Fatimah Az Zahro

18202241016
PBI A

Literature in Language Teaching

Week 10: The Renaissance
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Task 10: Romeo and Juliet

Watch and study the movie paying attention to scenes and speeches that are important for the
literary analysis of the play. Analyze the play detailing in the following elements:

1. The synopsis
William Shakespeare's epic and searing love story, Romeo and Juliet, is brought to life on the
big screen by writer Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) and director Carlos Carlei (The Flight
of the Innocent). An ageless story reimagined for the twenty-first century by the world's most
renowned author. This adaptation is set in the lush traditional setting for which it was written,
but it allows a new generation to fall in love with the enduring legend. With an all-star cast
that includes Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Paul Giamatti, and Stella Skarsgard, it allows
those unfamiliar with the story to put faces to the two names they've undoubtedly heard
countless times: Romeo and Juliet. Every generation deserves to discover this lasting love.

2. The setting
Setting of place: Verona and Mantua. Much of the action takes place in Juliet’s house.
Setting of time: In the thirteenth or fourteenth century.

3. The plot (the pyramidal scheme)

a. Plot Structure of Romeo and Juliet Exposition: Romeo shows his lust for Rosaline;
normal conversations in Montague and Capulet families; Mercutio makes fun of
Romeo because of Rosaline’s intent to never marry.
b. Exciting Force: Romeo meets Juliet at the Capulet house and completely forgets about
Rosaline.
c. Rising Action: Romeo needs to secretly marry Juliet fearing that a Capulet and a
Montague would never be allowed to marry.
d. Climax or Turning Point: Tybalt kills Mercutio, then Romeo kills Tybalt. The Prince
arrives and orders that Romeo be banished from Verona.
e. Falling Action: Paris will soon be married to Juliet, and the Capulets do not know
about Juliet’s secret marriage. Juliet decides to fake her death with a potion the Friar
gives her.
f. Moment of Final Suspense: Romeo is informed that Juliet is dead when she is really
asleep from the potion. Romeo arrives at the Capulet burial vault ready to drink the
poison the Apothecary sold him.
g. Catastrophe: Romeo drinks the poison and dies. Juliet wakes up, finds Romeo dead,
and kills herself with a dagger when the Friar is not looking. Both families agree to
stop the hatred after the tragedy.
4. Characters and characterization
 Romeo
The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. Romeo is handsome, intelligent,
and sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion make him an
extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a violent feud between his
family and the Capulets, but he is not at all interested in violence. His only interest is
love. At the beginning of the play he is madly in love with a woman named Rosaline,
but the instant he lays eyes on Juliet, he falls in love with her and forgets Rosaline.
Thus, Shakespeare gives us every reason to question how real Romeo’s new love is,
but Romeo goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his feelings. He secretly
marries Juliet, the daughter of his father’s worst enemy; he happily takes abuse from
Tybalt; and he would rather die than live without his beloved. Romeo is also an
affectionate and devoted friend to his relative Benvolio, Mercutio, and Friar Lawrence.
 Juliet
The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet
begins the play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage, but she
grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family’s great
enemy. Because she is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom
Romeo has to roam around the city, climb over walls in the middle of the night, or get
into swordfights. Nevertheless, she shows amazing courage in trusting her entire life
and future to Romeo, even refusing to believe the worst reports about him after he gets
involved in a fight with her cousin. Juliet’s closest friend and confidant is her nurse,
though she’s willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the moment the Nurse turns
against Romeo.
 Friar Lawrence
A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Kind, civic-minded, a proponent
of moderation, and always ready with a plan, Friar Lawrence secretly marries the
impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring peace to Verona. As
well as being a Catholic holy man, Friar Lawrence is also an expert in the use of
seemingly mystical potions and herbs.
 Nurse
Juliet’s nurse, the woman who breast-fed Juliet when she was a baby and has cared for
Juliet her entire life. A vulgar, long-winded, and sentimental character, the Nurse
provides comic relief with her frequently inappropriate remarks and speeches. But,
until a disagreement near the play’s end, the Nurse is Juliet’s faithful confidante and
loyal intermediary in Juliet’s affair with Romeo. She provides a contrast with Juliet,
given that her view of love is earthy and sexual, whereas Juliet is idealistic and
intense. The Nurse believes in love and wants Juliet to have a nice-looking husband,
but the idea that Juliet would want to sacrifice herself for love is incomprehensible to
her.
 Montague
Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet. At
the beginning of the play, he is chiefly concerned about Romeo’s melancholy.
 Lady Montague
 Romeo’s mother, Montague’s wife. She dies of grief after Romeo is exiled from
Verona.
 Capulet
The patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet, and
enemy, for unexplained reasons, of Montague. He truly loves his daughter, though he
is not well acquainted with Juliet’s thoughts or feelings, and seems to think that what
is best for her is a “good” match with Paris. Often prudent, he commands respect and
propriety, but he is liable to fly into a rage when either is lacking.
 Lady Capulet
Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. A woman who herself married young (by her own
estimation she gave birth to Juliet at close to the age of fourteen), she is eager to see
her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on the Nurse for moral
and pragmatic support.
 Escalus
The Prince of Verona. A kinsman of Mercutio and Paris. As the seat of political power
in Verona, he is concerned about maintaining the public peace at all costs.
 Paris
A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet. Once
Capulet has promised him he can marry Juliet, he behaves very presumptuous toward
her, acting as if they are already married.
 Benvolio
Montague’s nephew, Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend. Benvolio makes a
genuine effort to defuse violent scenes in public places, though Mercutio accuses him
of having a nasty temper in private. He spends most of the play trying to help Romeo
get his mind off Rosaline, even after Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet.
 Mercutio
A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. One of the most extraordinary
characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Mercutio overflows with imagination, wit,
and, at times, a strange, biting satire and brooding fervor. Mercutio loves wordplay,
especially sexual double entendres. He can be quite hotheaded, and hates people who
are affected, pretentious, or obsessed with the latest fashions. He finds Romeo’s
romanticized ideas about love tiresome and tries to convince Romeo to view love as a
simple matter of sexual appetite.
 Tybalt
A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. Vain, fashionable, supremely aware of
courtesy and the lack of it, he becomes aggressive, violent, and quick to draw his
sword when he feels his pride has been injured. Once drawn, his sword is something to
be feared. He loathes Montagues.
 Friar John
A Franciscan friar charged by Friar Lawrence with taking the news of Juliet’s false
death to Romeo in Mantua. Friar John is held up in a quarantined house, and the
message never reaches Romeo.
 Rosaline
The woman with whom Romeo is infatuated at the beginning of the play. Rosaline
never appears onstage, but it is said by other characters that she is very beautiful and
has sworn to live a life of chastity.
  Balthasar
Romeo’s dedicated servant, who brings Romeo the news of Juliet’s death, unaware
that her death is a ruse.
 Abram
Montague’s servant, who fights with Sampson and Gregory in the first scene of the
play.
 The apothecary
An apothecary in Mantua. Had he been wealthier, he might have been able to afford to
value his morals more than money, and refused to sell poison to Romeo.
 Peter
A Capulet servant who invites guests to Capulet’s feast and escorts the Nurse to meet
with Romeo. He is illiterate, and a bad singer.

