In Act 1 scene 5 Romeo sees Juliet for the first time at the Capulet's feast

In Act 1 scene 5 Romeo sees Juliet for the first time at the Capulet’s feast. Write about how Shakespeare creates tension and makes this scene interesting for the audience.

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The play Romeo and Juliet is based on two families, the Cauplets and the Montague’s who are enemies. The play is set in Shakespeare’s time. In Shakespeare’s time there were different rules. The girls had little choice on who they wanted to marry they didn’t have any equality in marriage also they didn’t always know or like the man before the marriage.

Women had very few rights in marriages, marriages were not often close and the girls would often get married when they were young. Romeo from the Montague family and Juliet from the Capulet family fall in love and secretly get married but suddenly separate. It involves a poison potion for Romeo but a Dagger for Juliet as they both end they own death.

In Shakespeare’s time there were famous type of entertainment such as Bear Baiting and Cock Fighting But the most famous and common type of entertainment was the theater such as the globe.

The audience were told the prologue before the play began so they would get a brief understanding off the play. It was cheap to go to the theater that’s why a lot of people went there because all of Shakespeare plays were acted out there.

In my coursework I am going to write about Shakespeare creates tension and makes Act 1 Scene 5 interesting for the audience.

In act 1 scene 5 Romeo meets Juliet for the first time at the Capulet’s feast. Romeo is to interested in Juliet to notice that Tybalt has found out that there is a Montague at the Capulet feast he also finds out that its is Romeo. Tybalt is angry to find out Romeo is there and says to his uncle, Lord Capulet

“Uncle this is a Montague our foe”. [1 I5-60]

Saying that there is a Montague our enemy here at our feast and it is a disgrace.

Romeo wants to kiss Juliet in order for him to do this he uses religious words such as when they are touching each others hands, Romeo encourages Juliet to let him kiss her by saying,

“…Let lips do what hands do”. [1 I5-102]

Romeo is being religious and saying to Juliet let our hands do what our lips do so he can kiss her. This is causing great tension for the audience as they are thinking what’s going to happen next? Are they going to get caught? Is Romeo going to die since Tybalt has found out that he is at they feast?

Romeo finds out that Juliet is from the Capulet family and says I owe my life to my enemy the Capulet before Romeo leaves the party Juliet wants to know more about him and sends her nurse to find out more about him. The nurse comes back saying,

“His name is Romeo and a Montague…” [1 I5-135]

Now that Juliet has found out more about Romeo she falls more in love and also says,

“My only love sprung from my only hate”. [1 I5-137]

At the end of this scene the audiences are caught with great tension to find out what happens next about the two lovers will they die as it said in the prologue? This has caught the audience’s tension, as they are really desperate to find out what happens next the audiences are caught in suspense because they have no idea what’s going to happen next.

The mood at the start of Act 1 Scene 5 before Tybalt recognizes Romeo is over whelming, Romantic and everyone is enjoying them. This grabs the audience interest because the audience felt sorry for Romeo at the start of the scene because a girl called Rosaline had just dumped him and Romeo says,

“…She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow do I live

Dead that live to tell it now” [1 I1 221-22]

Romeo is saying the since Rosaline doesn’t love anyone then I will not love anyone. He is also saying he will not love anyone till Rosaline loves someone but when he goes to the Capulet’s feast and sees a girl (Juliet) that he likes at the first site and says,

“O, She doth teach the torches to burn bright!” [1 I5-43]

Meaning that she makes the torches to burn brighter than normal. In other words Romeo is saying that Juliet is beautiful. This makes the audience feel happy for him because he said he will not love any no else except for Rosaline but when he goes to the feast he has found someone better than Rosaline and meets Juliet a woman who he is deeply in love with.

Tybalt wants to get revenge on Romeo by killing him for interrupting the Capulet’s feast, but has to wait for another time as Lord Capulet does not to make a scene in his feast this puts the audience at the edge of the seats as they are waiting to find out when Tybalt is going to Romeo.

Tybalt’s reaction to Romeo present makes the audience feel worried because when Tybalt finds out that a Montague who is Romeo has come to they feast Tybalt says: –

“…Fetch me my riper, boy” [1 I5-54]

The audience thinks that Tybalt is going to kill Romeo and there is going to be a fight but then the tension is calmed a bit by Lord Capulet saying,

“Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone…” [1 I5-64]

Tybalt can’t believe what his Lord Capulet is saying, leave him alone, but Tybalt is furious because there is a Montague at the Capulet’s Feasts replies by saying,

“I’ll not endure him.” [1 I5-75]

Now the audiences are really worried they must be thinking is he going to die like in Romeo’s dream where Romeo would go to the feast and fall in love with a girl and die because of her. This builds up tension and suspense but Lord Capulet deals with Tybalt by saying,

“…Am I the master here, or you? Go to!

