the play. By summarizing the play in the prologue, it is effective in keeping the audience glued to the play as it is already foretold that both main characters will not survive in this play, hence, every risks both main characters undertake or every danger they face, it will probably be their last moment on Earth. Also, Act One demonstrates the depth of hatred between both the Montague and the Capulet family has for each other as shown by the servants of both families displaying hostility to each other, obviously influenced by the animosity their employers had for each other. Act One is also where both main characters, Romeo and Juliet, met each other for the first time and the strong feeling that starts to develop between them. However, near the ending of the Act One, both lovers found that they are supposed to hate each other, not love each other as both their families had bad blood between them. This is a important opening as it allows the audience to predict the hardship the couple is about to face as Act One already shows how hell-bent, determined, Romeo and Juliet are on getting together. Act One would probably led to many audiences identifying the main factor leading to the tragedy at the end of the play.
Lim Jia Yee, 3MD!!
ReplyDeletemy response:
Act One starts off with the servants of both Capulet and Montague in conflict with each other, followed by the introduction of other characters (i.e. Benvolio, Tybalt, Lady Montague etc.) and lastly the main characters (i.e. Romeo). Act One consists of a lot of action to absorb the audience to pay attention to what is being introduced.
Act One slowly shifts our view from the perspective of the supporting characters to that of the main characters (servants to Benvolio to Romeo). The manner in which Shakespeare establishes the main characters is by their reactions and speeches towards situations (e.g. Benvolio and Tybalt’s different reactions towards the fight between the servants).
Act One first depicts the theme of hatred and violence, one of the feelings that are present in any form of relationship (i.e. between Capulets and Montagues), and later, love, that is another feeling that can be found in the same relationship (i.e. between Capulets and Montagues; Romeo and Juliet).
To add on, Act One informs the audience of the way the society the characters dwell in work and other circumstances that need to be known in order to account for the reasons why certain characters act in certain ways (e.g. the drawing of swords). Shakespeare also establishes certain key elements like his perspective of the behaviour of the people of hierarchy of the society the characters are involved in by using the servants as a way to comment. Moreover, Act One elaborates about the Prologue (i.e. Fate) and how the play is going to move on (e.g. Queen Mab).
Therefore, Act One serves as an important and effective opening to the play as it helps in introducing and stating the circumstances between the main characters, making it easier for readers/audiences to understand what is happening/going to happen between them, while making it interesting and worthy enough for the audience to read/watch the play attentively.
CHOONG HUEY WEN_3FG
ReplyDeleteAct One of Romeo and Juliet encapsulates all the action that is to come later in the play by introducing the feud that exists between the houses of Capulet and Montague, as well as by introducing many of the important secondary characters.This single plot is chronological and easy to follow. There are no flashbacks and no dream scenes. The attention is generally paid to Romeo as the focus follows him through the play. The exposition starts with the prologue and the first fight setting the stage and the mood of the rivaling families.Characters in this play were very well established.The feud between these two families is very clearly stated and let the readers understand the situation better.He writes with poetic diction using eloquent words and phrases. He uses irony and drama to create and sustain suspense through the play. Shakespeare uses much figurative language and imagery.
Low Jia Yu
ReplyDelete3FG
In an opening full of rousing action that is
sure to capture the audience’s attention, Shakespeare provides all the background information needed to understand the world of the play. He portrays all of the layers of Veronese society, from those lowest in power, the servants, to the Prince who occupies the political and social pinnacle. He further provides excellent characterization of Benvolio as thoughtful and fearful of the law, Tybalt as a hothead, and Romeo as distracted and lovelorn, while showing the deep and long-standing hatred between the Montagues and Capulets. At the same time, Shakespeare establishes some of the major themes of the play. The opening of Romeo and Juliet is a marvel of economy, descriptive power, and excitement.
Lin Jingkai-3MODESTY-Act One is a very important and effective opening to the play as Shakespeare introduces many main characters, important relationships and key elements just in the first part of the play. It gives all the background information that is needed all at the starting. Here Prince Escalus, Benvolio, Tybalt and Romeo are introduced, not excluding the two feuding heads of course, old Capulet and Montague. It also defines the layers of Veronese society, from the wealthy and well-off to their poorer counterparts. Benvolio here is portrayed as one who is caring and law-abiding whereas Tybalt is a hot tempered brute that is brash and pugnacious. This two characters already form an important relationship as representatives of peace and hate fighting with each other. Romeo is introduced as lovelorn here, as is his nature. The theme of masculine honor is also introduced. In Verona, men have to defend their honor from insult, be it physical or verbal. This exists to fuel the nature of Sampson and Tybalt, who are easily provoked.
ReplyDeleteHsu Chun Kai 3 Forgiveness
ReplyDeleteAct one plays as a very important part of whole story as it links to many other acts later in the story. Firstly, the family quarrel shows how much the families disliked each other, leading to Romeo and Juliet's love being unaccepted by their parents. Next, Romeo is love sick as he just lost his loved one, Benvolio insists Romeo on looking at other girls and stop thinking about Rosaline. This causes Romeo to fall in love with Juliet at the Capulets Ball and thus links to the famous Balcony act. Another part which i think is important in act one is Paris wanting Juliet to marry him. This part of Act one will link to Juliet's "death" later in the story. This is why i think Act one is an important and effective opening in the play because it links to many important stories which will happen later in the story.
Seet Yu Lian 3Harmony
ReplyDeleteComment:
Act one serves as an effective opening to the play as the introduction of the servants of the Capulet, Sampson and Gregory are already making fun of the Montague and their servants. They give a sexual meaning when they talk about thrusting the maids to the wall and cutting their maidenheads. Moreover, Gregory had already indicated that the quarrel is between their masters and their men, showing that the ancient grudge between the Montague and the Capulet has continuously broken into new mutiny as described in the prologue. Sampson later on starts a fight against the servants of Montague, Abraham, by biting his thumb at them. Benvolio comes in and try to keep the peace while Tybalt creates disorder. Their fight had to be stopped by Prince Escalus by warning the Montague and the Capulet that he had to take measures to solve the feud if a fight ever happens again. Thus this shows that the ancient grudge between the two families now concerned not only their servants but also the citizens of Verona. Shakespeare also introduces the main characters Romeo and Juliet in a way such that they already have a lover or a suitor. For Romeo, he was deeply infatuated by Rosaline and had to be consoled by Mercutio with his bawdy sense of humor about romance when his love was not accepted. For Juliet, Paris is after her and Capulet and Lady Capulet was already close on accepting his proposal of marriage, not for Juliet’s happiness but of political relationship. The story then takes a twist when Romeo meets Juliet at the Capulet’s feast and they fall in love with each other, where the tragedy shall take place when the pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. Thus act one serves as an important introduction where the story slowly reveals itself.
FUWEIHAN(05)_3MD_
ReplyDeleteAct one is an important and effective opening to Romeo and Juliet. Here, it introduces most of the main characters and the main themes in the play about romance, rivalry, love, hatred, conflict and fate. In Verona, there is a deep and long standing hatred between these two great noble and prestigious families, Capulet and Montague.
The play in Act one erupted with violence, starting off with the fights between the servants of two households, Sampson, Gregory of Capulet and Abraham of Montague. Shakespeare uses this scene that is full of rousing action to capture the audience’s attention, making Act one more interesting and exciting at the same time, he also manages to establish some main themes in the play of violence and masculine honour. This hints to the audience that the play mainly revolves around violence instead of just love. This also shows that the ingrained feud between the two families is blinded by honour and that their feud is spewed on to the servants.
The women we see in the play are also of a lower social status than their man too. Here, Shakespeare introduces the audience to the extreme hatred and terrible relationship between the two household which eventually caused the death of Romeo and Juliet.
He also provides the background information of characters in the play, from the lowest in power, the servants to the Prince who holds authority. Benvolio is described a thoughtful and fearful of the law. Tybalt as a hotheaded and violent young man. Romeo as the distracted and infatuated. Shakespeare establishes the play to be filled
In act one; it is an important section of the play where Romeo and Juliet met, and fall in love with each other. Because of Act one, there are other events that happened later on in the book. Thus, it is an effective opening to the play, the one that caused a series of tragedy and romance to occur. Main characters are also established by Shakespeare too.
don seah 3BN
ReplyDeleteShakespeare introduces the characters very orderly. he introduces them bit by bit from scene to scene. for example, in scene one, the servants do not just appear all at once. the appear in pairs so the audience can remember the characters easily. same goes for Tybalt and Benvolio. Shakespeare introduces important relationships with the use of rhymes. for example when Juliet falls in love with romeo she recites this poetic phrase. this indirectly tells the audience that the relationship has started. likewise, romeo also uses poetic language to describe the relationship between him and Rosaline. Shakespeare uses actions to describe the key elements of the play. he uses the fight between the servants of Capulets and Montagues to show the bitter rivalry between the two families. he also uses indirect dialogues to bring across the second key element. which is the love between Romeo and Juliet. the scene where they kiss is an example of how Shakespeare uses and indirect dialogue to bring across the point that they are both in love with each other. Therefore, act one is important as it introduces all the major characters, their behaviors and the key elements surrounding the play. it is also effective because it manages to bring across all the points but at the same time it does not place it too crudely. it also allows people to draw some assumptions and inference form the text, which leads to more insights.
