Romeo and Juliet Review

1. Romeo and Juliet Review By: Zach, Tyler, Alexa, Kamryn, Hayat, and Tatum

2. Character Analysis-Zach Romeo and Juliet are both fickle and naive. • Romeo- “If Iprofane with my un-worthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” (pg.602 line 91-94) This shows how Romeo is fickle because only maybe an hour ago he was saying how Rosaline was the only girl he would ever love. This reinforces the fact that he is naïve due to of his inexperience which has led to his fickleness. • Juliet- “Juliet(…)O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!(…) O, what a beast was I to chide at him!” (pg. 641 lines 73 and 95) This shows Juliet as a inconsistent, frivolous by at first cursing Romeo and then scolding herself for cursing him.

3. Mood Maven-Tyler Lord Capulet's dialogue pages 654-655, lines 149-195 • Capulet’s anger is obvious in this passage. His despicable personality is shown through his willingness to call his daughter offensive names like “baggage”. He compares Juliet to a curse initially disguised as a blessing. He threatens to kick Juliet out of the house. Despite Juliet’s politeness Capulet’s greed for passing his lineage makes him say these things and makes the mood discomforting.

4. Insightful identifier-Alexa Act 1 scene 5 Juliet: my only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown and known too late. Analysis: Juliet is talking about her love for Romeo. She didn’t know at first that he was supposed to hate. She didn’t know at first but when she fell in love with him, it was too late to “change her mind” of loving him.

5. Reaction Revealer-Tatum Romeo’s Honor Romeo acts very unreasonably in killing Tybalt. He knows prior to the fact that if the Prince gets word of the death of a Capulet by a Montague they will be killed. It was a very poor choice not only because Romeo would have been killed, but also he would have been taken from his beloved Juliet. If I was in a similar situation I would have been furious at Tybalt and his actions, but not enough to kill his especially knowing the consequences. Romeo could have just condemned Tybalt to death by simply telling the Prince that Tybalt killed Mercutio! Although I would have reacted much differently, I have to take into account the cultural differences in the eras I live versus when Romeo lived. I would never have killed Tybalt simply for someone else’s honor, but instead reported him to the police. Nevertheless, in the time of Shakespeare killing someone was how you honored your loved one’s death. However, most characters in this play acted arbitrarily which explains the “long-run” thinking time being so short. I may have acted similarly if I lived in the late 1500s, but it is far from sensible today. -Act 3 Scene 1; page 636

6. Reaction Revealer Continued Friar Lawrence's Foolish Mistake Friar Lawrence decides to marry Romeo and Juliet behind the backs of both Lord Capulet and Lord Montague. Friar should have known that some sort of price would come with marrying the children of two sworn enemies. Friar Lawrence serves as a voice of wisdom throughout the play, but more closely examined he is just trying to keep up with his own mistake. I think the cultural differences between the 16th century and the 21st century don’t seem to affect the decisions of Friar Lawrence versus my own decisions in this situation. Nonetheless, I would have most likely agreed keep Romeo and Juliet’s love a secret, and maybe even have waited for it to last longer than a few hours before marring them. But then again, I could not see myself marrying the two of them no matter the positive possible outcomes. -Act 2 Scene 6

7. Mind Muser (Summary)-Kamryn I was Juliet’s grandmother. She knew about Romeo and Juliet being together but didn’t tell anybody. When Romeo killed Tybalt and got banished, I went and talked to the Friar and came up with the plan to get them back together.

8. Symbol Sleuth-Hayat • Queen Mab- In Romeo and Juliet Queen Mab symbolizes a good dream that can easily turn dark and corrupt. Mercutio’s point-of-view on Queen Mab contrast s with the fate of Romeo and Juliet. In the begging Romeo and Juliet’s relationship was like a good dream, but as the story progresses their relationship turns darker and darker. –Act 1 scene 4 • Poison- In Romeo and Juliet poison has a huge symbolic meaning which is society’s tendency to poison good things and defile them. For example, because of the long-lasting feud between the Capulets and Montagues, Romeo and Juliet have a love that has turned into fatal poison. Poison symbolizes the good qualities of people who are poisoned by the world they live in. –Entire play

9. Symbol Sleuth Continued • Walls- In Romeo and Juliet the walls symbolize the separation between Romeo and Juliet. The wall is an obstacle they must overcome to be with each other. The wall can refer to Lord/Lady Capulet/Montague. The family feud is a huge obstacle Romeo and Juliet must overcome to love one another. • Light- “But soft! What light from yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun.” Shakespeare uses the sun to symbolize Juliet’s beauty, and throughout the play Romeo refers to Juliet as “the torches to burn bright”, which is light as well. Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other shines most brightly in the dark.