Reflective Essay On Romeo And Juliet

Imagine walking into a classroom, excited to learn about Shakespeare, maybe your parents have told you about his great plays and poetry, or you’ve seen tributes to the play on television. This is a big moment in your high school career, the teachers think you are responsible enough to handle complicated works of literature. You are about to start learning about the famous stories that have been read by thousands of kids before you. Starting out with Romeo and Juliet is probably exciting. The play is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays and it is likely that you know more about this one than any of his other plays. Now, imagine yourself as a young 9th grader, walking into class and beginning this unit about which you’ve been so excited. Right

Seeing the references to Romeo and Juliet on television or in books Knowing they were going to read one of the most famous of Shakespeare’s pieces might get them excited to read it since it is so widely known. The play itself has a lot of drama and comedy that could be appealing to students and it offers a lot of teaching opportunities as well. Romeo and Juliet contains many examples of original English and poetry styles that are not used as much anymore. Shakespeare also uses a lot of formatting still used in poetry and theater today. He is famous for his artful uses of soliloquies to stir emotion in the audience such as, “Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear, Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear” (I.v.42). in which Romeo is speaking to himself about his infatuation towards Juliet upon seeing her for the first

To see kids their age, falling in love and getting married seems strange and uncomfortably far away. Even though freshmen can be almost as dramatic as Romeo and Juliet, they would not recognize the traits they share because they do not think of themselves as overdramatic. Older grades, however, would have grown out of the flakey tendencies of younger teenagers and would be able to read the play with a more objective eye. They would be able to relate to the play by thinking back to their own experiences with budding romance and recognize their own dramatism. By having those years of their life behind them, they can understand how sad the play was meant to be. Older teenagers understand that the over dramatic teen is a real point in almost everyone’s life so to them, the story and characters are more real. Dying for a person they barely knew because they thought it was true love becomes much more tragic when the audience understands that the events in the play are not preposterous, and for some people, are