Director's Letter To Juliet’s Actress
Dear Miss Webster,
I am writing to you to aid your research, rehearsal and performance of
this fabulous play in which you have the very important role of
playing Juliet.
Shakespeare wrote the majority of his masterpieces in
Stratford-on-Avon but he set the stories in foreign countries, in this
case Verona, but based them upon the customs of that time that he knew
from the area he worked and lived in. This life was very different to
the one we have now with different understandings about how people,
especially children, should behave and their attitude towards their
parents. This vast difference comes across very strongly in this scene
(Act 3 scene 5).
Juliet was born into a noble house and in these places marriage was
often contracted at a young age for many reasons including property,
prosperity and family alliance. But the average age of marriage was
still quite high, in the middle twenties. Women married younger than
men; with an average gap of three years which is similar to the age of
consent which happens to be much younger than that of today. In 1619
it was 12 for a girl and 14 for a boy and again this is apparent in
this scene as Juliet is not even 14 when she is betrothed to Paris and
consummates her love to Romeo. Shakespeare himself was married at the
age of 18 as was normal suggestible by the low marriage age in that
period. The reasoning behind this late marriage age is that it took a
long time for a couple to acquire enough belongings to set up a
household. This why children of noble birth had to respect their
parents marriage wishes otherwise they would be left withou...
... middle of paper ...
... feeling that a character is
about to explode with emotion at any one time. Shakespeare is very
successful at dramatising the situation because of all the mixed
emotions and the contrast in social status and society from then to
this day. This scene fits in with the entire play because it shows all
the contrasts between Juliet’s previous life and her life with Romeo
which forced her to mature quicker than is probably good for you. It
fits because it shows how deceiving Juliet had to be because of
society and because of these wrongs in the society; it shows the
tragedy that was destined to happen.
I hope this has been of use to you and will aid you to take on this
role as it is a very important part and must be performed correctly. I
wish you every success with ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
Yours Sincerely,
Director
Examining Juliet's Response in Act 3, Scene 5. Juliet is very sad, extremely worried, by the time she is with her. parents again. Romeo is going to leave Juliet after spending their wedding night together. This thought is unbearable for Juliet.
Rosaline CapuletVerona, ItalyDear Madam Capulet:I am writing to inform you that you are hereby charged with the hannus crime of murder, as the cause of many deaths and misery. You are at fault for all that has happened in the fair Verona, Italy, and are now dually charged with the following crimes: Two counts of murder in the first degree, one count of false banishment, and a high amount of counts of disturbing the peace. The reason for this is lengthy and will be described in the following letter. First of all, you were the first love of the young Romeo Montague, my client. Because you refused to marry anyone, let alone my client, you cause him tremendous grief and suffering. You turned my client into the epitome of melancholy and depression.
The variance between two boyhoods was set by living in two different countries with a gap in
We next see Capulet in scene two where he is talking to Count Paris. an eligible young man who wishes to marry Juliet. He tells Paris that Juliet is too young, she's still only thirteen and he should wait. until she is two years older, then he can marry her, "My child is yet. " a stranger in the world; she hath not seen the change of fourteen.
Romeo is depressed and is shutting himself off from the world because love is not working out for him. Before Juliet attends the party at her father?s, she is being arranged to marry Paris. This is against her will, though, she does not love this man at all. Juliet has never been in a relationship before, so this is a new experience for her. Lady Capulet, Capulet, the nurse, and others thought that she was being ridiculous.
Tonight I met him. He was so beautiful! He even has a name that would roll of one’s tongue….Romeo. How wonderful of a sound that brings to my ears. I wish, I hope, in fact, I know that he is my lord. The one and only lord that I want to have for my entire life. And, can you believe how amazing he is? Do you know what he did after the party tonight? He crept back onto the grounds of my father’s house and climbed up the side of the balcony to catch a glimpse of me. Oh, can you believe that!
Shakespeare emphasizes Juliet’s age, fourteen, many times through out the play. She, like many fourteen-year-olds, is very susceptible to getting caught up in the temptation of a forbidden passion (Asimov 479). Now some might consider these fantasies as a flaw, since she gives into them, but since it is so heavily emphasized, it is not likely.
