What dramatic devices does William Shakespeare use in Act 1 Scene 5 of his play Romeo and Juliet and how do they engage the audience?
Romeo and Juliet story is written by William Shakespeare. It is about two “star cross’d lovers” who are deeply in love but their adventure takes a fatal turn. In Act 1 Scene 5 the Capulets have thrown a ball. Romeo and Juliet first meet and have their first kiss. When Tybalt recognises Romeo’s voice he swears to take revenge and this leads to Tybalt killing Mercutio and Romeo killing Tybalt. It is a pivotal scene in the play because Romeo and Juliet first meet and found out who each other’s families were. Tybalt hears Romeo’s voice and swears that he will take revenge. The two families are forced to reunite after the events that take place during the play. Two dramatic devices that are used in this scene are similes which are used to show how beautiful Juliet is: “Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear.” The costumes show how rich the Capulets and the Montagues are and that they are upper class. The effect it will have on the audience is that they will want to see if Romeo and Juliet have a relationship and what Tybalt is going to do.
The servants in the play are running and rushing around the stage. This creates a hectic atmosphere where the audience would be excited and wondering what is going to happen next. The atmosphere would be a faster pace because Shakespeare has used short sentences. The servants are quickly speaking: “Where’s potpan, that he helps not to take away? He shifts a trencher? He scarpe a trencher!.” This creates an image comic characters speaking fast. The audience would feel eager to see what happens next- if Juliet falls in love with Paris and when Romeo turns up at the ball that the Capulets have thrown. The dialogue that the servants are speaking is in prose: “Ay, boy, ready?” They are speaking like this because it is ordinary language and they are from lower classes that are not normally educated. The scene tells us how rich the Capulet family was. Class was important during the Elizabethan times. The Capulets would be dressed posh such as long glown and long dresses. They are powerful and others would respect them.
My impression of Lord Capulet is that he is a strong person who can do anything and can manage everything. I can imagine him tall and fat because the costume he is wearing at the ball would be tight. He needs to male agog impression to show that he is happy and enjoying the party: “Welcome, gentlemen!” The blank verse he is speaking in shows how important Lord Capulet is. The dialogue form he is using is iambic pentameters: “Unplagued with corns will have a bout with you.” The effect this has is to show that he is from a higher class. The audience would be nervous because Romeo is going to turn up at the party an on one knows until Juliet’s nurse finds out he is at the party. This is called dramatic irony.
When Romeo sees Juliet he immediately falls in love with her: “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright.” This makes me imagine when you’re on the stage with the lights facing you. Shakespeare uses light and dark. Juliet stands out in the light and the dark shadow covers the guests. The impression of Romeo gives is it is real love: “The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand.” This means Romeo will stand back and watch her until he can hold her hand. At the end of the play Juliet sees Romeo dead and thinks he dead, but he isn’t, Juliet then gets a knife and kills herself, Romeo sees Juliet dead and kills himself, this shows that the two-star crossed lovers loved each other a lot. Romeo describes Juliet as a jewel: “Like a rich in an Ethiope’s ear.” Shakespeare has used a simile. The jewel is beautiful and precious and so is Juliet in Romeo eyes. He describes her like the moon in the sky with the dove bird: “It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night.” This has used a metaphor and means she has lit up from the room. The language techniques that have been used are firstly rhyming couplets: “Bright, light, ear, dear, crows, shows, hand and stand” to make the words stand out. Secondly the metaphor when it mentions: “It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night.”This creates an image that Juliet is a fairy where she is flying in the sky. Finally the rhetorical: “Did my heart love her till now?” this means that Romeo does not believe he has been in love before.
After Tybalt hears Romeo’s voice he demands for his sword straight away to kill Romeo: “Fetch me my rapier boy” at this point he is very aggressive and violent and he thinks of himself before he thinks of consequences. The mood changes when Romeo is romantic towards Juliet: “So shows as snowy dove.” When Tybalt hears Romeo, Tybalt says to fetch his sword right now and wants to kill Romeo after what he heard. The mood changes from romantic to hate to engage the audience. The impact it will have on the audience is they will like the romance but they will also be worried because Tybalt wants to kill Romeo. Tybalt would be dressed in dramatic clothes to show that he is the trouble maker who likes to make drama at any time he wants. Shakespeare has added Tybalt in because there is always an enemy against a hero in a love story; this makes the story more interesting.
Lord Capulet and Tybalt share rhyming couplets to show that they are having an argument at the ball: “I’ll not endure him” at this point Tybalt is getting angry because his enemy is at the ball: “Uncle, this is a Montague, out foe”, Lord Capulet wants Tybalt to stay calm and leave Romeo alone: “Let him alone” because Lord Capulet thinks Romeo is a respectful person. He also doesn’t want the party to get ruined because it is one of the biggest parties the Capulet’s have thrown and every guest is there to enjoy themselves: “Welcome, gentlemen! Ladies that have their toes Unplagued with corns will have a bout with you Ah ah, my mistress! Which of you all will now deny to dance?”
When Tybalt leaves the party he swears that he is going to take revenge from Romeo and this is not the end: “I will withdraw but this intrusion shall.” Shakespeare has used rhyming couplets: “Meeting and greeting” to make the words sound more server, so that the audience can still hear what he is saying when he is saying when he has left. The audience would feel worried because Tybalt is soon going to take revenge they will also be shocked because Tybalt is not thinking about what he is going to do to. He is very impulsive.
Shakespeare has used a sonnet when Romeo and Juliet first meet: “If I profane with my unworthiest hand. This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrim’s ready stand. To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” Romeo has described Juliet as a shrine to show that he worships her. Sonnet is a love poem to show that Romeo and Juliet are in love and has 14 lines. The religious imagery that has been used is “shrine.” This is to show that Romeo and Juliet can have a positive relationship. There are two effects that this would have on the audience. Firstly in the sonnet Romeo and Juliet are expressing their romance the audience would be happy and secondly they would be tense because Tybalt is going to kill Romeo.
The dialogue that the nurse has used is prose: “And a good lady, wise and virtuous” to show that she is from a lower class. Shakespeare has used repetition because I can imagine it like she is listening and talking a lot2. The role the nurse has in the play is she talks and interferes in peoples’ business, for example getting Romeo and Juliet married. The other role she has is a messenger helping Romeo and Juliet to get married and is a mum to Juliet because she lost her daughter in childbirth and probably sees Juliet as her daughter.
When Romeo finds out Juliet is a Capulet he is in shock that he loves a person who is enemy of his family: “Oh dear account my life is my foe’s debt”. When Juliet finds out Romeo is a Montague she is heartbroken she’s fallen in love to an enemy of Montague: “My love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown and known too late!” The feud that happened in Verona was to show that the two families Capulets and Montagues hate each other.
At the end of the scene when Romeo and Juliet first meet and have their first kiss. The audience would have questions such as “Dose Romeo and Juliet regret meeting?” and “When will Tybalt get his revenge?” The audience would be feeling worried and anxious because the questions they have might come true. The most successful dramatic device Shakespeare has sued in the play is sonnet because it shows that Romeo and Juliet love is real love: “If I promise with my unworthiest hand. This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrim’s ready stand. To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”