Describe a character who has changed and how you feel about them

I think the character who changed most in the play was Romeo. In summary, at the start of the book he is innocent young man looking for love, but by the end he is a murderer. Love and death change him.

In the start of the play he is depressed because he loves Rosaline but she doesn’t love her back. His father says he is seen crying under the same tree every morning. Romeo constantly complains to his friends saying how horrible and heart breaking love is. Evidence of this is in Act 1 scene I line 174: “O brawling love! O loving hate!”
But this all changes when he meets Juliet, he is joyful and definitely not depressed! He seems so happy that everyone who knows him is surprised of this and thinks Rosaline must finally love him back. We know this because Friar Laurence Says: "Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken?" (2.iii.65-67)

Of course he is not happy because of Rosaline, he is happy because he has found a girl who he loves more than he has ever loved, and he feels this time it is different, that there is a connection between them, as if she loves him back. (Which she does of course!) This shows Juliet has really improved his life (for now) and made him happy again, but, he is obviously not happy for ever after because he kills himself in the end.

After meting Juliet, he isn't just happier, but he becomes more drastic with his choices and opinions because he kills Tybalt and then Paris and finally himself. Maybe he has stopped making rational choices because his mind is clouded with thoughts of Juliet. 

Killing Tyblat changes him more because he has committed what is seen as an unforgivable crime and he now has to be severely punished. He doesn't get the death penalty but is banished from Verona, and so is feeling sad because he cannot see Juliet. It also complicates things with Juliet because her husband has just killed her cousin and so she's angry at Romeo but also dreading the prospect of not being able to see him. We now view Romeo as a killer who could do bad things again, we no longer feel sorry for the innocent, depressed Montague boy.

This is how Love and Death have changed who Romeo is, and what he can do.

Romeo and Juliet

a)   The opening scene or scenes of a play often convey information that is important to the audience. What important information is conveyed in the opening scene or scenes of the play that you have studied? (15)
b)  In your opinion, how successful is the playwright in capturing the attention of the audience in the opening scene or scenes of the play? Support your answer with reference to your studied play.

A) the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet, the important information that is conveyed it the fact that Montague and Capulet were ancients enemies in the same dignity. In the city of Verona where the scene starts from an "ancient grudge". "where civil blood makes civil hands unclean". This sentence basically means 'divided community which is bloodshed that curropts the citizens.

B)The playwright was very successful in capturing the attention of the audience at the opening scenebecause it was telling a scoope of the plqay and maade it interresting of what was going on in the book and how things came about by using drama irony and keeping the audience in suspense wondering what was going to happen to the two lovers and how they were going to fix it.

romeo and juliet essays

Romeo and Juliet essay-2007 p2 question 2

Q.)Name a play you have studied and state what you think is its main idea and/or message. Explain how this main idea and/or message is communicated in the play.

                  The play I studied is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The main message in this poem is that love and death are connected. Romeo and Juliet are “star-cross’d lovers,” their love is destined for disaster. Although they tried, their fate could not be changed and the play ends tragically for the lovers. The theme of love and death is seen repeatedly throughout this play and is portrayed through Shakespeare’s characters, language, and imagery. The scenes I will be discussing are act1 scene5, act2 scene2 and act 5 scene3.

Act1 scene5 is the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet. In this scene, we see the first association of love and death. We know love is a very prominent message in this scene through Shakespeare’s language. We can also imagine that through the actor’s body language and facial expressions love would be an obvious theme. However an observant reader will also find the love-death connection in Shakespeare’s language,”Go ask his name. If he be married, my grave is like to be my wedding bed." This quote shows how love and death are often compared to each  other, Juliet is comparing a grave to a wedding bed.

In act2 scene2 we see from Shakespeare’s imagery how love and death are connected. Shakespeare uses celestial imagery when describing Juliet. “Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon".We can picture the sun ‘killing’ the moon every  morning as it rises in our heads just from reading the line. Once again we see how love and death are linked throughout this play.

We also see the love-death idea through Shakespeare’s characters. In act5 scene5, the final scene we see how Romeo is willing to die for love. We see his bravery and his loyalness  to Juliet brings him to commit suicide. Romeo does not think life is worth living without love, his immediate reaction to finding out Juliet is dead is to die himself, which shows love and death are connected in his mind. Romeo kills Paris to be with Juliet, death is a cause of an act of love.

In this essay I have shown why I think the theme of love and death is the strongest idea in this play. This message is communicated through William Shakespeare’s language imagery and characters, as well as the actor’s body language and facial expressions

Romeo and Juliet Idea/Theme

1. Name a play you have studied and state what you think is its main idea and/or message. Explain how this main idea and/or message is communicated in the play. 
                                    
                                                                         OR 

2. You have been asked to recommend a play for students studying for the Junior Certificate. Would you recommend the play you have studied for this examination? Give reasons based on close reference to your chosen text.

