Shakespeare Assignment - Romeo & Juliet
GCSE Shakespeare Assignment – ‘How does Shakespeare encourage the audience to feel sympathy for Juliet throughout Romeo and Juliet?’ Discuss with particular reference to Act 3, Scene 5. In conclusion, consider how a director could influence the audience’s feelings about her by explaining how this scene could be staged.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragic drama of star-crossed lovers. It includes many emotions, designed to make the audience laugh, cry, and even feel angry. By including all these strong emotions, the play is both influential and powerful. The play dilemma’s facing the characters in the play can still happen today. It is about two young lovers who fall helplessly in love and cannot control their destiny. The play is still relevant today as there is a similarity in the community of gang warfare. Being part of a gang gives members a feeling of acceptance, belonging and power. It is a strong support network, and has been since the play was written, and before. Another possible reason that the play is still relevant is related to religion. An occurrence of two people from different religions not ‘supposed’ to be together falling in love is common today. Romeo and Juliet shows an outcome of this, in Shakespeare’s time.
Juliet is a member of the Capulet family, who hate the Montague family. She is important in the play as she falls in love with the wrong person. Romeo, whom she falls in love with, is one of the Montague family, and throughout the course of their relationship, many dilemmas are formed because they have become involved with each other, which creates the basis of the play. Juliet isn’t a shy character, and is very strong-willed. She makes her own decision to be with Romeo, and doesn’t let anybody else get in her way. When first Juliet met Romeo, he kisses her and she says “You kiss by th’ book”. This tells us she is confident and determined that she will fulfill her ambition to be with Romeo.
Juliet is a young girl, and is ruled strictly by...
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