Romeo & Juliet Independent Study

Act 1 of the play Romeo and Juliet has been very interesting. In this scene, we get to know the characters as well as how the romance between Romeo and Juliet starts. In this act, Romeo is seen to be in love with Rosaline at first. His friends Benvolio and Mercutio persuade him to gatecrash Capulet's feast in order to meet Rosaline. In the meantime, Paris asks Capulet for Juliet's hand in marriage. Capulet declines, saying that he should wait another 2 years. He then invites him to the feast to meet Juliet. Lady Capulet tries to persuade Juliet into marring Paris, and so, Juliet agrees to try to love him.
At the feast,Tybalt sees Romeo, and makes plans for attacking him, but is stopped by Capulet. Romeo sees Juliet and is astonished by her beauty. He dances with her, and after exchanging some barter, they kiss. They are interrupted by Juliet's Nurse, who tells her that her mother is looking for her. When Romeo asks who her mother is, he is shocked to find out that Juliet is a Capulet. This causes him to leave the feast. As he leaves, Juliet asks Nurse who Romeo is, and like Romeo, she is shocked to learn that he is a Montague. The scene ends leaving both Romeo and Juliet madly in love and confused.
I explored many different writing techniques used by Shakespeare in this scene. For example, how he used the prologue to draw the audience in. Shakespeare also uses loads of puns, similes and double meanings. He is very descriptive and this helps to build the setting for the play. Overall, it was a very interesting scene and I managed to learn a lot from it.

Diary Entry: Juliet

Dear Diary,
I must be the person with the best, yet the worst luck in the world! You would never guess what happened today. Father held a feast in our home today, it was rather fun. Lord Paris fancies me. Apparently, this was my chance to meet and fall in love with him, but how can I when my heart belongs to another?
Indeed, I did find love in the feast, but it wasn't for Lord Paris. Oh no, it was for Romeo. Romeo Montague.
I met him on the dance floor. At first,he was masked and with no doubt, the most mysterious man I have ever met. The minute he lifted his mask, I set my eyes on the most handsome young men in all of Verona.With his sweet words, and irresistible charm, I could not help but fall in love with him.The second he kissed me, I knew that he was my one true love. Its true, I'm in love with Romeo Montague, who just happens to be the son of Father's worst enemy.
The Capulet's and the Montague's have been feuding for as long as anyone can remember. Father and Mother will never allow this. They both want me to marry Lord Paris. He's alright, I suppose, but what is he compared to my sweet Romeo?
I don't know what to do now. I want to meet him again, to pursue my love for him. However, I'm afraid that if I do, Mother and Father might find out and will kill us for it.
Who would have thought love to be this complicated?

Reflection on Lesson 3 ( Act 1, Scene 2 & 3 )

Today, we studied Act 1, Scene 2 and Act 1, Scene 3 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We split the class in half, and each acted out one act.

Act 1, Scene 2 was played out by Danial (Romeo) , Hong Yi (Benvolio), Terry (Peter and Paris) and Jake (Lord Capulet). This was the scene where Paris asks Lord Capulet for Juliet's hand in marriage, but Lord Capulet declines, saying Juliet is too young. However, seeing his disappointment, Lord Capulet invites Paris to a feast he was holding that night, where Paris will meet Juliet. Benvolio, upon learning about the feast, convinces Romeo to attend so that Romeo can meet Rosaline, the girl he likes. The acting was good. However, more body language and stage movement would be ideal.

Act 1, Scene 3 was played out by Jasmin (Nurse), Jamie (Peter), Azzah (Juliet), Kai Song (Narrator) and myself (Lady Capulet). In this scene, Lady Capulet tries to convince Juliet to accept Paris' hand in marriage with the help of the nurse. I think we did quite a good job, though more attention needs to be given on stage movement and facial expressions. 

Shakespeare Insult Presentation

In this lesson, we learnt about Shakespearean insults (what they meant and how they were used). We divided ourselves into two groups and each performed a short sketch about an argument of our choice, using Shakespearean language and insults.

My group ( Jasmin, Danial, Terry, Jake and myself)'s sketch was about an argument on a macbook between Terry, Danial and Jake, with Jasmin and I overlooking it and wondering what to do with them. Our presentation was short, and went straight to the point of the task (using Shakespearean insults). However, there are things we need to improve on, namely organisation, presentation methods as well as volume of our voices. 

