...observation in his story “Romeo and Juliet” with his character Benvolio in Act III, Scene I. Benvolio is a very naive and peaceful character in this tragic play. Benvolio displays his persona of being naive when he responds to Mercutio by questioning, “Am I like such a fellow?” (3.1.11) once Mercutio defines Benvolio’s personality. This conversation exposes that Benvolio is very trusting of others. Due to this, the conversation also serves to reveal that Benvolio is very innocent and believes the most outlandish descriptions of himself. Benvolio is very ingenuous, shown by the quote above, since he appears to believes others more than he believes his own particular views of...
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...Heroes & Villains in Literature The following essay is going to discuss and analyze heroes and villains in Literature. This essay is going to focus especially on three famous books written by William Shakespeare. The referring books are ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Othello’. In these three different novels, a great variety of stereotypes of heroes and villains can be appreciated. William Shakespeare was born on April 23rd 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. When he was four or five he began his education at the local petty school. He left the local grammar school when he was about fourteen and went to help in his father’s glove-making shop. When he was eighteen, he got married and by the time he was twenty-one, he was the father of three children. [1] At some time during the next seven years, he went to London and found employment in the theatre. When he was twenty-eight, he was already well enough known as an actor and playwright. He mostly lived and worked in London until his mid-forties, when he returned to his family and home in Stratford, where he remained in prosperous circumstances until his death on April 23rd 1616, his fifty-second birthday. [2] In the thirty seven plays that are his chief legacy to the world human nature is displayed in all its astonishing variety. [3] While Shakespeare caused much controversy, he also earned lavish praise and has profoundly impacted the world over in areas of literature, culture, art, theatre, and film and is considered...
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...In the play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare explores the topic of femininity. The tragedy takes place during the fourteenth century in Verona, Italy. Society in Verona has clear beliefs and expectations for both males and females. Women are often regarded as inferior and weak whilst the men focus on violence and sexual domination, always expected to be prodigious and valiant. These stereotypical gender roles relate to main characters Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers who are pressured into acting the way their gender is depicted throughout the play. In this text, Shakespeare asserts that acting feminine is seen as weak. Feminine characteristics are depicted in such a way because the Capulet servants talk about their...
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...Benvolio is to Blame! Someone has to be blamed for all 6 deaths in Romeo and Juliet. There are many people you can blame, but who is ultimately at fault? Benvolio’s name literally means ‘Peacemaker’; however, his name does not reflect on his behavior. He is to blame for all six of the deaths in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Here’s why. In Act Three, Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio and Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin (appositive), were on the streets. Tybalt wanted to duel Romeo but Mercutio stepped in for his honor (prep. phrase). While Romeo was trying to stop the fight, “Noble Mercutio, put your sword away.”(III.i.50), what was the guy that’s name means “peacemaker” doing? Sitting back not trying to help Romeo stop the fight? This caused Mercutio’s...
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...Romeo & Juliet (My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee” (Shakespeare Act I Scene i 32). In “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare it is how Romeo and Juliet fell in love and how they died for each other. In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Benvolio and Friar Lawrence should be pardoned and Lord Capulet should be punished. Benvolio should be pardoned because he is peaceful. He is peaceful when the families get in a fight in the town and he tries to stop the fight. Benvolio says this to Mercutio and Tybalt in the town where they fought. “We talk here in the public haunt of men./Either withdraw unto some private place,/Or reasons coldly of your grievances,/Or else depart. Here all eyes gaze on us” (Shakespeare Act III Scene i 46-49)....
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...ROMEO AND JULIET Verona city in Italy is where the upsetting story of the unlucky love affair was set. Romeo a Montague and Juliet a Capulet are 'a pair of star crossed lovers who took their lives in an attempt to bury their parents strife'. The Montague's and the Capulet 'both alike in dignity,' were engaged in an ancient feud, which sadly nothing but the death of their children could stop. Romeo and Juliet two adaptations. Franco Zeffirelli [1968] Original version Baz Luhrmann [1996] Hollywood version Luhrmann chose Leonardo Di Caprio to play Romeo and Claire Danes as Juliet. * The updated Luhrmann picture best captures the essence of Shakespeare for the present-day viewer. Through the ingenious use of modernisation and location, while preserving Shakespearean language, the spirit of Shakespeare emerges to captivate a large audience. * Luhrmann modernises "Romeo and Juliet," through constant alterations of the props, which entice the audience into genuinely feeling the spirit of Shakespeare. * First, the movie starts with a prologue masked as news broadcast on television. This sets the scene of the play by illustrating the violence occurring between the two wealthy families, the Montagues and the Capulets. * In Luhrmann's film, the actors, instead of carrying swords with them, hide guns in their shirts and wield them expertly. * The death of Romeo and Juliet is (as always) blamed on the post office, for not delivering the letter properly...
