Author: Kahu Allan

“Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. then your love would also change.”

“Love is heavy and light, bright and dark, hot and cold, sick and healthy, asleep and awake- its everything except what it is!”

“My only love sprung from my only hate.”

“We burn daylight.”

“And where two raging fires meet together, they do consume the thing that feeds their fury.”

“It were a grief so brief to part with thee.
Farewell.”

Original

‘William Shakespeare includes the idea of fate in his play Romeo and Juliet.’

Strengthened

‘William Shakespeare incorporates the idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet.’

William Shakespeare (1585–1613) wrote some exceptional plays about love, death, kings, queens, betrayal and loss. All of these are impressive pieces of literacy because of his remarkable way with words and his abilities to use certain techniques to enhance hie work and add seperate ideas to keep the audience entertained.  One of these techniques is a semantic field. The semantic field creates a separate idea using metaphors throughout the play and elaborating on them. One example is the idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet which is brought in before the actual play begins. There is a line in the prologue, ‘A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life‘ which immediately brings in the idea a couple will die even before we know who the couple is. We know they will kill themselves but we don’t know why, it has been decided in fate.

Early in the play, Lady Capulet gives her illiterate servant a letter of all the guests names that would attend a party tonight at their house. The servant (being illiterate) sets out to find a person who can read the list so he can find the guests. The first person he comes across is Romeo and lets him read the list when Romeo discovers that the love of his life, Rosaline, would be there. Coincidence or fate? He sets out to the party and shortly before entering the house he says, ‘But he that hath the steerage of my course direct my sail.‘ This essentially means that he is surrendering to fate and letting it take him wherever he is supposed to be since what has been decided, has been decided and some higher power knows what happens yet.

At the party he meets… Juliet! Romeo meets Juliet and the play is named after them so they were going to meet whatever happened. There could not have met so easily, the servant could not have found Romeo, the party could have been delayed or canceled, either one of them could have been killed in earlier years in the war between their families but the still met. Fate? Then the play gets into its stride and throughout the play when something goes wrong to Romeo, like when Juliet is put to sleep in act five scene one, he blames fate and says, ‘Then I defy you, stars!’ And sets off to kill himself, like the play foretold.

 

‘Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye,

The day to cheer and night’s dank dew to dry,

I must upfill this osier cage of ours

With baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers.

Many for many virtues excellent,

None but for some and yet all different.

O, mickle is the powerful grace that lies

In plants, herbs, stones, and their true qualities:

For naught so vile that on the earth doth live

But to the earth some special good doth give;

Nor aught so good but, strain’d from that fair use,

Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse.

Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied,

And vice sometime by action dignified.’

Task Set A: Semantic Field (writing) and Make a Prop (create).

Task Set B: Analyse Language (writing), Dramatic Monologue (speaking) and Film a Scene (create).

Essay: How does Baz Luhrmann keep the spirit of Shakespearean Theater alive is his interpretation of Romeo and Juliet?

Place: Capulet Tomb

Time: Wednesday Night

Characters: Paris, Page, Romeo, Balthasar, Friar Lawrence, Juliet, Captain of the Watch, Watchmen (3), Prince Escalus, Capulet, Lady Capulet and Montague.

Paris is saying goodbye to Juliet when Romeo arrives. Paris recognises him as the murderer of Tybalt and he thinks he is at the tomb to destroy it. They fight and Paris is killed. He is laid in the tomb by Juliet and Romeo drinks the poison he bought in Mantua. Juliet wakes and stabs herself when she sees Romeo’s dead body. The Friar arrives and is the found by the Watch. The Captain of the Watch brings the family to the tomb and Friar explains Romeo and Juliet’s story to them. Capulet agrees to make a statue of Romeo and Montague offers to make a statue of Juliet from solid gold. The families are brought together.

Quote: “A glooming peace this morning with it brings brings, the sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go hence to have more talk of these sad things, some shall be pardon’d and some punished: For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and Romeo.”

Place: Friar Lawrence’s cell

Time: Wednesday Morning

Characters: Friar John, Friar Lawrence

We learn that is was Friar John who was meant to deliver the message to Romeo and didn’t because of a terrible sickness that made them go into Quarantine. They believe it was a divine intervention. Friar Lawrence prepares to go to Juliet’s tomb

Quote: ” Going to find a barefoot brother out, one of his order, to associate me, here in this city visiting the sick, and finding him, the searchers of the town, suspecting that we both were in a house where the infectious pestilence did reign, seal’d up the doors, and would not let us forth, so that my speed to Mantua there was stay’d.”

Place: Mantua Street

Time: Wednesday Morning

Characters: Balthazar arrives and informs Romeo of Juliet’s ‘death’. It is here we learn he has not received the letter from the Friar and Romeo sets off to an Apothecary to buy some poison.

Quote: “There is thy gold, worse poison to men’s souls.”

Place: Juliet’s bedroom

Time: Wednesday Morning

Characters: Nurse, Lady Capulet, Capulet, Paris, Friar Lawrence, Musicians, Peter.

Nurse finds Juliet dead in her bed and everyone gathers from the noises of destress coming from the room. Everyone shares their opinions on the horrible day and the act ends with a disagreement with Peter and the Musicians on music.

Quote: “Come, is the bride ready to come to church?” “Ready to go but never return. O son, the night before thy wedding day hath Death lain with thy wife.”

Place: Capulet house

Time: Wednesday morning. About 3am

Characters: Capulet, Lady Capulet, Nurse, Servingmen.

Capulet is speeding the wedding along. He sends Nurse to wake Juliet.

Quote: “Come, stir, stir, stir! The second cock hath crow’d, the curfew bell hath rung. ’tis three a’clock. Look to the bak’d meats, good Angelica, spare not for the cost.”