Romeo and Juliet

1. Romeo and Juliet Common Mistakes

2. Theme The theme should not be a paragraph unto itself. The theme is what you are proving overall. You are using literary devices to discuss how they help develop a theme within the play. The theme should be mentioned in your body paragraphs when you explain how the devices you discussed help develop the theme or what they reveal about the theme and character. The theme MUST be mentioned and referred to in your essay.

3. Introduction Not mentioning the title of the play or the playwright. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Not giving a brief summary of the play overall (2-3 sentences). Not putting the scene in to context (what has happened just before the scene takes place). Not providing a summary of the passage itself and where it comes from. Not mentioning its significance Not mentioning the theme and literary devices that will be discussed in the body paragraphs.

4. Example Introduction Romeo and Juliet, a play written by William Shakespeare, is the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers who are trapped between the feuding of their families. After getting married, Romeo and Juliet decide to run away together. However, as Juliet’s parents have arranged a marriage for her that is inescapable, she, along with Friar Lawrence devise a plan that involves her faking her death by taking a temporary poison.In a passage from Act 4 Scene 3, Juliet delivers a monologue and expresses her doubts and uncertainty about the plan; she wonders if the poison will work, if it is actual poison meant to kill, and if she will awake in the coffin, but ultimately decides to drink the vial down. This passage is significant as it is the point in the story where everything begins to go wrong and inevitable leads to Romeo and Juliet’s death.Through rhetorical questioning, diction, imagery, and mood/tone, Shakespeare explains how love comes with sacrifices—it can be risky and petrifying but the feeling of love is strong and will in the end trump all other emotions. 

5. Do you remember PEE? Point: Shakespeare created a confused, fearful and anxious mood through the use of rhetorical questions. Example: Juliet contemplates the morality of the friar, “What if it be a poison, which the friar/Subtly hath minister’d to have me dead” Explain: Juliet reveals her fear about the decision she is contemplating and the mood of doubt she has in terms of the holy friars intentions. This shows how she is questioning God and her religious beliefs as the friar has been ‘tried a holy man’. Point: Shakespeare creates conflicting moods for Juliet to show us she is unsure of what she believes and unsure of those around her. Example: Juliet “fear[s] it is: and yet, [she thinks], it should not.” She is fully aware of the possible repercussions of her choices and fears the worst outcome. She trusts yet questions her trust in authority figures as she has just been condemned by her father if she does not follow through with her marriage to Paris. Explain: She is fully aware of the possible repercussions of her choices and fears the worst outcome. She trusts yet questions her trust in authority figures as she has just been condemned by her father if she does not follow through with her marriage to Paris. Example: She continues to ask, “And, in rage, with some great kinsman’s bone/As with a club, dash out my desperate brains.” Explain:

6. Body paragraphs. Not making a clear point to start you body. Your first sentence should be the overall point you intend to prove. Example: Shakespeare created a confused, fearful and anxious mood through the use of rhetorical questions. Juliet asks herself “What if it be a poison, which the friar/Subtly hath minister’d to have me dead” revealing her fear about the decision she is contemplating and the mood of doubt she has in terms of the holy friars intentions. This shows how she is questioning God and her religious beliefs as the friar has been ‘tried a holy man’. Her conflicting moods show us she is unsure of what she believes and she ‘fear[s] it is: and yet, [she thinks], it should not.” She is fully aware of the possible repercussions of her choices and fears the worst outcome. She continues to ask, “And, in rage, with some great kinsman’s bone/As with a club, dash out my desperate brains.” Through this image Juliet is reveals she is overwhelmed by her terror that if she wakes in the vault before Romeo comes to get her out she will succumb to the death that surrounds her, being trapped in the burial vault. This reveals Juliet’s perplexed state as she is struggling with her decision to take the poison that will make her appear dead. It shows us she is thoughtful and thinking of the consequences of her actions. It reveals a maturity that is beyond her 13 years despite the rashness of all her other choices. Through the use of rhetorical questions and Juliet’s mood we are meant to understand that love supersedes all other emotions ,“Romeo, I come! This do I drink to thee.” She drinks the potion despite her fears because her love for Romeo is greater.