The second group (Jamie, Kai Song, Azzah and Hong Yi) performed a very entertaining sketch about 3 girls fighting over a boy. It was lively, and it used Shakespeare's insults very well. The performance was performed well, with loud voices and good tone. However, they started to face each other towards the end of the performance, instead of the audience. Other than that, it was a great sketch.

As a class, we learnt a lot about Shakespearean insults as well as how to present a good presentation. 

Shakespeare Presentation

Shakespeare was born in a very conservative society. Mia and Terry talked about this. Arranged marriages were very common and were controlled by parents. Women in those days received very few rights. They were not allowed to enter professions like acting, medicine, law and politics. Men were allowed to beat up their wives. People in those days also believed very strongly in witchcraft. If they believed that they had found a witch, she would be killed immediately.

Danial and I decided to do a presentation on Shakespearean theatre.The theatre in Shakespearean times was very different from today’s theatre. You were allowed to talk, eat, drink, cheer and boo. Most of Shakespeare’s plays were performed in The Globe theatre. It was built in 1599 a company called Lord Chamberlain’s men. Shakespeare was a shareholder in that company. It could hold up to 3000 people at a time, and attracted audiences of all ages throughout the hierarchy. Two plays were performed every day, usually in the afternoon. This was because it was too hot in the morning and too dark in the evening. Natural light was needed as there was no artificial light during those times.

The Globe theatre had a diameter of more than 30 meters. The stage itself was approximately 13 meters wide and 8 meters deep, though it only rose 1.5 meters from the ground. Many tools such as trap doors, candles, curtains and signs were also added. It was built out of timber, nails and stones and was open aired.

You were seated in The Globe according to your position on the social hierarchy. The peasants stood in the “pit”. They had to pay a penny per person as entrance fee and were referred to as “groundlings”. The gentry paid to sit in the galleries. They would be given cushions for extra comfort. Nobleman would pay up to 5 dollars, and sit on chairs on the stage itself.  Queen Elizabeth herself loved to watch Shakespeare’s plays, but never attended theatres. She had them performed privately at indoor playhouses instead.

Language was used to describe the scenery rather than using props. Shakespeare’s plays were supposed to be read instead of seen, so he made use of many language techniques such as alliteration, repetition, rhyme, assonance and onomatopoeia.

The theatre was not very popular at that time. People would frown upon it and it was even banned in some places. Shakespeare changed all that. His plays were so interesting and popular amongst the people that theatre became one of Britain’s favorite past times. Women were not allowed to act in plays nor attend theatre. Women’s roles were played by young boys instead.However, wealthy women were allowed, although they wore masks when they came to watch a play.

The Globe was not the only theatre in which Shakespeare’s plays were performed, although it was the most famous. Other places included The Theatre, The Curtain, Newington Butts, The Rose, The Swan, The Inn Yards, Blackfriars Theatre, The Royal Palaces. 

Some say that his play Romeo and Juliet was said to be inspired my his own marriage to Anne Hathaway.Jamie and Kai Song presented this idea. She was 8 years older than him and was pregnant before marriage. Shakespeare’s father arranged the marriage to prevent further gossip. Shakespeare himself was unhappy with the wedlock union and as time went on, their relationship got worse.

Others however, believed that Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was  just an English version of Arthur Brooks’  “The tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet”, which was originally written in Italian. Jamie and Kai Song both presented very well as they spoke clearly, maintaining eye contact with the class.
Azzah and Jake talked about the people who inspired Shakespeare. Most of his inspiration came from his family, friends, childhood, religion, other authors and history. His sister's personalities was reflected in many Shakespearean heroines. Their presentation was very interesting as most of the information was new to me. They both spoke loudly and clearly, which meant that the class understood them perfectly, as well as maintained eye contact.

Jasmin and Hong Yi presented a presentation about one of Shakespeare's most renowned plays: Julius Ceasar. A riveting tale of power, jealousy and treachery, Julius Ceasar tells the story of how Ceasar's best friend (Brutus), scared over the fact that he might be crowned King, decides to betray him by joining a band of conspirators in murdering him. In the end, a loyal friend of Ceasar's called Antony deceives Brutus into thinking that he understood him and then kills him after revealing his true intentions, avenging Ceasar. Although the play is called Julius Ceasar, most of it is written from Brutus' point of view. This play also demonstrates Shakespeare's writing techniques, such as foreshadowing ( hinting that something might happen through another event, such as a dream or a piece of advice). This presentation was presented and explained without using many notes, something I find very good.
Overall, I think the class managed to present their presentations well.