Soh Ginn Ling_3MD
ReplyDeleteComment on post (part 1): In Act One, Shakespeare describes both the family that was involved in the ancient grudge that in the end, led to two star-crossed lovers ending their lives for each other. Act One gives the reader a general overview of the story line that would happen through the story. Act One also shows the reader on how the situation is like between the two rival families as well as the personalities and characteristics between them. Therefore, Act One serves as an important opening to the play as it shows the general view of the story right at the start and also gives the reader some clues about what might happen next. It is also an effective opening to the play as it clearly describes the amount of hatred and competitiveness between the two families and this will soon be elaborated by Shakespeare in the subsequent acts as well as leading to the fatal ending of their children.
In Act One of the play, Shakespeare establishes the main characters such as Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Benvolio and both Lady Capulet and Capulet. Shakespeare establishes them through their actions as well as their speech towards people. For example, during the street fight on page 32, the moment Capulet sees the fight between Tybalt and Benvolio, he wanted to fight despite his old age, “What noise is this? Give me my long sword ho!” This shows that Capulet’s love to fight as well as his impatience is established by Shakespeare here. “What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.” Once again, Shakespeare establishes Tybalt’s character by showing his viciousness and bitterness towards the society through his speech and his attitude toward the person he is speaking to, in this case, Benvolio. Shakespeare’s way in establishing the main characters is indirect and gives readers a place to think about the characters themselves.
Soh Ginn Ling_3MD
ReplyDeleteComment on post (part 2): Some of the important relationships described in Act One are the relationship between the Montagues and the Capulets, between Romeo and Juliet as well as the relationship between Tybalt and the other characters of the play. Monatgues and Capulets are families that have been enemies since a very long time ago, they hold ancient grudge against each other and despise each other so much that they could not be on the same street, or else they would start fighting. Thus this relationship is important as it soon leads to Romeo and Juliet realizing that they are not supposed to fall into the love that they are “forbidden” from. The relationship between Romeo and Juliet is important, as it is the main part of the play. Their relationship is confusing and forbidden as they bothe are not allowed to fall in love with each other as both their parents are rivals. And it will soon lead to conflicts involving the deaths of their family and friends and in the end result in them dying for each other. The next would be the relationship between Tybalt and the other characters in the play. Probably it was him, that caused all the major conflicts to happen, example would be Juliet being anxious on what to do when Romeo was banned from the town after he killed Tybalt in a fight which Tybalt created. Thus, the relationship between Tybalt and the other characters is important as it shows how it leads to the other major conflicts.
Some of the important key element in the play is when Romeo is sad over himself not achieving Rosaline’s heart. It is a key element as it shows how Romeo changes from being depress and sad all day long and doing nothing but sigh all day to a person that have found his true love and keep on thinking about her and wanting to spend time with Juliet. Thus, this is a key element in the play as it is this change in Romeo that leads to the subsequent events happening. Another key element would be both the servants from the Capulet talking bad about the Montagues and about how they would treat one if they met one. This is a key element as it once again points out the hatred between the two families and showing that it have become so bad that even the servants think that they are involved. Thus, this is a key element in showing the two families hatred.
Name: Kong Yen Ting (7)
ReplyDeleteClass: 3Harmony
Act 1 gives an introduction of the hatred between the Montagues and Capulets as even the grudge affects the family’s servants. The grudge between both families is held so great that even the servants are affected. Both families’ servants ensue in a fight due to the huge amount of hate and grudge both families’ servant bear towards each other. Shakespeare establishes main characters in the play within the play by introducing characters through a conflict. Romeo and Juliet are also introduced further into act 1 as they meet at the feast Lord Capulet organized. Romeo was pictured as a passionate and reckless character, contradicting with Juliet’s impression of being obedient and a protected child, but changes through the play as Juliet becomes more strong-willed after falling in love with Romeo, for the sake of protecting her own happiness. Important relationships such as the grudge between both families are portrayed through the conflict(fight) and the cliché of love between the two families. Key elements such as Violence, Love and Hate, Life vs Death are portrayed through act 1 through outstanding events such as the fight between the servants, the falling in love between Romeo and Juliet, and the conflict and hate between Tybalt and Romeo “speaks” about the tradgedy that is going to happen at the end of the play.
Ng Jia Yu_3MD
ReplyDeleteBy starting with a fight between the servants of the two family later followed by Tybalt and Benvoilio,Shakespeare captures the audience's attention and also showing how deep the hatred is between the two families and also as a forewarning to what may happen, shown in the Prince's speech. Shakespeare provides all the background information by portraying all of the layers of Veronese society, from those lowest in power, the servants, to the Prince. He also provides excellent characterization of Benvolio as thoughtful and fearful of the law, Tybalt as a hothead, and Romeo as distracted and lovelorn,Juliet who is naive girl that subjected to parental influence but also shows signs of intelligence,Lady Capulet as a flighty, ineffectual mother, the Nurse who is hilarious but has a vulgar streak and Mercutio who is clever, whirling and entrancing. At the same time, Shakespeare establishes some of the major themes of the play.For example, the theme of parental influence Juliet's parents have over her, therefore resulting in the tragedy and the inequality of sexes, where women are thrown from men to men, are married off to without having a say. It also sports the one of the most important part of the play which is the scene where Romeo and Juliet meet each other and fall in love. The importance of this scene, other then the others is to show the contrast of how loving and sweet compared to the other scenes which is packed with violence and sadness. It also acts as an opening to tell the audience what violence to expect later in the play.
The purpose of the beginning or opening of every play is to give a vague background about the various incidents that will be taking place in the play and this will help audiences not only have a better understanding of the play when it gets into more complicated scenes but also arouse their interest. Act One begins with the continuing quarrel between the two families, Montague and Capulet. This shows us that the hatred within the two families which will be constantly brought upped throughout the whole play. The play goes on to show how even the servants inherited prejudice in the opposing family. The anger from this old feud is ingrained from generations to generations and it became such a grave matter that it spewed to the servants. The Capulet’s servants appear to be low classes and “cheap” in the way they talk and their actions. This contrasts with the Montague servants who are much more passive and not that violent. The Montague’s tend to talk things out while the Capulet’s resort to violence for almost everything. These same characteristics are reflected on the masters too. When Benvolio drew his sword to try to stop the fight between the servants, Tybalt drew his sword too as he thought Benvolio wanted to fight and eventually both of them ended up fighting each other. Another important scene is the scene whereby Romeo meets Juliet. Before the commencing of Capulet’s feast, the serving men are chasing one after another, rushing everybody. It can be perceived as an optional scene that is just there to create the festive atmosphere and background. It is also to let the audiences know that a feast is happening next and that the Capulets are busy making sure everything goes according to plan. When Tybalt finds out Romeo is presentat a Capulet’s party, he gets very agitated and wants to kill Romeo but is stopped by Lord Capulet. Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time of their lives and fall in love with each other. In a dialogue laced with religious metaphors that figure Juliet as a saint and Romeo as a pilgrim who wishes to erase his sin, he tries to convince her to kiss him, since it is only through her kiss that he might be absolved. Juliet agrees to remain still as he kisses her. In terms of their conversation, she takes in from him Juliet makes the logical leap that if she has taken sin from Romeo, his sin must now reside in her lips and they kiss again. A sonnet in the form of ababcdcdefefgg enhances the fact that it is a dialogue full of love and true feelings. However just a moment after their kiss, they realise that each are from different worlds. Their families are enemies – enemies with a long feud history. This factor will continue the story and eventually lead it to a constant downhill at the back whereby a tragedy occurs.
