"What a swellegant, elegant, party this is!" Coleen! <3
"What a swellegant, elegant, party this is!" Coleen! <3
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Did I get good enough grades to get into the Higher English class? I only hoped so. As I sat in the hall, waiting anxiously to find out which curriculum I would be following, the teacher slowly began to read out the list of pupils who had successfully achieved a high enough grade in the exams the year previous to study at a Higher level. As the Ms in the register were approaching I grew more nervous. Though thankfully I was able to sigh with relief when my name was called out!
We were taken to our English class and told what we would be studying that year. It all seemed to be quite varied, a lot of different studying of prose, poetry and novels. When we were told we would be starting with the Romeo and Juliet unit, I didn't know what to think. I had never actually watched it, shockingly, or had the chance to read it. I knew briefly what the play was about, but I wasn't aware of any in depth detail.
When we were handed out the books, I had a look at the cover for any clues. It was quite a dull, and basic colour, with a photo of a balcony on the front. Underneath the 'Romeo' and 'Juliet' were written in white, with 'and' somehow written in pink. On the back we are told that this school study book and play by Heinemann opens up the play to students to help them understand it more. Fair enough, seemed like a good enough reason to read this particular version!
I decided to open the book up to see if I could
find out more. After we pass a little contents, there is a little summary of the play. I found out that 'Romeo and Juliet', a play by William Shakespeare, set in Verona., is a tale of two star-crossed lovers, and how they are split by their feuding families (Romeo and Montague and Juliet a Capulet). They are desperate to spend their lives together, but to what extremes are they prepared to climb?
Following this is a list of characters and their relations to one another, then we reach the play itself. The play is written in a unique way, I personally feel. On the right hand side you have the script, and on the left there is a mini summary of what has happened in that part, with a list of all the old english translated for us to make it easier to understand. The play itself is split into five acts.
In Act One, there are five scenes. We are introduced to the main characters here, We learn that Romeo is quite fickle too, as he stops loving Rosaline, whom he announced he was in love with beforehand, ?Did my heart love till now?? The moment he lays eyes on Juliet when he and Mercutio sneak into the Capulets' party, he falls deeply in love with her. By the end of the act, he has discovered that she is a Capulet, and that the pair are divided by nothing more than a name.
Act Two allows Romeo to come to Juliet at her balcony, having sneaked into the garden, bypassing the guards, ?With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls.? Romeo feels that love had guided him to Juliet and allowed him to arrive safely. The couple agree to marry and be together forever, so it is arranged with Friar Lawrence to do so the following day.
After the six scenes in Act two, we arrive at Act Three. Trouble is brewing when Tybalt, Juliet's cousin is prowling around and ready to fight with Romeo. In a brawl, Mercutio is accidentally stabbed, ?A plague on both your houses!?. He dies, cursing both the Capulets and the Montagues, as it is their unneccesary feud that lead to his unfortunate death. By the end of the five scenes, Romeo is banished to Mantua, and Juliet is left heart broken too with the fear that she will never see her husband again.
In Act Four, which has a total of five scenes, Juliet sees Friar Lawrence to seek help. He says he will send a letter out to Romeo, if Juliet drinks the potion he hands her. The mixture will not kill her, but will only send her into a deep sleep.The idea behind it was that Romeo would find out and come and rescue Juliet before it was too late, and before she had a chance to marry Paris at her father's request. After much doubt she swallowed the potion and slipped into a deep sleep, ?I drink to thee?. She felt uneasy about taking the potion, but loved Romeo so deeply that she was prepared to do anything for him.
Reaching Act Five we have learned quite a lot about each complex character. We begin to wonder if Romeo and Juliet will ever be reunited. By the end of its three scenes, we finally discover the answer. I must say, it was not as expected! It is a horrifically amazing ending, definitely one of the most gripping outcomes to the problem!
Throughout the book at the end of each scene there are questions on that part, which is good for understanding the play more as it allows you to focus on one key theme or issue and understand it more. The three key themes of the story are love, conflict and fate. Naturally all three are equally important and are apparent throughout.
The characters have so much depth to them, you feel like you can truly relate to them. Although fickle, Romeo clearly truly loves Juliet. Though be it for her looks or her personality as it were, we cannot be too sure. I do feel the film portrays it more as a sexual relationship than the book does, or maybe that is the way I interperate it. Juliet seems quite sweet and innocent but as the play progresses it becomes apparent that she is a girl with her own mind, and knows what she wants. She does seem quite sensible, but is one to act in the heat of the moment
This is an amazing book to read, definitely one I would choose to do as a study for Higher English. There is also a DVD released of the play, and when watching it you find yourself saying the quotes along with them! This book is definitely worth buying! It can be bought from Amazon.co.uk, and is priced at around £5, which is a fairly reasonable price! My copy is the school's though I do feel I will buy my own soon!
A romantic play indeed, and truly wraps itself around your brain. Although it took me a while to finally understand its true depth, I am pleased I do now, and it is one of my favourite units. Aimed at students, but enjoyable by anybody.
my favourite quote, "Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, Peace in thy breast; would l were Sleep and Peace so sweet to rest."
. . . . . ♥ jes ♥
DixieChick10 28.02.2009 20:30
I wish I did this for exams, we did Much Ado About Nothing which I hated, I got a B but if I did this I could have easily have got an A * coz I know it so well. Kirsty xx
Mitsudan 25.02.2009 16:09
I'm sure it's the Verona tourist authority's favourite play by a mile. David x
Feb 22nd, 2009
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