Drama in Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Drama in Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

'Romeo and Juliet' is centred around three main themes. The love

between Romeo and Juliet combined with the hatred between their

families. 'Romeo and Juliet' is also about fate and destiny. In the

prologue Romeo and Juliet are referred to as "a pair of star-crossed

lovers". These themes are all closely linked and have consequences

which eventually result in Romeo and Juliet's deaths.

The chosen scenes are the most important in the play. The actions in

these scenes create a lot of tension and are central to the plot. In

the first scene Tybalt is given a reason to want to fight Romeo. Romeo

and Juliet meet for the first time and instantly fall in love, only to

be driven apart in the second scene when Romeo is banished as a

consequence of a fight; this is immediately after they have secretly

married. These scenes are closely linked, as the main action in act 3

scene 1 is a direct consequence of something which happened in act 1

scene 5.Shakespeare is a skilful dramatist. In the scenes he uses

contrasting ways of gripping the audience's attention.

Shakespeare uses a fast moving plot of only four days; he consciously

shortened the source material to create effect. This makes it easier

to act out as well as creating more drama. It shows how passionate

Romeo and Juliet are. The shortened plot grips the audience's

attention as there is always something of interest happening. The

audience are shocked at how quickly things happen; there is always

suspense as to what will happen next.

Shakespeare has given thought to the position of act 1 scene 5; he

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...acle and creates

dramatic irony. This helps the audience feel involved as they have

information the characters don't and it creates suspense as we wait

for the characters to find out what we already know. Shakespeare

creates tension and suspense throughout the whole play. This means we

are constantly gripped and there is always something happening. This

is helped by the fast moving plot which Shakespeare conscientiously

created. Tension and suspense is a key aspect to the two key scenes

and I think Shakespeare creates a lot of it and in an effective way.

Shakespeare also very cleverly bases the two pivotal scenes around

opposing themes which is dramatic in its own form. Overall I feel

Shakespeare is a very skilful dramatist and knows how to grip the

audiences' attention using a variety of techniques, in different ways.