1)     The play I have studied is 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare. The play entertains many different ideas and messages but the most prominent is the existence, battle and contrast between love and hate. The play begins in 17^th century Verona where immediately hatred is apparent. The servants from two rival families begin provoking and taunting one and other before it descends into violence. We are already introduced to how deep-rooted and serious the Montagues’ and Capulet’s family feud is. A son to Montague, Romeo begins the play in a sombre state as he is lovesick due to his unrequited love for Rosaline. In an attempt to cheer Romeo up, his friends bring him to a party hosted by Capulet. At the party, Romeo first meets Juliet and they instantly fall in love. That very night they confess their feelings yet understand that their love will be severely jeopardised by their families’ hatred. The plot of the play highlights the main idea behind it. The contrast between the young lovers and their families’ old hatred is communicated through what happens to the characters. The plot is ridden with acts of hatred including murder on three occasions. To combat this Shakespeare gives two characters who are intensely in love. There is also a battle, not of blades, but of love and hate: Can Romeo and Juliet’s love defeat the Capulet and Montague feud? The answer at the end is yes, the families do end their fighting, but only after the death of the two people who caused the peace – Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare uses the characters in the play to display the idea of the contrast between love and hate. Romeo is very changeable. He switches in and out of love quickly but also endures periods of deep sadness, particularly evident when he was lovesick at the start of the play. These characteristics mirror the contrast between love and hate which is the message in the play. To express these mood swings hyperbole is used to demonstrate the intense emotions of that time (whether happiness or sadness). The message is communicated through speech and the different techniques used by Shakespeare. Oxymora are used which show contrast. Examples include “oh happy dagger” (Juliet 5: iii: 182) and “sweet sorrow (Juliet 2: ii: 188). The act of murder is the ultimate portrayal of hatred. Yet, in this play, it is carried out by a lover in Romeo. Extreme feelings take control when Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) slayed Romeo’s friend Mercutio. Enraged, Romeo steps up to fight. Romeo taking on Tybalt is a melancholic matchup between Juliet’s beloved husband and cousin. Another use of contrast was the fact that apart from their wedding day, Romeo and Juliet always saw each other in darkness. Juliet in particular is described with a recurrent light motif that is used throughout the play. The idea that Romeo and Juliet’s love is the only light in their families’ dark feud is shown evidently in this way. The prominent celestial motif supports this image of brightness in a pitch black sky. The main idea in William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is love and hate.

Romeo and Juliet

1. Choose a character from a play you have studied. (a) What was your first impression of your chosen character? Support your answer with reference to the play. (10) (b) To what extent does your impression of your chosen character change as the play progresses? Explain your answer with reference to your chosen play.


Romeo is the character I have chosen as my first impressions of him were quite distinct and unusual. Romeo at the start of the play is romantic, jealous and engrossed in his own very solitude, hiding away from society and his very own family.Romeo loves but is not loved. He is taken by Rosaline and rather obsessed , he feels she is the one and is desperate for her to feel the same way. Romeo is a romantic,he is constantly thinking of ways to sweep Rosaline off her feet and for her to fall in love with him, as much as he is with her.This love however is physical as her appaearence is what is drawing him.

My first impression of Romeo changed  when he became more and more violent as the play progressed. He showed his violent ways when he slays Tybalt,  after Mercutio was killled. Romeo drew blood again when he kills Paris near Juliet's tomb in a disagreement out of their grief for their beloved Juliet. Romeo changed constantly and was easily changed by women and situations, predominately  by Juliet. Romeo became hysterical after the fight with Tybalt as he feared exile and being away from his beloved Juliet.  Romeo is however not as scared and fearful as when he slays Paris. He just grants the dying wish of Paris which is to put his body beside Juliet's, before he takes his own life.  He talks, then drinks the poison and quickly dies leaving a waking julliet in horror. Romeo's death was caused by fiery, passionate love and a knowledge of his own that he could not live without Juliet.  This caused Romeo's death and  shows how intense and passionate he is about anything to do with something that he cherishes. Romeo at first is passionate but more aware of himself than others by the end of the play, He still has the passion but has gained violence, more hysteria and a sense of grittiness. Romeo is interestingly not the same character by the end of the play as at the start his life  is full of solitude and by the end it is full of people and drama. It was a passionate start for Romeo at the start of the play and was a very passionate ending for Romeo at the end of the play and his life.

        Romeo & Juliet

       

Select a scene or episode from the play you have studied and explain how you would produce it. (JC 1999)

The play I studied this year was Rome and Juliet. The scene I would select from Romeo and Juliet to produce is the final scene of the play.

The scene begins when a grieving Paris enters with his servant. I would have Paris enter from front stage left with his servant trailing behind. Juliet’s tomb would be across most of the back of the stage with a small space on either side. Juliet would lie on a concrete slab in centre stage. Paris would enter and would be dressed well despite losing his future wife to death. He would speak quietly but with meaning. His servant would have a lot of manners and speak with respect for Paris when answering him.