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...This story of star-crossed lovers is one of William Shakespeare’s tenderest dramas. Shakespeare is sympathetic toward Romeo and Juliet, and in attributing their tragedy to fate, rather than to a flaw in their characters, he raises them to heights near perfection, as well as running the risk of creating pathos, not tragedy. They are both sincere, kind, brave, loyal, virtuous, and desperately in love, and their tragedy is greater because of their innocence. The feud between the lovers’ families represents the fate that Romeo and Juliet are powerless to overcome. The lines capture in poetry the youthful and simple passion that characterizes the play. One of the most popular plays of all time, Romeo and Juliet was Shakespeare’s second tragedy (after Titus Andronicus of 1594, a failure). Consequently, the play shows the sometimes artificial lyricism of early comedies such as Love’s Labour’s Lost 1594-1595, . 1598) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (. 1595-1596, . 1600), while its character development predicts the direction of the playwright’s artistic maturity. In Shakespeare’s usual fashion, he based his story on sources that were well known in his day: Masuccio Salernitano’s Novellino (1475), William Painter’s The Palace of Pleasure (1566-1567), and, especially, Arthur Brooke’s poetic The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (1562). Shakespeare reduces the time of the action from the months it takes in Brooke’s work to a few compact days. In addition to following the conventional...
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...Today we see conflicts in soaps such as Coronation Street or Emmerdale but in Shakespeare's time they had plays and saw the conflicts in plays such as Macbeth. It is good to have conflicts in dramas as it keeps the audience captivated and makes the audience want to know what is going to happen next. In the play Romeo and Juliet, conflict is the foundation of the play as there is conflict between the two families the whole way through and there is fighting because of it. There is verbal and physical conflict. In the prologue it mentions that there will be conflict in the play to come so it pricks our interest. A prologue is an introduction to the play explaining the basis of what is going to happen. It occurs at the beginning of the play and it is like the blurb on the back of a book. The mention of conflict in the lay is about a family feud between the Montague and Capulet families. The idea of conflicts in a play adds a sense of excitement. We are supposed to learn that you shouldn't make people hate each other and that a lot of pain and suffering could have been resolved if they had made up or just let Romeo and Juliet get on with their lives without interfering and trying to separate them and control them. The prologue is supposed to captivate the audience in a trance so they don't lose track of the play. The way the sonnet was written as well is good for the rhythm of the prologue. Also the prologue is good to make them want to know what is going to happen throughout...
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...Introduction Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy about two opposing families, the Capulets and the Montagues who are constantly feuding. Romeo and Juliet are two young lovers but they come from different families, Romeo is a Montague whilst Juliet is a Capulet. Although the most obvious theme in the play is love, there are several scenes which contain violence and conflict. The play opens with violence due to the conflict between the two feuding families and it is this conflict that ultimately results in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Examples Get help with your essay Read more about our Essay Writing Service > Looking for examples of OUR work? Click here to see our Essay Writing Examples > Want to know more about our services? Take a look at our Writing & Marking Service Index > Act III, scene 1 is a pivotal scene in Romeo and Juliet transforming the play from one of Romance into Tragedy. The scene opens on the streets of Verona and begins with talk of violence, ultimately leading to the deaths of two of the main characters in the play - Tybalt and Mercutio. Benvolio is eager to avoid a fight with the Capulets and he suggests to Mercutio that they should return home: ‘I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire/ The day is hot, the Capels are abroad’ this quote is foreshadowing the fight to come between Tybalt and Mercutio, whose death at Tybalt's hands sets the stage for Romeo's eventual undoing and the deaths of the two lovers.In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare...
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...Romeo and Juliet Fate or Free-Will Fate is defined as “a powerful force that is believed to control what happens in the future.” In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet we are able to see how the theme of fate is cleverly infiltrated through events and dialogue throughout the play. Fate is mainly evident through the actions of Lord Capulet’s Servingman, Friar John, the timing of Romeo and Juliet’s death, and how the Montague’s and Capulet’s feud and been put to rest due to the tragedy in their lives. The first fated event was introduced to us in Act I Scene II, when Lord Capulet after finishing his conversation with Paris, regarding his request to marry Juliet, handed over a list of names to the Servingman and orders him to: [Rom....