5. Diction
Any piece of literature, particularly Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, is full of different diction
choices, and all you have to do is pick a specific scene or speech to analyze to zero in on the
word choices and see exactly what Shakespeare is conveying through the word choices. Using
a dictionary will help you with this project, even if you are familiar with the words, because a
dictionary will help you see connotations you are unaware of, which can help you better
understand Shakespeare's possible intentions in the diction choices. Let’s take Prince
Escalus’s speech in the opening scene as an example. Even the very first line is full of word
choices that convey interesting meaning. The word “subject” is an interesting choice of
diction because the word subject can refer to people who are ruled by a king or government,
but it can also refer to a dominant theme (I.i.77; Collins English Dictionary). Hence this one
word “subject” addressed to the warring Montagues and Capulets shows us that, not only
should they be under Prince Escalus’s rule but are failing to do so out of rebellion, but also
that the feud between the Montagues and Capulets, especially their unrelenting, unfounded
hatred for each other, is the central theme of the play. The word “enemies” is also an
interesting word choice because, not only does it refer to hostile groups of people, it first
refers to people who hate each other and act in ways to harm each other, which is a perfect
portrayal of the Capulets and Montagues (77; Random House Dictionary). In addition, the
diction choice for the phrase “enemies to peace” is also very interesting because, not only
does the term peace juxtapose the word enemies, the entire phrase further portrays
Shakespeare’s message that the Montagues and Capulets are not just enemies to each other,
they are enemies of harmony, friendship, lawfulness, and order, meaning that they hate all of
these things.

6. The theme
True love can overcome all obstacles, as demonstrated by Romeo and Juliet, who defy
incredible obstacles to marry, consummate their marriage, and live together for eternity.