ReplyDeleteLeong Mei Ting Emily_3BN_Act 1 is an opening full of rousing actions that capture the audience’s attention. Shakespeare provides all the background information needed to understand the world of the play. In the brawl, he portrays all of the layers of Veronese society, from the servants to the Prince who occupies the political and social pinnacle. He further provides excellent characterization of Benvolio as thoughtful and fearful of the law, Tybalt as a hothead, and Romeo as distracted and lovelorn, while showing the deep and long-standing hatred between the Montagues and Capulets. At the same time, Shakespeare establishes some of the major themes of the play. The opening of Romeo and Juliet is a marvel of economy, descriptive power, and excitement.The origin of the brawl, rife as it is with sexual and physical bravado, introduces the important theme of masculine honor. This concept of masculine honor exists through every layer of society in Verona, from the servants on up to the noblemen. Finally, this first scene also introduces us to Romeo. The introduction comes with a bit of a shock. We would expect the forlorn Romeo to be lovesick over Juliet, but he is in love with Rosaline. The question lingers through the play which made readers curious about what exactly happened. Then, Paris was introduced as Capulet’s pick for Juliet’s husband and also sets into motion Romeo and Juliet’s eventual meeting at the feast. In the process, the scene establishes how Juliet is subject to parental influence. The specter of parental influence evident in this scene should itself be understood as an aspect of the force wielded over individuals by social structures such as family, religion, and politics. After which, Shakespeare provides a magnificent insight into the three main female characters. Lady Capulet is a flighty, ineffectual mother: she dismisses the Nurse, seeking to speak alone with her daughter, but as soon as the Nurse begins to depart, Lady Capulet becomes nervous and calls the Nurse back. The Nurse, in her hilarious inability to stop telling the story about her husband’s innuendo about Juliet’s sexual development, shows a vulgar streak, but also a familiarity with Juliet that implies that it was she who raised the girl. Juliet herself is revealed in this scene as a rather naïve young girl who is obedient to her mother and the Nurse. This scene also serves as introduction to the clever, whirling, entrancing Mercutio. Mercutio is established as a friend who can, gently or not, mock Romeo as no one else can. Though thoughtful, Benvolio does not have the quick wit for such behavior. With his wild speech and laughter, Mercutio is a man of excess. Mercutio stands in contrast to all of the other characters in Romeo and Juliet because he is able to read between the lines and understand the hidden meaning. He can also understand the ideals held by those around him. The meeting of Romeo and Juliet aftermath dominates the scene and with extraordinary language that captures both the excitement and wonder that the two protagonists feel.
ReplyDeleteGoh Wei Qin(6) 3MD
ReplyDeleteAct One serves as an important and significant opening as it introduces the main characters- the protagonists and antagonists. It shows the reader the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues, and also shows the personality or character of an individual character. In act one scene one, Shakespeare establishes the “ancient quarrel” that both Capulets and Montagues are involved in. Furthermore, this scene shows the crudeness of the language used between the servants of Capulet and also shows that the feud between the two families has influenced the servants too. Moreover, this scene introduces one of the protagonists, Romeo Montague, and he is portrayed to be an infatuated man who is in sorrow due to his love, Rosaline. Romeo is depicted to be a lovesick man. In scene two, Shakespeare introduces Capulet and Paris. The scene also tells us that Juliet, the second protagonist, is wooed by Paris, and that her father does not object to the proposal. In addition, Romeo is seen to be conversing with Benvolio and this scene also shows how determined Romeo is in believing that Rosaline is the most beautiful lady. “Ne’er saw her match since first the world began”. Also, in this scene, Romeo goes to the Capulet feast secretly, and thus this scene shows how the two protagonists meet. In scene three, the Nurse is introduced and from this scene, we can know that the Nurse is an important role due to her close relationship to Juliet. Lady Capulet also brings up the subject of marriage to Paris to Juliet. “The valiant Paris seeks you for his love”. In scene four, Mercutio is introduced. He is seen to be humorous and funny. While in scene five the protagonists finally meet. Scene five serves as an opening to their story as it fully describes how they meet. It establishes the relationship between Romeo and Juliet as both fell in love with one another at first sight, and even shared both kisses after a few lines of conversation. Therefore, Act One introduces the characters and also shows the feud between the families of the two protagonists. It also gives us background information to the families. Furthermore, it is effective as it catches our attention with the speeches between the characters.
Seah Suan Yee 3HM
ReplyDeleteAct One shows lust, hatred and love. The reason for showing these is to let us know that the book evolves around these few elements. The relationship between Montague and Capulet could not be easily resolved as it is an add on mutiny from the ancient grudge. The realationship between the parents and child of both households are not very good as they are strict with their child about not being able to be friends with people from the other household. Act One shows clearly about the characterisation of he characters and it allows us to know better of them further on in the book. Act One shows how Romeo and Juliet met and it allows us to have the curiosity to know more about the lovers as they are impossible together as said in the Prolouge and hoping from them more as they go out on secret dates etc. Act One buids the stage and we have lear understanding of what is happening so that it would be easier for us to understand at the later part of the book.
Tan Hui Sin_3MD_
ReplyDeleteAct one serves as a very important opening in the play. It displays the many different characteristics of the characters in the play. From scene one, we understand that there is the presence of the conflict between the two families that has been going on for a long time and the social class in Verona at that time. Also, the brawl in scene one serves to capture the attention of the audience. Act one also presents the theme of violence and the forcefulness of love.
Through act one, we get to know the different characteristics of the many different characters. Benvolio dislikes conflict and is thoughtful and fearful of the law while Tybalt is a hotheaded, violent person that is full of hatred and dislikes peace. Lady Montague is a thoughtful wife while Lady Capulet is a discouraging wife. Both Montague and Lady Montague are very concerned and thoughtful of their son, while Capulet and Lady Capulet does not really care about their daughter’s wellbeing. And, Romeo being a lovelorn and sensitive and Juliet being an obedient child who follows her parents’ decision at the beginning of the play.
Act on also shows the different relationships between the characters. The Capulet household are enemies with the Montague household. Mercutio and Paris are both the kinsmen of the Prince. Tybalt is the kinsmen of the Capulet while Benvolio is the kinsmen of the Montague. Also, it shows that Mercutio and Benvolio are close with Romeo, and The Nurse is closer to Juliet in compare with Lady Capulet.
Kwang Yu Xiang 3GR
ReplyDeleteAct 1 is a fairly important and effective opening because it shows to all the audience about the grudge between the Capulets and the Montagues. The very first Act that shows the grudge between the two families actually emphasizes on the grudge between them. So as to tell the audience that the two families holds a lot of grudge between each other. Shakespeare gives names to important characters in the stories but do not describe the minorities. Like the servants in Act 1. He did not give them names as in future acts, they do not play a part. Shakespeare gives Romeo, Juliet, other main characters an important role in the play. He uses the important roles to stir up the audiences' emotions. Shakespeare would emphasize on the importance of the character, and when something happens to the character, the audience will suddenly feel disturbed because the main character is in trouble. Shakespeare's plays are very emotional and it is one of a good point because it attracts people to go watch his plays.
Yap Zhi Tong 3MD
ReplyDeleteOne of the key elements of the play is the theme- hatred which is rooted from a deep and ancient feud. Act One already established the deep feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. The biting of finger by the Capulet servants caused a new fight to break out and in fact, this fight affected the peace of citizens and the role of the prince comes in to give decrees.
Also, in the first act, it already shows the different personalities of the main characters and compares the drastic difference in Lady Capulet and Lady Montague.
Next, the first act also reveals the next key element of the play is the exact opposite of hatred, love. However, in this act, we can see Romeo’s helplessness due to his infatuation for Rosaline. Yet, this is not the main point. Shakespeare is actually trying to allow spaces for comparison between Romeo’s infatuation towards Rosaline and his genuine love towards Juliet later on. It is probably to emphasize how true their love was for each other and how it eventually resolves the conflict between the two families.
Winnie Tan Wei Ni_3 Modesty_In the beginning of Act 1, we first see the hate between the two families. The play begins with the crude conversation between the two Capulet servants, which eventually led into a fight between the Capulet and the Montague just because of one rude hand gesture. The hate is so intense that even the servants will rashly break out into fights between themselves. We are then able to contrast the peace-loving Benvolio to Tybalt who hates peace and Shakespeare even uses unique names for them to emphasize and establish the difference between the good and the evil. Act 1 also points out Prince Escalus’s futile attempts to stop the feud of the two families. Next, we see Romeo’s artificial and conventional infatuation for Rosaline as also, Juliet was portrayed as a quiet and submissive person and who was pursued by Paris. All these shows that love is impossible between Romeo and Juliet. However, there is a twist of events towards the end of Act1- the two of them met and fall in love. While the audience view the love between them, they are constantly reminded of the fact that Romeo’s and Juliet’s love for each other faces serious threats. In this way, it shows that Act 1 had indeed served as an effective opening to the play.
ReplyDeleteDarren Wee Jia Jie_3GR_Act one of the play helps introduces the characteristics of the characters of the p,ay by using examples. For example, Shakespear introduced Romeo as a person who falls in love very easily and shows that if he is in love, he is very dedicated. It also shows that Juliet listen's to her parents, despite disliking it. It also shows the key relationships between characters. For example, how the feud between the two families has also affected the servants, and both families' servants have disputes against each other as well. Benvolio's and Mercutio's relationship with Romeo and how they helped him to get over his love with Roseline and eventually Romeo gets to meet Juliet. It also shows the close relationship between Friar Lawrence and Romeo and Juliet. It shows how the key relationships all lead to the eventual climax of the story.