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...William Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest writers of all times. One of his most famous tragic plays is Romeo and Juliet. Within this play Shakespeare takes characters, events and themes to model human behaviours. Within Act III, Scene I it displays both characters and events that demonstrate human behaviour. When Tybalt and Romeo quarrel and Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, it all ends tragically with Tybalt slaying Mercutio. Within Act III, Scene I this is revealed by the way the characters are portrayed within the scene with the different personality types for each of the characters. Human behaviour is also modelled with the events that occur and who the characters react to the situations that occur within the scene. The themes of death and haste also occur within the Act III, Scene I and these themes which relate back to human behaviour in through the events and the way the characters react. Looking at characters, events and themes in depth the audience can see how within this tragic scene human behaviours are explored within the text. The characters within Romeo and Juliet all have completely different personality types. Mercutio is a believable character as he represents a care free character that is not afraid to do or say what he likes, in a way he just does not care what people think of him. In Act III, Scene I Benvolio warns that the Capulet’s are coming and that they should move off the street. Mercutio replies with “By my heel, I care not”, which means...
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...Throughout William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, characters demonstrate impetuosity in everyday actions, which ultimately lead to their demises. Mercutio, Tybalt, Romeo, and Juliet are only some of the characters in the play that have an impulsiveness about them, yet they are some of the most important characters in moving the play towards its tragic ending. These characters also meet untimely deaths that are scattered throughout the play, which cause a domino effect that leads to the death of others. In this play, an ancient feud between the Montagues and Capulets cause Romeo, a Montague, and Juliet, a Capulet, to take drastic measures to preserve their love. The unnecessary hate between the Montagues and the Capulets cause the youth of the families to act in desperation. Particularly, Mercutio’s impulsive act of making jokes at inappropriate times led to the demise of characters in this play. When Tybalt is searching for...
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO AND JULIET By ARTHEA J.S. REED, PH.D. S E R I E S W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., E D I T O R S : UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is an excellent introduction to Shakespearean drama; teenagers can relate to its plot, characters, and themes. The play’s action is easily understood, the character’s motives are clear, and many of the themes are as current today as they were in Shakespeare’s time. Therefore, it can be read on a variety of levels, allowing all students to enjoy it. Less able readers can experience the swash-buckling action and investigate the themes of parent-child conflict, sexuality, friendship, and suicide. Because of the play’s accessibility to teenagers, able readers can view the play from a more literary perspective, examining the themes of hostility ad its effect on the innocent, the use of deception and its consequences, and the effects of faulty decision making. They can study how the characters function within the drama and how Shakespeare uses language to develop plot, characters, and themes. The most able students can develop skills involved in literary criticism by delving into the play’s comic and tragic elements and its classically...
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...every day. This was evident In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as two unlucky characters were killed at the fault of someone else. In Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Friar Laurence and the Nurse have similar roles in the story, yet one of them has a great impact on the story. Friar Laurence and the Nurse both play a substantial part in the marriage. The Friar agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet to end the feud between their families. The friar says to Romeo, “For this alliance may so happy prove / To turn your households rancor to pure love” (2.2.91-92). The quote demonstrates that the friar played a significant role in the story since he married the two main characters. The quote also proves...
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...Romeo and Juliet: Who’s To Blame Imagine you lived in Shakespeare time where law and rules were taken seriously. Not think about someone being killed by another person, now think about the reasons they died, now would you say that that person can be blamed for their own death? In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt is the blame for his own death. This is because Tybalt challenged the duel, Tybalt went against a law, and Tybalt couldn’t control his own anger. Tybalt challenged a duel against Romeo and wanted to start a fight. In act one, Price had set laws and other things stating ‘no fighting’. Tybalt was also the blame for his own death because he was a very hot headed person. One way Tybalt is blamed for his own death is because he wrote a letter that was used to challenge a duel against Romeo. In Act 2 scene 4 (7-8), Benvolio says “Tybalt, the kinsman to old Capulet, Hath sent a letter to his father’s house” This is the part where Mercutio is informed by Benvolio about the letter being sent to Romeo from Tybalt to challenge the duel. A...
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