You’ll not endure him! [1 I5 77-79]

Lord Capulet is saying ” Are you the master of the party, Shame on you, you will not do anything leave him alone” Furthermore Lord Capulet didn’t want to cause a scene in front of his guest at the feast this is proven by Lord Capulet saying,

“You’ll not make a mutiny among my guest

You will set a cock-a-hoop! ! You’ll be the man”. [1 I5 79-80]

Lord Capulet is saying you will not make a scene in front of my quest you will be a gentle man and ignore him. The audiences are a bit relived because Tybalt is not going to kill Romeo but Shakespeare builds the tension again by Tybalt saying,

“Patience perforce with willful choler meeting

Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting

I will withdraw; but this intrusion shall

Now seeming sweet converts to bitterest gall” [1 I5 88-90]

Tybalt is saying I will be patience now let the next meeting I have with him come it will be different and my flesh will tremble and I shall take out my sword and kill him for it may look sweet but it shall turn to poison, now the audience waiting for Tybalt to meet Romeo so they could fight this also show that Tybalt is hot headed and doesn’t think before he does something.

In contrast to the way dramatic tension is created through talks of quarrel and violence the speech used to make the feeling of romance with in Act 1 Scene 5. Shakespeare uses sonnet in the language when Romeo and Juliet are describing they feelings. They are using religious words. A sonnet is made up of 14 lines and the end of the lines there rhyming words such as the real prologue.

Romeo saying shows they feeling in the play this Romeo and Juliet share,

“…My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand

To smooth that rough touch with a tender

Kiss” [1 I5 93-95]

Romeo wants to kiss Juliet but is not sure that Juliet will let him in order for him to be sure he uses religious words. This tells the audience that Romeo and Juliet are in love but the audiences are also worried to see if this love will last as the two families are fighting everyday.

The image that the play is using in Act 1 Scene 5 is of a statue that is worshipping. In the scene Romeo worships Juliet’s hand. This is also proven when Juliet says,

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers sake”. [1 I5-104]

In this quote the saints are referred to as statues of saint it shows that they love is deep and pure because they use religious words they use the same word as in prayer. At this point the audience are caught up in the tense of the scene because both of the families fight each other every day and Romeo and Juliet are in love the audience are thinking how can this be? This maintains the audience interest because the scene keeps changing from fighting then to religious and then romance. Romeo and Juliet’s love is deep and pure it is pure by them talking all-religious Juliet says,

“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much…” [1 I5-96]

She is saying that your hands show proper respect in what it does. Romeo wants to kiss Juliet and he says,

“…Let lips do what hands do!” [1 I5-103]

Juliet is starting to be a pilgrim worshipper in the eyes of Romeo at a shine she replies by saying,

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayer’s sake” [1 I5-104]

Juliet is saying that she is going to stand like a statue like she is praying. The image helps Romeo to get closer to Juliet because he is being all-religious. The audience is still worried that will Romeo and Juliet love last till the end? When are they going die? When is Romeo going to die?

In comparison how Shakespeare uses imagery to create different mood and maintain the audiences interest he uses hints in the scene to suggest something awful might happen in the future. Tybalt says,

“Patience perforce with willful choler meeting

Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting…” [1 I5 88-90]

Tybalt is saying that the next time I meet Romeo then I will kill him so this leaves the audience thinking that something bad might happen in the future. Another point is in the last scene when Romeo has a dream that in the Capulet’s Feast he will see this girl and fall in love with her and also to die for her this suggests that something awful might happen. This build tension and holds the audience interest by the mood is always changing all the time. It builds tension by not knowing what might happen in the future. We also learn that Romeo wants to spend more time and wants to be closer to Juliet but can not due to the families are always quarreling.

I think the way Shakespeare builds tension and keeps the audience interest is very clever because he sets the point and then creates dramatic irony by making the audience aware of what is going to happen next before the actors find out. For example when Tybalt finds out that Romeo is at the Capulet’s Feast and then goes on to say that the next time he sees him he will kill him Romeo is not made aware of this whereas the audience know that the next time he seems him he is going to fight him. The mood changes from happy to anger to romantic and then to emotional.

This makes the audience interested because every day something good and something bad happens this makes the play very dramatic and helps to sustain the audience’s interest .