ReplyDelete[Teo Jaf Qi, 3 Modesty]
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of the beginning or opening of every play is to give a vague background about the various incidents that will be taking place in the play and this will help audiences not only have a better understanding of the play when it gets into more complicated scenes but also arouse their interest. Act One begins with the continuing quarrel between the two families, Montague and Capulet. This shows us that the hatred within the two families which will be constantly brought upped throughout the whole play. The play goes on to show how even the servants inherited prejudice in the opposing family. The anger from this old feud is ingrained from generations to generations and it became such a grave matter that it spewed to the servants. The Capulet’s servants appear to be low classes and “cheap” in the way they talk and their actions. This contrasts with the Montague servants who are much more passive and not that violent. The Montague’s tend to talk things out while the Capulet’s resort to violence for almost everything. These same characteristics are reflected on the masters too. When Benvolio drew his sword to try to stop the fight between the servants, Tybalt drew his sword too as he thought Benvolio wanted to fight and eventually both of them ended up fighting each other. Another important scene is the scene whereby Romeo meets Juliet. Before the commencing of Capulet’s feast, the serving men are chasing one after another, rushing everybody. It can be perceived as an optional scene that is just there to create the festive atmosphere and background. It is also to let the audiences know that a feast is happening next and that the Capulets are busy making sure everything goes according to plan. When Tybalt finds out Romeo is presentat a Capulet’s party, he gets very agitated and wants to kill Romeo but is stopped by Lord Capulet. Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time of their lives and fall in love with each other. In a dialogue laced with religious metaphors that figure Juliet as a saint and Romeo as a pilgrim who wishes to erase his sin, he tries to convince her to kiss him, since it is only through her kiss that he might be absolved. Juliet agrees to remain still as he kisses her. In terms of their conversation, she takes in from him Juliet makes the logical leap that if she has taken sin from Romeo, his sin must now reside in her lips and they kiss again. A sonnet in the form of ababcdcdefefgg enhances the fact that it is a dialogue full of love and true feelings. However just a moment after their kiss, they realise that each are from different worlds. Their families are enemies – enemies with a long feud history. This factor will continue the story and eventually lead it to a constant downhill at the back whereby a tragedy occurs.
Tan Guan Yu(40), 3MD
ReplyDeleteAct 1 serves as an important and effective opening to the play because it introduces the different characters and sets out the background information of the play. When the different characters were introduced, Shakespeare arranged their appearance in different atmosphere. For example, Romeo was introduced and was seen melancholy. He was feeling this way because he is in love with Rosaline but she did not love him. Thus, this demonstrates Romeo’s passionate nature and lovelorn. Also, Juliet was introduced as a naïve and obedient girl at the start. Shakespeare then revealed Juliet as a girl with strength and intelligence. This can be seen when Juliet expressed herself “I’ll look to like, if looking liking move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye Than your consent give strength to make it fly.” In act 1, Shakespeare establishes the relationship of the Capulets and Montagues as well as the layers of Veronese society, from the lowest in power, to the highest in power. The brawl happened in act 1 shows the grudge between the two noble families. Shakespeare inclusion of the servants involved in the brawl showed the perspectives of the servants themselves on the actions of their masters. In addition, in act 1 scene 2, the appearance of Paris as Capulet’s pick for Juliet’s husband, the feast Capulet held and Romeo mentioning “he that hath the steerage of my course” before the feast foreshadows ominous events which are likely to happen when Romeo and Juliet are together. This establishes the key elements later in the play.
Vernessa (28)
ReplyDelete3CR
Act One started off with the Capulets’ servants complaining of the Montagues. Already at this point of the play, even without the appearance of the main characters, Shakespeare has shown us the enmity between the Capulets and the Montagues. What seemed to be a simple act could turn into a fight and eventually bloodshed if they were not stopped. It serves as a sort of “warning” that this play was not a typical romance story. The fight contrasts greatly with the scene where the play’s protagonist, Romeo, appears. It was in fighting and enmity that the play started off and the audience already has this unconscious feeling that the play will not end on a happy note. Shakespeare portrays the main characters often in a different way at the start. As the play goes on, we can see that the characters also changed. Romeo became more matured. Without the portrayal of Romeo at the beginning of the play, the fact that he had become more matured would not be emphasized to the audience.
Huang Jianfei_3 Gr
ReplyDeleteAct One serve as an important and effective opening to the play as it immediately touches on the enmity between the Capulets and Montaques, which is one of the main points in the play. It also shows the depth of the feud between the two families by showing that the feud travels down even to the servants. It also introduces some of the main characters of the play like Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt etc. A little characterization is done in Act 1. Romeo is shown to be a immature youth who is in love with the idea of love, Juliet is portrayed to be an obedient and submissive child. These are characteristics that are important as shakespeare uses them to develop their character through the play. Some obstacles that Romeo and Juliet would face in the future are also glimpsed in Act 1 when Paris is introduced and the Lady Capulet's wishes for Juliet to marry him is seen. All these allow Act one to serve as an important and effective opening to the play.
Jamie Inez Tan 3GR
ReplyDeleteAct one talks mainly about the feud between the two families,capulets and montagues.And how romeo and juliet fell in love at first sight,the fighting between the servants of both families and how the prince stepped forward to stop the fight. Act One serve as an important and effective opening to the play as it gives the readers an introduction to the storyline and setting,allow reader to have a deeper understanding the difficulties romeo and juliet have when they learned that their families are enemies.
Ho Jing Jing, 3GR, 7
ReplyDeleteAct One starts off with a simple prologue, speaking of the feud within two houses. This feud is more visibly outlined in Scene 1, when both families get into bloodshed with each other. Within the brawl, we see two contrasting characters within the Montagues and the Capulets. The contrast between those two characters is also reflected on their wives. These contrasts effectively bring us, as readers, the first impression of how each would react as parents. For example, the behaviour of Capulet and Lady Capulet are shown later in Act One, confirming our first impressions of them as less caring parental figures towards Juliet. The brawl that was mentioned before also opens the play effectively, with the incident within the audience’s memory; it would make sense why an open marriage was impossible for Romeo and Juliet. Act One also introduces to us most of the characters in the play, and also the crux of the story itself, most notably in Scene 5, when the two lovers meet. At that point, we can see that Capulet holds a certain amount of respect for Romeo and recognizes his achievements. This is fairly important, as the story could have ended with a happily ever after. However, things took a turn for the worst, and a key element in the story is established: tragedy.
Goi Shi Qi 3GR
ReplyDeleteAct One served as an important and effective opening to the play as it provided us with background information so that we can understand the play better. Also, it showed us the feud between the two families which causes us to empathize with the pair of lovers. Shakespeare establishes the main characters through their words, showing us their true personality and allowing us to understand them better. He establishes the important relationships between the characters by having different kind of tones when they are speaking to each other. Also, the content of their conversation varies in different relationships. The key elements within the play are love and death. Shakespeare establishes these key elements by using words like "star-cross lovers" and "death-marked love" which associates to love. For death, he uses phrases like "fatal loins" and "take their life".
Shakespeare creates such a powerful and dramatic balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet by using powerful language that will give the audience a deep impression in this scene. The plot of this scene fits into the play as a whole, because the scene is all about Romeo and Juliet confessing their love to each other. The play fits into the tragedy genre because fate had decided that Romeo and Juliet fall in love with each other even though their families hate each other. Because it is set in the Elizabethan times in Verona and so the society is still a male dominated time and there are also arranged marriages, this is one of the main obstacles for Romeo and Juliet. Religion also played an important role in this play. Because Verona is in Italy and will therefore have a very traditional view on things, but even friar Lawrence helped the couple meaning that they are destined to be together. Hence, this part shows how tough the road is going to be for the couple to be together and how they are going to overcome it. It serves as an important opening to show why they are called star-crossed lovers and why the road is going to be so tough.
ReplyDeleteIsabellathor_3courage
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the play, it kicks off with a bustling scene as the servants of Capulet get into a heated argument with the servants of Montague. Shakespeare does it so as to capture the audience or readers’ attention. Act one is also very important as it provides all the background information to the play so that the audience or readers would understand the later parts of the play. It is also effective in capturing the audience or readers attention to continue watching the play. Shakespeare uses sexual terms in the play by the servants to provoke the Montagues. It shows the significance of the magnitude of the feud between the two noble families, the Capulets and Montagues respectively. The motive of the whole of act 1 is to let the audience focus on the two families, representing that they are of royalty in a sense. It also introduces some of the main characters of the play, examples like Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare uses a party scene to show how Romeo and Juliet met and the passionate love they have developed. The scene is important as it emphasizes on how difficult Romeo and Juliet’s’ love can be as they are from different worlds. Through that, it also shows the complexity of the society.