Romeo would enter centre stage right with his servant. Romeo would be dressed in dirty clothes and with a shirt that has holes in it because he has just travelled long to get to Juliet. Romeo would whisper to his servant to avoid detection from anyone lurking. After Romeo tells his servant not to go over to Romeo no matter what, the servant would sneak off stage from where he had entered.

Then Romeo would make his way to the tomb in a crouched position. Paris would be standing outside the tomb turned 90 degrees to face both the audience and Romeo once he sees him. When Romeo reaches the front of the tomb he stands once he sees Paris. When he tries to convince Paris not to fight he would speak in a kind voice but still not to loud as he still doesn’t want to be detected. Paris would speak with anger and he would speak quickly to build tension. When the fight begins they would move around the front of the stage until Romeo defeats Paris. When Romeo enters the tomb he would walk around the back of the table where Juliet is lying so that he faces the audience. He would speak slowly and he would begin crying when talking to her. He would then drink the poison. When Juliet wakes she would look lost for a few seconds to begin. She would get up and remember where she was. She would speak with delight that the potion works but then she would then see Romeo and begin crying. When she gets the knife she would go to center stage and speak very slowly and clearly before killing herself. When the parents enter they would be dressed in just the pajamas of the time as they rushed out once they heard what had happened. Prince would finally enter and go to front stage center and finish the play.

romeo and juliet 1999 JC question

Romeo and Juliet

1.   Select a scene or episode from a play you have studied and explain how you would produce it. (JC, 1999)

The play I have studied is Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. I think that if I were to make a production of a scene, I would choose the scene when Romeo kills Paris and finds Juliet in the tomb before killing herself and leading to Juliet also killing herself.

First I would tell the actor who plays Romeo to first act sad and angry when he first  goes to the tomb and fights Paris, but then after killing Paris he should just act very sad  and guilty when he opens the tomb and sees Juliet ‘dead’ (as she isn’t actually dead). I would also tell the actress who plays Juliet to act happy and rejoice when she wakes up because she sees the Friar and thinks Romeo is coming, but after the Friar telling her and her seeing Romeo dead, she should act very sad and suicidal. While the Friar and Paris should both act very guilty as they both think it was their fault that Juliet is dead, but Friar Lawrence should act desperate to get to Juliet in time and Paris should act very angry and savage when he’s fighting Romeo.

The setting will be the graveyard in Verona at midnight, the stage will be decorated very dimly and with gravestones all around and a large tomb at the side to be the tomb that Juliet and all the Capulets are buried. The props will be some tools like picks, shovels and crowbars for Friar Lawrence to bring to the graveyard when he enters the scene. And props like swords (for Romeo and Paris to fight with), a dagger (for Juliet to kill herself with), and a small bottle of poison (which will really be filled with water) for Romeo kill himself with.

The actors who play Romeo and Paris will be wearing everyday clothes that people in the 17^th century would wear. Juliet would be wearing a fine dress as this would be what she’s buried in and Friar Lawrence would be wearing a habit and a tonsure as he is a priest.

Shakespeare

Romeo & Juliet

1. Choose a character who you think changed the most in the text. State your feelings about them.

      If I had to choose a character in this play that changed the most, it would be Romeo. At the start of the play Romeo was lovesick, day dreamy and could only think about his love for a girl called Rosaline who didn't love him back. The only problem is that he spends more time thinking and dreaming about her then he does actually talking to her. He is very romantic, handsome, intoxicating, and poetic and is also very charismatic. He can also be very intense and is often trying to push Juliet too quickly but Juliet is as smart as him and says that she will wait until they are married. Although, Juliet becomes the more intense person of the two as she proposes that they get married 

      When Romeo saw Juliet for the first time, he said that he loved her, but I think it was just lust that Romeo felt for Juliet whereas I think Juliet really did love Romeo.

      Romeo is a good fighter and with this skill he is able to kill two men.  When Tybalt and Romeo's friend Mercutio were fighting Romeo tried to stop them fighting but he ended up being the cause of his friend's death. He fought Tybalt and after an aggressive battle he killed him. After he killed Tybalt, Romeo changed a bit and not for the better. He started becoming a little colder, less likeable and when he was banished, and although he was away from Juliet, I couldn't feel sorry for him as I think he deserved the punishment. 

      When he hears of Juliet's death, a feeling of sadness washes over him. He goes to a poor apothecary and buys a poison off him. He travels to Verona and goes to the Capulet's tomb. He finds Paris there, they duel and Paris becomes Romeo's next victim. Romeo enters Juliet's tomb and sees her. Romeo takes the poison and dies beside Juliet's grave, just before she wakes up and this play turns from a love story into a tragedy.