Romeo & Juliet (character) Flashcards
Summarise the plot of ‘Romeo and Juliet’?
The play, originally written for Shakespeare’s daughter to scare her away from marriage, follows our two star-crossed lovers; Romeo and Juliet and throughout the play, we see how (essay question)
(P1) What’s your topic sentence?
In Act 1, we are first introduced to Juliet by her father, Lord Capulet as we hear him and Juliet’s betrothed, Paris, discussing how to woo Juliet
(P1) What’s your first quote?
“ripe to be a bride.”
(P1) What’s your PEE for “ripe to be a bride.”?
It is here we hear our first mention of Juliet when Lord Capulet says, “ripe to be a bride.”. This tells us that everyone views Juliet as young and not yet mature, the word choice of ‘ripe’ suggests that they are waiting for her to grow and develop.
(P1) What’s your second quote?
“Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.”
(P1) What’s your PEE for “Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.”?
When Lady Capulet and the Nurse are telling Juliet about Paris, who is looking for her hand in marriage and when Juliet is asked for her opinion she replies, “Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.” This displays how Juliet was at the time, an admirable daughter as the use of the metaphor ‘make it fly’ means that if they want her to marry Paris, she’ll try her best to make it work, this quote shows Juliet’s willingness to make her parents happy.
(P1) What’s your evaluation?
In Act 1, we’re shown a reliable Juliet who has quite ridged parents, but Juliet is not opposed to them, and this conveys (essay question)
(P2) What’s your topic sentence?
At the end of Act 1, Romeo and Juliet meet at the Capulet ball and fall in love instantly, and this is the start of Juliet’s transformation and (essay question)
(P2) What’s your first quote?
“My only love sprung from my only hate.”
(P2) What’s your PEE for “My only love sprung from my only hate.”?
the shock the lovers feel having found out their true identities when Juliet says, “My only love sprung from my only hate.”. This line portrays Juliet feeling powerless and unable to stop the affection she feels for the man who’s supposed to be her enemy, the repetition of ‘my’ sounds possessive and the word ‘only’ creates a feeling of disbelief and a bewildered state to show her innocence, inexperience and her hesitation to disobeying her parents.
(P2) What’s your second quote?
“Deny thy father and refuse thy name”
(P2) What’s your PEE for “Deny thy father and refuse thy name”?
When Juliet is on the balcony and is spotted by Romeo giving a heartfelt speech about forbidden love with Romeo she wonders out loud, “Deny thy father and refuse thy name”. This shows Juliet’s train of thought as she is so infatuated with Romeo that she is willing to turn away from her, once dear to her, family and this displays that this meeting is the catalyst for her growth.
(P2) What’s your evaluation?
This showcases the start of Juliet and Romeo’s love for one another and sets up a stepping stone for Juliet’s transformation (essay question)
(P3) What’s your topic sentence?
At the turning point of the play, everything so far has been going swimmingly, with Romeo constantly visiting Juliet and the two star-crossed lovers snuck off to get married.
(P3) What’s your first quote?
“O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!”
(P3) What’s your PEE for “O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!”?
This fantasy-teenage romance quickly comes to an end when Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, seeks Romeo for revenge for getting into the Capulet Ball uninvited. After Juliet hears of her cousin’s death she feels conflicted as her only cousin has been killed by her first love and we can see this in this quote, “O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!” In this piece of dialogue, we can hear Juliet’s frustration with her use of ‘serpent’ which depicts Romeo as not being truthful and being ‘two-faced’ but this is contradicted by ‘flowering’ describing his handsome exterior which shows her contrasting opinion of Romeo.
(P3) What’s your evaluation?
In Act 3, we can see the twist in Juliet’s character as she is detaching from her family and going against them for Romeo.
(P4) What’s your topic sentence?
In the final act, the now headstrong Juliet plans to take a drug that has brought her into a death-like sleep to avoid marrying Paris, her betrothed, and to run away with Romeo.
(P4) What’s your first quote?
“If all else fail, myself have power to die”
(P4) What’s your PEE for “If all else fail, myself have power to die”?
Desperate, Juliet goes to Friar Lawrence to ask for help, and he provides her with a drug that she takes the night of her wedding, and she declares, “If all else fail, myself have power to die”. This sentence is blunt and direct which mirrors Juliet’s now assertive personality as she has decided to take matters into her own hands, without even consulting Romeo or the Nurse whom she is very close to and has now embraced her independence.
(P4) What’s your second quote?
“O happy dagger.”
(P4) What’s your PEE for “O happy dagger.”?
When Juliet awakes, she is unfortunately met with her husband’s lifeless body right beside her and after grabbing Romeo’s dagger before ending her life too she says, “O happy dagger.”. In this line when can see that Shakespeare’s personification of the dagger is joyful as Juliet believes that her suicide is the only way she and Romeo can be together in peace Juliet committing suicide deeply contrasts with the innocent and very religious Juliet at the beginning of the play and displays her growth from a teenager into a young woman.
(P4) What’s your evaluation?
In the finale, (Insert essay question)
What’s your conclusion?
In conclusion, this essay explored how William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ dealt with rivalry (essay question) and used dramatic techniques to not only answer this question but to create an intense story with lots of memorable scenes. At first, the story didn’t live up to my expectations but when I read the text by myself and analysed the play I started to understand why people enjoy the story of Romeo and Juliet so much, the characters are diverse and equally interesting, I love the ‘back and forth’ between the star-crossed lovers when they first meet and I love how Juliet is a character with many layers and I end up rooting for her despite her recklessness and I will always find Luhrmann’s adaptation endearing.