Lee Tzeng Suan; 3CR
ReplyDeleteIt does serve an important opening to the play. In the prologue, audience is provided with information about where the play takes plays and some information about the characters of the play. Also, the audience is also provided with a skeleton of the plot – Romeo and Juliet will die in the end which is something the audience must expect. Another example is in Act I Scene I, in which Shakespeare uses the fight between the citizens to capture the audience’s attention. We are also introduced to the fight between the two reputable families, the Montagues and Capulets, which is one of the key factors of the death of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare uses this scene to tell the audience how serious the feud has gotten.
It also serves as an important opening to the play as it provides audience with a basic impression of major characters such as Juliet and Tybalt.
For example, In Act I Scene 2, audience sees the scene between Capulet and Paris, where they discuss about the marriage between Paris and Juliet. We can see how Juliet is subject to parental influence as her father has made the choice for her to marry Paris. We can further see this is Act I Scene III, whereby Lady Capulet supports her husband’s decision for Juliet to marry Paris and Juliet saying “I’ll look to like, looking liking move; / But no more deep will I endart mine eye/Than your consent gives strength to make it fly”. Both scenes show how Juliet is heavily subjected to parental influence.
Another example would be in Act I Scene V, we can see Tybalt’s intense of hate for the Montagues as he immediately sends a servant to fetch his rapier once he heard a Montague’s voice. Audience can also see Tybalt’s rashness, doing things without considering the consequences.
Shakespeare uses the fight between the servants of the two families in Act I Scene I to establish the conflict between the Montagues and Capulets, one of the key elements within the play. The fight between 2 servants became the fight between citizens. Shakespeare uses this to show how the fight between 2 people can become the fight that involved many people.
Shakespeare uses the actions and the speech of the character to establish the main characters of the play. Example would be Benvolio who spoke, “Part, fools. Put up your swords, you know not what you do.” We can see from this that Benvolio is a righteous man and would rather peace than hate.
Shakespeare uses Paris to show the relationship between Juliet and her parents, that Juliet is subject to parental influence.
Name : Lim Zhi Wei
ReplyDeleteClass : 3CR
Act one begins off with servants from the Montague family, Abraham and Balthazar having a sword fight with servants from the Capulet family, Samson and Gregory. They have a sword fight in a public square in Verona. This is an effective opening to the play as this shows the hatred between two of the families being carried on by their servants. The feud between both families have even left their servants hating one another too. Prince Escalus heard the noice and saw the sword fight and accuses the lords of both families as being the reason why such fights happen and tells them, “If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay forfeit of the peace”. This then stops the climax of the swordfight. Lady Montague appears at the public square, inquiring where Romeo is and is happy to find out that Romeo was not in the brawl. Romeo then appears as a man who is in love and who is sad over a woman, Rosaline. Romeo is seen as a romantic character.
In Act I Scene 2, Lord Capulet is telling Paris that Juliet is too young to be married off and tells Paris that if Juliet is willing to marry him, he will gladly agree to the marriage. We can tell that Capulet is actually dragging time off so that Juliet does not need to get married off at such a young age and that we can tell that Capulet loves Juliet a lot and wants Juliet to be happy, having her interests at heart. Paris is introduced as a peaceful man, listening to what Capulet says, and consults Capulet about his interest in taking Juliet’s hand in marriage.
In Act I Scene 3, Juliet is introduced. Lady Capulet tells Juliet to start thinking about marriage, specifically talking about Paris, and asking Juliet to consider him. Juliet says she will consider without any rebelion and this shows that Shakespeare is hiding the rebelion in Juliet’s character and in this scene, we only see her as an innocent, young and polite girl.
In Act I Scene 4, Mercutio appears and seems to have an exciting character. He was invited to the masked ball since he was not a Montague. Mercutio tries to get Romeo to stop thinking about Rosaline and get over her.
In Scene 5, Romeo and Juliet meet and they immedietly fall in love with each other. This shows their impulsiveness.
Name : Anna Ng
ReplyDeleteClass : 3CR
Act I Scene 1 begins with Gregory and Samson, two servants of the Capulet family, and Abraham and Balthazar, two other servants of the Montague family having a sword fight in a public square. This serves as an important and effective opening to the play as this shows servants from both families carrying on the hatred between their masters. They start a sword fight between each other for no real reason at all. The hatred between both families were started very long ago and that now their feud between each other disturbed the peace of Verona, thus angering Prince Escalus who warns them and says that “If ever you disturb out streets again, your lives shall pay forfeit of the peace”. His words foreshadow the climax of the play. Romeo is then introduced when Lady Montague appears at the public square, delighted that Romeo had not been a part of the fight. Romeo is introduced as a lovesick and romantic man, sighing and weeping over a woman who does not love him, Rosaline. The first scene starts off with servants of the Capulet and Montague family, unimportant people, yet the starting is lively and captures the attention of the people.
In Act I Scene 2, Paris is asking for Lord Capulet’s permission to have Juliet’s hand in marriage. As Lord Capulet reckons Juliet is too young to be married off, Capulet, in order to drag time, tells Paris that if he was able to woo Juliet, he would agree to the marriage between the two of them. From this, we can see how Lord Capulet is very fond of Juliet and has Juliet’s interests at heart. Capulet’s love and concern for Juliet is similar to the concern Lady Montague has for Romeo. Then, the role of fate starts working it’s way. The illiterate Capulet servant asks them to read the list of guests invited to the Capulet masked ball. If the illiterate Capulet was not illiterate and did not ask Romeo to read the list of guests, Romeo would never have gone to the masked ball. This shows fate working it’s way, pulling Romeo and Juliet together.
In Act I Scene 3, Juliet is introduced. She seems to be a submissive, young, obedient and beautiful girl. When Lady Capulet tells Juliet of thinking about Paris’s marriage proposal, Juliet says that she will try to like him without any rebelion or thought, showing her obedience and respect towards her parents.
In Act I Scene 4, Mercutio is introduced as a contrast to the moody Romeo. He was a friend of Romeo, yet he was invited to the ball as he was not a family member of the Montague. Mercutio tries getting Romeo to realise that his love for Rosaline is unrealistic and is not true love.
In Act I Scene 5, the atmosphere is one that is cheerful and happy, filled with music. In the ball, Romeo catches sight of Juliet and immedietly falls in love with her. Romeo goes up to talk to Juliet and they flirt with each other.
Name: Cassandra Lam (4)
ReplyDeleteClass: 3Courage
Act One serves as an introduction to the various characters in the play, as well as introduces events that lead to Romeo and Juliet’s meeting.
In the first scene, it hints that the play would be full of chaos and destruction because it starts with a fight between the servants of the Montague and Capulet families. The servants soon drag the family members of the Montague and Capulet families into the fight. As this fight happened in the day, and very openly, it shows how much hate is present between the Montague and Capulet families, to the extent that they are not afraid of even ashamed of having the feud.
Act One introduces the Capulets as rather aloof parents, while the the Montagues as very concerned parents. The differences are clearly defined from the vast differences between the families. For example, the Lord Capulet could be said as wanting to think of himself as a very caring father – which apparently, he is not –, while Lord Montague can be said as a very fatherly figure for Romeo, in the sense that he shows genuine concern for his son.
Romeo is introduced as a lovesick man. He longs for Rosaline’s feelings and sinks into depression. This shows that he is a die-hard romantic and thinks the world of the people he loves.
Juliet is respectful towards her parents and her elders. This can be seen in the way she treats her parents, and does not wish to disappoint them in any way. She is also an intelligent thirteen-year-old, who was able to find out Romeo’s name from the Nurse. She is also quick-witted and could think of things to say in difficult situations.
The relationships in the play are mainly between the Capulets and Montagues, as well as Romeo and Juliet. Act One shows the relationship between the Capulets and Montagues, which are quite unpleasant. While between Romeo and Juliet – who are from the Capulet and Montague family – the relationship is very loving and strong. The deep contrasts between the relationships show that there is going to be a huge problem for Romeo and Juliet, and how they would be able to get through this love-hate relationship.
Lauw Wei Zhong_ 3FG
ReplyDeleteAt the start which is the prologue, Shakespeare began the play with a sonnet, giving a vague overall impression of the entire play.
At the prologue he started describing a little about the old feud between the Montague and the Capulet, and how it is linked with the love between Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare then changes the scene to the disorder and commotion created by the servants of the two families in
Act One Scene One. After which, the scenes change from the quarrel of the servants to the scolding by Prince Escalus, and then to the discussion between Old Capulet and Paris, then to the talk among Lady Capulet, Juliet, and the Nurse. Lastly, changing to how Romeo and Juliet met with each other followed by a kiss.