Paris is talking with Capulet, and saying that Juliet’s age should not stop her father from being married off, “Younger than she are happy mothers made” (1.2.12). Paris's argument to not wait for his and Juliet’s marriage is that there are many girls who are even younger than Juliet who are married and have already started a family. Juliet’s age puts her in a place where she is expected to contribute a child. This may be why she was in such a rush to get married to Romeo. Marriage of her choosing to Romeo prevents the marriage against her will to Paris. The influence placed on Juliet by her family is itself shaped by expectations of Juliet’s age group. When Juliet tells her father she does not wish to marry Paris, her father replies harshly commenting on her reasoning being due to her age, “A whining mammot, in her fortune’s tender/To answer I’ll not wed, I cannot love,/I am too young, I pray you pardon me” (3.5.185-187). Juliet’s father lacks empathy for Juliet’s position, and so continues to hold the high expectations that are required of her because of her age. Juliet never told her father she would not wed because of her age or her inability to love, so perhaps her father is projecting his guilt as he knows it is unreasonable to expect marriage and children from her when she is still so young and innocent. Juliet’s young age affects her maturity, which consequently influence the drastic and impulsive choices she made. When the Nurse agrees with Juliet’s parents about her marrying Paris, Juliet loses the one confidant she had. She depended heavily on the Nurse’s advice, as she herself lacked such wisdom. Her lack of maturity led her to make hasty decisions-choosing death as the easier way out, “Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain/I’ll too the friar, to know his remedy:/If all else fail, myself have power to die”
Juliet is shown to be immature in a opening scene where her father tells the bride-seeking Paris his daughter is not old and grown-up enough to marry. "My child is yet a stranger in the world, she hath not seen the charge of fourteen years. . ." (Lines 8-9, Scene 2, Act 1). It is also shown during the balcony scene when she agrees to marry Romeo after knowing him only a day and she is not even sure herself that Romeo wants to marry her. "If that thy bent of love be honorable, thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow. . . And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay, and follow thee my lord throughout the world" (Lines 142-143, 146-147, Scene 2, Act 2). After he marriage she is told by her nurse she is to marry Paris. In a blind fury she runs to Friar Lawrence with a knife to her body, thinking that her only option was to dye or hear a plan presented by Friar Lawrence to get her out of a second marriage. "If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, do thou but call my resolution wise, and with this knife I'll help it presently. . .'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife shall play umpire. . ." (Lines 53-55, 63-64, Scene 1, Act 4).
Juliet refuses to marry Paris, saying, “Now, by Saint Peter's Church and Peter too, / He shall not make me there a joyful bride!” (3.5, 121-122). This quote shows that Juliet is disobedient and unreasonable, It is shown because as soon as talk of marrying Paris come up, Juliet breaks down crying and starts raising her voice. A little while after the last scene, the Nurse tries to give Juliet some advice, Juliet’s response is, “Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend! / ... I'll to the Friar to know his remedy. / If all else fail, myself have power to die.” (3.5, 248, 254-255). This scene also shows that Juliet is disobedient and unreasonable because, Juliet blatantly goes behind her parents back to make a plan that goes against their wishes. Her actions show that Juliet changes for the worse near the end of the story.
Juliet’s parents tell her that they want her to marry Paris, or Dave in the movie. As cute as his is, even before she meets Romeo, Juliet is apprehensive about her suitor as he is as pathetic as Edward Cullen.
Juliet’s age is associated with when she is expected to become a mother. Paris is talking with Capulet, and says that Juliet’s age should not stop her father marrying her off, “Younger than she are happy mothers made” (1.2.12). Paris' argument to not wait for his and Juliet’s marriage is that there are many girls who are even younger than Juliet who are married and have already started a family. Juliet’s age puts her in a place where she is expected to contribute a child. This may be why she was in such a rush to get married to Romeo. Marriage of her choosing to Romeo prevents the marriage against her will to Paris. The influence placed on Juliet by her family is itself shaped by expectations of Juliet’s age group. When Juliet tells her father she does not wish to marry Paris, her father replies harshly commenting on her reasoning being due to her age, “A whining mammot, in her fortune’s tender/To answer I’ll not wed, I cannot love,/I am too young, I pray you pardon me” (3.5.185-187). Juliet’s father lacks empathy for Juliet’s position, and so continues to hold the high expectations that are required of her because of her age. Juliet never told her father she would not wed because of her age or her inability to love, so perhaps her father is projecting his guilt as he knows it is unreasonable to expect marriage and children from her
In 1995, demographers projected that half of boys ages ten through fourteen would not be able to find female partners in their age when they reach adulthood.
Being a director in a production such as Romeo and Juliet is no easy task, and I enter into this paper with that in mind. My goals are to be creative, and do things differently from the many versions of the play we have viewed in class. Each of those directors took the original text, written by William Shakespeare, and turned it into a unique version of their own; unique in the sense that they changed the tragedy by taking out lines, conversation or even entire scenes to better suit that particular director’s needs.
Juliet is an innocent, pretty and naïve thirteen year old girl who is the daughter of Capulet and lady Capulet. She falls in love with Romeo however due to her strict upbringing she doesn’t have the freedom that Romeo does. However she trusts him a lot with her life because she really loves him. Juliet is close with her Nurse, who has been alongside her since she was born.