Act One serves as an important opening to the play by showing the contrast between the feud of the two families and the first sight of love between Romeo and Juliet. It compares how Romeo and Juliet is affected by the grudge between their families and how it subsequent leads to their tragic deaths in the later part of the play. Act One is effective as an opening of the play because it gives us an overall impression as to what beholds us and that Romeo and Juliet are about to face dilemma over their love and the feud between their families.
Shakespeare establishes the main characters in the play by first showing us the fighting between the servants of the families. The big quarrel among them clearly shows us how deep is the feud between the two families that it can lead to the trouble of Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare quickly compared the families' feud with their respective children's love with each other. This tells us that Romeo and Juliet are troubled over love. Both of them know themselves that who they love is the son or daughter of their family's enemy.
By showing us the talks between Juliet and her mum, and the discussions between Paris and Old Capulet, we can see the relationship among them in the Capulet family. For example, Lady Capulet may appear to be a loving mother to Juliet and is concerned much with who Juliet really likes, however in fact she is much more concerned with whether the one she marries is of comparable status or even higher. She cares more about the interest of the family and less concentrated on how Juliet really thinks. This can be seen in the constant persuasion to Juliet about how good and compatible Paris is to Juliet. Shakespeare also shows us how Romeo changes to become loving Juliet, from troubling over the matters of Rosaline, the woman whom he loves at first, to introducing Romeo to the party and seeing Juliet coincidentally.
In short, Act One gives us an overall picture as to how Romeo and Juliet meets with each other and fall in love, and also telling us the condition of relationships among the Montagues and the Capulets, for instance Juliet with her mother.
Thank You.
Julian Mii Chiang (10)
ReplyDelete3grace.
It is very important and how effective the opening should be as it is to address to the audience that how this 2 family, Capulet and Montague, are related to each other and to introduce the long-standing quarrel between this 2 great houses which are rooted in enmity and now breaking into new hostilities.
The way Shakespeare establishes the characters are very detailed. For example, when he first introduced Romeo to us, he told us that Romeo (son of Montague) uses rhetorical figures and he plays with words. (In Act 1, scene 1) Romeo’s mental torment, however, is genuine enough, and he admits that is not himself. Shakespeare also told us that he is peaceable by nature and with evidence by showing that how was he attempted to stop the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio. Another example on how Shakespeare introduced character in detailed will be Juliet. At the beginning of the play, we see her as a gentle and respectful young teenager who is only thirteen years old. And she shows a shrewd intelligence, shown in the way which she goes about finding out Romeo’s name from the Nurse. (In Act 1, scene 5)
Shakespeare had shown the relationship between the star-crossed lovers, (Romeo and Juliet) which emphasis that Elizabethan’s belief in which stars determine fate. However, he also had shown the foolishness of quarrel between the 2 families. Through the conversation between Gregory and Sampson, (In Act 1, scene 1) we could also see the feud between them is so extreme that they are very prejudiced to each other. We could also see the way how Shakespeare plays with words. Like “bite my thumb” meaning insulting.
The key element within the play is focused on how Romeo and Juliet met. Romeo will never meet Juliet during the feast of Capulet if his friend Benvolio did not force him to go as he does not want to see Romeo feeling depressed and seeing love as a great suffering. Since he felt that love means pain, his infatuation of Rosaline prepared him for his relationship with Juliet. In Act 1, scene 1 “What is it else? A madness most discreet, A chocking gall, and a preserving sweet.” Described that love can be anything from hate, bitterness to sweet. In Act 1, scene 2 “I’ll go along, no such sight to be shown, But to rejoice in splendor of mine own” It is ironic as Romeo actually wanted to see Rosaline, but instead, he sees Juliet. Words spoken as a sonnet to express sentiment of love. The star-crossed lovers met, and they both are very open-minded as they do not mind each other’s background. They know that their love is strong and they will fight for it.
Julian Mii Chiang (10)
ReplyDelete3grace.
It is very important and how effective the opening should be as it is to address to the audience that how this 2 family, Capulet and Montague, are related to each other and to introduce the long-standing quarrel between this 2 great houses which are rooted in enmity and now breaking into new hostilities.
The way Shakespeare establishes the characters are very detailed. For example, when he first introduced Romeo to us, he told us that Romeo (son of Montague) uses rhetorical figures and he plays with words. (In Act 1, scene 1) Romeo’s mental torment, however, is genuine enough, and he admits that is not himself. Shakespeare also told us that he is peaceable by nature and with evidence by showing that how was he attempted to stop the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio. Another example on how Shakespeare introduced character in detailed will be Juliet. At the beginning of the play, we see her as a gentle and respectful young teenager who is only thirteen years old. And she shows a shrewd intelligence, shown in the way which she goes about finding out Romeo’s name from the Nurse. (In Act 1, scene 5)
Shakespeare had shown the relationship between the star-crossed lovers, (Romeo and Juliet) which emphasis that Elizabethan’s belief in which stars determine fate. However, he also had shown the foolishness of quarrel between the 2 families. Through the conversation between Gregory and Sampson, (In Act 1, scene 1) we could also see the feud between them is so extreme that they are very prejudiced to each other. We could also see the way how Shakespeare plays with words. Like “bite my thumb” meaning insulting.
The key element within the play is focused on how Romeo and Juliet met. Romeo will never meet Juliet during the feast of Capulet if his friend Benvolio did not force him to go as he does not want to see Romeo feeling depressed and seeing love as a great suffering. Since he felt that love means pain, his infatuation of Rosaline prepared him for his relationship with Juliet. In Act 1, scene 1 “What is it else? A madness most discreet, A chocking gall, and a preserving sweet.” Described that love can be anything from hate, bitterness to sweet. In Act 1, scene 2 “I’ll go along, no such sight to be shown, But to rejoice in splendor of mine own” It is ironic as Romeo actually wanted to see Rosaline, but instead, he sees Juliet. Words spoken as a sonnet to express sentiment of love. The star-crossed lovers met, and they both are very open-minded as they do not mind each other’s background. They know that their love is strong and they will fight for it.
BELICIA TEO YEE CHEN 3MD
ReplyDeleteAct One serves as an important and effective opening to the play because there is a sense of foreboding and the two lovers meet in Act One(Scene 5) too.
The sense of foreboding and danger starts in the Prologue- "star-crossed lovers", "death-marked love". These show that the love of Romeo and Juliet are doomed. And in Act 5, the ominous sonnet of the Prologue is similar to the sonnet when Romeo and Juliet first meet. This shows that it is very certain that their love will be something that will come to no good. And in Act 5, Juliet comments- "My grave is like to be my wedding bed". This is really what happened later in the play and it is a sad premonition. This shows the strong side of Juliet and contrasts with the submissive character she portrays in Act 1 Scene 3.
Violence is also prevalent in the play because the enmity and feud of the two families are so serious that it even boils down to the fighting of their servants(Gregory, Sampson and Abraham). And Tybalt shows up with hatred and he seemed to be a very violent person. Tybalt cannot stand the Montagues, especially Romeo. Romeo starts off the play by being poetic and sad, always grieving for Rosaline to come to him. His infatuation for Rosaline cannot be compared to the sincerity of love he feels for Juliet when he first saw her.
Lady Capulet is someone who is materialistic and treats marriage as a trade. She tells Juliet that she needs to marry Paris because both of them are eligible for each other and tells Juliet "By having him, making yourself no less".
The nurse is a crude lady who likes to have sexual humour. But she seemed closer to Juliet than her own mother.
Please view my comment and add my 2 bonus marks. Thank you :)
Beverly Lee Si Xuan_ 3MD
ReplyDelete* Continued from previous comment
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are being introduced to the bawdy humour of the nurse and Juliet, who is the other main protagonist in the play. The nurse adds a much more comical element to the play and this scene is comparatively much more light-hearted as compared to the others. This can be seen from the phrase, “What lamb! What lady-bird! God forbid! Where’s this girl? What Juliet!” and she seems like a very animated and jovial character as she blabbers about Juliet’s progression from an infant to a young lady in front of Lady Capulet, for instance, the nurse said “Even or odd, of all days in the year, come Lammas Eve at night she shall be fourteen.” When the Nurse finally stops her tirade, Lady Capulet asks Juliet if she would like to be married to her suitor, Paris. Juliet seems like a very much subservient and obedient girl as does not really assert her opinion towards Paris but simply says “ Than your consent gives strength to make it fly”. In this way, she entrusts her lifelong happiness to her mother.
In Act 1 Scene 4, Mercutio, one of the play’s main source of humour, is introduced. His attitude towards love and romance is in contrast with Romeo’s attitude. This can be seen from one of Mercutio’s speeches, “And to sink in it should you burden love; Too great oppression for a tender thing”. He adds sexual innuendos into his speeches and this clearly shows his personal perspective towards love and romance. He clearly thinks that Romeo’s perspective and infatuation with romance is clearly unrealistic as he compares a dream of Romeo’s to Queen Mab. Through the Queen Mab imagery, Mercutio suggests that all romantic desires and fantasies are as nonsensical and fragile as Mab, and that they are basically corrupting. This point of view contrasts starkly with that of Romeo , who sees love as real and ennobling.
In Act 1 Scene 5, the most anticipated interaction between the two main protagonists occur between Romeo and Juliet, and they share a romantic sonnet between two of them and kiss twice in the scene. Romeo is entralled by Juliet’s beauty when he first sees her, this can be seen from the phrase “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright. It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night as a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear; beauty too rich for use,for earth too dear”. Romeo and Juliet’s love with each other seems to be of a more profound magnitude as Juliet accepts his love and seems to love him just as much as she was dismayed when she found out that he was a Monatague and therefore an enemy of the Capulets. When Tybalt learns of Romeo’s presence in the Capulets’ party, he is enraged and he has an intention to confront Romeo but he is stopped by Lord Capulet, who thinks that he is a “virtuous and well-governed youth” and tells Tybalt that “he shall be endured”. Tybalt later responds that he is outraged and wants to stage another confrontation with Romeo , this can be seen from the extract, “Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting. Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting”. This gives readers a foreboding that something adverse will happen between the meeting of Romeo and Tybalt and that a tragedy will occur.
GIAN YENJIE_3MD
ReplyDeleteAct one serve as an important and effective opening by introducing all the main characters, the theme and the relationship resolving around the play. Shakespeare establish main characters through normal events in life such as a fight in the streets or a ball for young children to enjoy. Although these are normal events, it shows a lot about the play of important relationship and the theme. For instance will the fight. This fight was not just about just angry on the surface, but was the fact that servants from Montague and Capulet was influenced from ancient grudge from each other. This portray the theme of violence. From the ball, Romeo and Juliet met each other for the first time yet both could not stop thinking about each other. This lead to the theme of love. Moreever from act 1, we get to know other important side characters such as nurse and mercutio who lighten up the atmosphere with their dirty jokes. Also like benvolia that is Romeo best friends who actually is the one that led Romeo to see Juliet for the first time.
name: yin yuan fang class:3bn
ReplyDeleteThe play begins with the prologue which is a sonnet and informs the audience about what the story is all about and the fate of the star-crossed lovers.This orderly sonnet is followed by act1 scene 1 which depicts a bunch of quarrelling servants because of the feud of the families that they serve.It is portrayed in this way that the feud is so deep that even the servants start having grudge for the servants of the other family.And then the play continues to depict the nurse, lady capulet, romeo and juliets charateristics through the scenes that follow.When romeo and juliet meet for the first tim, they are immediately in love with each other and this shows the fast pace of the progress of the story and their love but soon after they discovers each others identity and realise that their families are rivals with each other and this is a bitter sign that their love will not bear any fruits and that they are destined to not be able to love each other although they are deeply in love at this stage.This addresses the key element in the play which is the element of tragedy.
Woo YuJin 3Grace
ReplyDeleteAct 1 helps bring out the key elements of the play. Such as love, and duality.
For love, On their first meeting, Romeo and Juliet use a form of communication recommended by many etiquette authors in Shakespeare's day: metaphor. By using metaphors of saints and sins, Romeo was able to test Juliet's feelings for him in a non-threatening way.The play arguably equates love and sex with death. Throughout the story, both Romeo and Juliet, along with the other characters, fantasise about it as a dark being, often equating it with a lover. Capulet, for example, when he first discovers Juliet's (faked) death, describes it as having deflowered his daughter. Juliet later erotically compares Romeo and death. Right before her suicide she grabs Romeo's dagger, saying "O happy dagger! This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die."
For duality, it means light and darkness.
For example, both Romeo and Juliet see the other as light in a surrounding darkness. Romeo describes Juliet as being like the sun,brighter than a torch, a jewel sparkling in the night,and a bright angel among dark clouds. Juliet describes Romeo as "day in night" and "Whiter than snow upon a raven's back." This contrast creates a dramatic irony. Hence act 1 establishes the key elements of the play.
Heidi Teo 3FG
ReplyDeleteIn the very beginning, Shakespeare already shows the feud between the Capulet and Montague. In Act 1 Scene 1, Benvolio and Tybalt fights once they see each and this shows how bad their relationship is. After that, Prince Escalus enters and emphasizes on the fact that the Capulet and Montague “have thrice disturbed the quite of our streets”. This quote shows that both families not only fight, but fight quite often in public. In addition, with Romeo having a crush on Rosaline at first, Shakespeare shows us that Romeo is a guy with lots of affection. Romeo is also aware of the fact that Rosaline is a relative of the Capulet and they cannot be together. Little did he know that he would fall in love at first sight with Juliet afterwards who is the daughter of the Capulet! However, with Paris wishing to court and marry Juliet, this pair of star-crossed lovers has more serious threats to face in the future. Act 1 also clearly shows that hatred is one of the strongest elements in the play followed by love which is the beautiful romance of Romeo and Juliet. (190 words)
JOSHUA ANG_3HM_Act one opens with some of the men of Capulet clan meeting on the street men of the Montague clan. A brawl erupts, citizens join in, and the heads of the houses of Capulet and Montague come upon the scene. The Prince of the City arrives. His judgment, if there is more fighting, those who are guilty face death. The dramatic purpose of Act 1 is to introduce that the families are bound together by an ancient blood feud that has grown to a lethal hatred. The scene does this through a measured introduction of characters that always gives the audience time to assimilate who a particular character is, their personality, and their relationships to other characters. On a story level, because this story is about a conflict between love and hate, introducing the hate that fuels the story's action also sets the story into motion.
ReplyDeletePoh Qin Jie_3Grace_(It shows how Romeo's love towards Juliet is Much Much more different from his feelings towards Rosaline. It also acts as a introduction to show how Romeo and Juliet meets and how they fell in love at first sight. It shows how they love each other deeply and how they would disobey their parents just to be with each other. As their parents were long term enemy. So they had to sacrifice a lot to be with each other. Even juliet who used to be obedient turned defiant to be with romeo.
ReplyDeleteChang Chen Yang_3CR_In Act One Scene One,Shakespeare uses this to introduce the characters,their families,the feud and the relationship between the servants to the respective families.In the conversation between Sampson and Gregory,it displays the hatred of Capulet,"Thrust them to the wall,The dogs of Montague".This is further amplified by the appearance of Tybalt when he shows his sensitivity to the appearance of Benvolio,a Montague and specific words he says,"Peace?I hate the word as i hate hell".This scene also contains the first appearance of Prince Escalus,who gives us a brief of the feud between the two families," Have thrice disturb'd the quiet of our streets,And made Verona's ancient citizens,Cast by their grave beseeming ornaments,To wield old partisans, in hands as old,Canker'd with peace,to part your canker'd hate" and also how he is concerned about his people and how the feud affects the characters such as Romeo and Juliet and the people of Verona.This scene also shows how Romeo's relationship with love and how he is in love with love and Rosaline,"Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still.......Dost thou not laugh?"
ReplyDeleteMALCOLMLEEYAOHONG_3CR_It serves as an important opening and effective opening to the play as it provides most of the background information needed to understand the world of the play and also the time of era of it.It shows the feud and how serious the feud is between the Montague and Capulet. For example, even the two servants of the house of Capulet, Sampson and Gregory would fight with the Montagues just because of the feud between the two families. Act one also shows you the relationships of the various characters and also the different class of people, for example the servants who are lowest in power to the prince who occupies political power and is also one of the highest in the social rank. It also shows you the characteristics of the different characters like Romeo who is portrayed as a person who is distracted and also a lovelorn while Tybalt as a hotheaded and rash person. It also shows the servants's attitude towards their masters and also how the feud of the two noble families affect or disturb the lives of those living in Verona. And also how the prince is a influential political figure who holds power such that even the noble families obey his orders.
ReplyDeleteSoh Li Yuan
ReplyDelete3Harmony
In Act One, Shakespeare introduces the characters and their family. He starts the act with a conflict between the two families, and showing how the grudge is carried down from the masters, to even the servants. Shakespeare then start to introduce Romeo's family, full of warmth with loving parents. This can be seen when Lady Montague cared about Romeo, asking "O where is Romeo? Saw you him today?" when she didn't see him. On the other hand, the Capulet family was introduced by Capulet, acting like a considerate father- "My will to her consent is but a part." , yet he indirectly forces Juliet to accept Paris. Not only does Shakespeare introduces the characters in Act One, Romeo and Juliet also meets each other in Act One, at Capulet's feast. Shakespeare starts the tragedy of the love story between Romeo and Juliet, when both Romeo and Juliet falls in love at first sight. Hence Act One serves as an important starting of the play as the main characters are introduced, and the relationship within the families are shown(through the fight between the servants of the two families).
Kenric_3GR_It is important as its shows how much hatred there is between the two families(even the servants of both families hate each other). In the start, Shakespeare has also included many sexual and rude remarks to attract its audience as the audience do not really like 'clean' plays. In the the first scene, the main character traits of both the heads of the Montague and Capulet families. He also shows the differences in attitude between Lady Montague and Lady Capulet.
ReplyDeleteWoo Hue Kyee, 3MD
ReplyDeleteIn Act one, Shakespeare had introduced to us the feud between the Capulet and the Montague family through the dispute between both houses’ servants. This will then make it clear that the two families are not on good terms with each other, and as one of the themes of the play is hate and violence, this scene had provided an insight of the situation in Verona between the two houses. Next, both families’ key members had been introduced. This will then enable us to have a better understanding of those characters and allow us to anticipate what was about to happen afterwards. For example, it was said that Tybalt is a man who love violence and is easily provoked and Mercutio is a proud and quarrelsome man, it was no surprise that both of them got into a conflict and resulted in their own deaths. Then Romeo and Juliet had also been introduced and after their meeting, we could also know that both parties’ love would be hindered due to their families’ feud and things would end up tragically. Therefore, Act One serves as an important and effective opening.
Doreen_3CR_Act 1 addresses the feud which is the base for the play's main themes, love and hate. It introduces the main characters and their main traits, most of which will end up causing major events later in the play. Three of the major events within the play, the feud, Romeo's infatuation with Rosaline and the meeting of the two main characters, occur in it.
ReplyDeleteAct 1 introduces the feud between the two households Capulet and Montague through servants, showing the extent and senselessness of it as the hatred between the two families transcends to their servants as well, without knowing the reason as to why they are fighting.
Benvolio and Tybalt are introduced as contrasting characters, Benvolio being a peacemaker while Tybalt's irate and quarrelsome nature emphasizes on the senseless feuding, as does old Capulet when he asked for his longsword to join in the fray.
The theme of hatred is first introduced in Tybalt, old Capulet, the servants and old Montague.
Prince Escalus is introduced as a power of authority when he breaks up the fight upon his arrival. He is the one that later orders Romeo’s banishment, a major event in the play.
Romeo is introduced as grieving over his infatuation for and rejection by Rosaline. This superficial infatuation is in contrast with his love for Juliet later in the play, and is an emphasis for the genuineness of his 'true love' for Juliet.
Romeo and Benvolio hear about and decide to attend the Capulet feast, and this leads to Romeo’s meeting with Juliet whereby they fall in love at first sight, demonstrating Romeo’s key and fatal flaw that is his rashness. This marks the start of the theme of love in the play.
Juliet is presented as a meek character at first, and this contrasts with her change in character after falling for Romeo, in which she displays her cunning and ability to feel deep passion. (The round-about way in which she learnt of Romeo's name from Nurse, and her declaration, "If he be married, my grave is like to be my wedding bed.")
The threat of Paris's suit for Juliet's hand in marriage is also introduced before the two main characters of the play even meet. This threat, along with the feud between the two families, result in the love between Romeo and Juliet being impossible before it even began. This emphasizes on the Elizabethan belief that fate is predetermined 'by the stars' and that they are indeed 'star-crossed lovers'.
Mercutio is introduced with his jovial and lively character in contrast with Romeo's gloomy disposition before he meets Juliet. His bold character plays a vital role, sparking off a chain of major events later in the play.
Michael Tan_3CR_Act One sets the scene, provides the general themes of the play and introduces most of the main characters. It also provides insight on the various happenings in Verona. Going back to themes, the conversation between Gregory and Sampson (and later on, the Prince's speech as well) effeciently delivers a heavy impression on the feud and shows us the degree of hatred between the two families, which gives us a general idea of the play's themes; the play will deal with hatred, violence and conflict. However, this is not all. The play then brings in Romeo and we are also introduced to one of the most important themes: love. From the act alone, it is already obvious that the play will deal with the conflict of the hatred between families and love of some kind. To emphasise this, many contrasts are made in this act, an example being Benvolio and Tybalt, as well as the transition from the violence and hatred bred from the feud to Romeo as he laments a seemingly impossible love. Although he speaks in an artificial manner and we can see that his infatuation with Rosaline is not true love, he is extremely passionate about it. In this way, we are also shown Romeo’s passionate personality, a characteristic which defines him and is maintained throughout the entire story, especially after he falls in love with Juliet. The numerous relationships between characters are also touched upon. When Montague, for example, speaks of Romeo, he does so with great distress and shows much concern for his son. The relationship between them is thus made clear. This is also important as it has effect on the final scenes of the play (his love for him eventually leads him to overlook the grudge, being hurt so much from his death and realising that it was his fault to begin with). We are also able to discern the kind of man he is from his speech: he is a caring and warm father to his son. This is also another contrast that is drawn between love and hate; he shows his loving side all too quickly after displaying his hatred for Capulet. Other important characters are introduced, so effectively that their personalities are displayed with as little as a sentence or two. For example, Lady Montague displays her practical and gentle nature when she tells Montague not to go after Capulet. Lady Capulet, however, is quite the opposite. We can see her insensitive and cold nature when she mocks Capulet. The prince is another important example. He is introduced as the peace-keeper, as a man who cannot tolerate violence and chaos through his long speech about the chaos, the disrupters of peace and how he shall punish them for doing so.
ReplyDeleteGiam Yan Hui_3Grace
ReplyDeleteAct 1 is important as it has set the basics of the whole story of the play. It shows the audiences of the important details which then allows them to understand the rest of the details in the story.
Like in Act1 Scene1, we first see the servants of the Capulets sexually insulting the maidens of Montague verbally. This already shows how deep the fowl of the two families is that the hate is even brought down to the servants. Which is also the main point that the whole story revoles around.
For the characters, we can see that Shakespeare has used the way they speak and also their behaviours to show the characteristics of the roles. For example, Juliet, in Chapter3 when the Nurse was joking about her, saying how Juliet will be involved in sexual activities, Juliet was exbarassed, and Lady Capulet was trying in vain to stop her from making those comments. However, when Juliet finally spoke a few words, the Nurse immediately kept quiet. This shows the intelligience of Juliet such that she is able to rebut her Nurse back in contrast to how Lady Capulet has tried to stop her, which also brings out the characterists of Lady Capulet that she is inefficient and dull-witted compared to Juliet.
One of the key elements of Romeo and Juliet is Love, and Tragedy. In Act1, we already see the love between Romeo and Juliet. However, we also see the conflict between the two families that they are unable to mix like oil and water. Therefore, by using the conflicts between the two lover's family, it has already successfully told the audience that this is a love tragedy.
Therefore, Shakespeare has used behaviours, speeches to portray out the characteristics of the characters and used events and happenings in the Act1 to slowly progress the story into its main plot.
Act 1 grabs the attention of both the higher and lower classes of audience with the use of poetry for the higher classes and the comical influences would draw the lower classes into the play. It also introduces the audience to the characters and their relationships to portray the situation and inform us of their personalities early on in the play. Shakespeare also introduced the characters by showing us how the characters spoke to one another, using certain language that will let the readers view it in a certain way. Shakespeare takes Romeo and Juliet from strangers to lovers. I think the biggest element here is the hatred the families have for one another. When they first meet at the party, their love is just about each other. When they discover they are spawns of their families' enemies, their relationship is about the long-standing familial resentment, not just two of them. As for Juliet's relationship with her parents, her mother does not act like a "real mom", she seems more like a "shallow and self-centered mom". As for her father, I think she has a good relationship with him before she met Romeo but Juliet's father is overprotective of his daughter and likes to take charge of her life. He is the one who decides who Juliet should marry.
ReplyDelete-Pu Hsin
LEESERJEAN_3MD
ReplyDeleteThe main objective of the first scene of every play is to act as an opening which provides u with the main gist of the play. Also, it brings u in on the theme and main topic of the play. It also creates a certain circumstance, plot and storyline that the rest of the play usually entangles around.
In romeo and juliet, an opening full of rousing action helps capture the audience’s attention . Shakespeare provides all the background information needed to understand the world of the play. In the brawl, he portrays all of the layers of Veronese society, from those lowest in power, the servants, to the Prince who occupies the political and social pinnacle. He further provides excellent characterization of Benvolio as thoughtful and fearful of the law, Tybalt as a hothead, and Romeo as distracted and lovelorn, while showing the deep and long-standing hatred between the Montagues and Capulets. At the same time, Shakespeare establishes some of the major themes of the play. The opening of Romeo and Juliet is a marvel of economy, descriptive power, and excitement.