Romeo and Juliet

Lesson 6
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ELA

Unit 11

9th Grade

Lesson 6 of 23

Objective


Analyze Shakespeare’s characterization of Romeo.

Readings and Materials


  • Play: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare  — Act 1, Scene 5 (pp. 51–61)

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

The character of Romeo has become a cultural symbol of romance. Based on what you have seen so far in the play, does Shakespeare intend for us to see Romeo as a true romantic? What do you think? Explain using evidence from the text.

Key Questions


  • How does Shakespeare set up the mood of the party in the opening lines of the scene? What would you imagine the party looked like? Felt like? What evidence proves that?
  • In lines 50–60, what is Romeo discussing with the servingman? What is ironic about Romeo’s declaration?
  • What does Tybalt realize and what is his reaction? Why does Capulet stop him?
  • Romeo and Juliet finally meet in this scene. They speak beginning in line 104. How many lines do they speak before they kiss?
  • These lines make up a sonnet that alternates between the two of them. What is the central metaphor of the sonnet? What does the metaphor imply about their love? (Be sure to teach the definition of a sonnet and/or iambic pentameter if students are unfamiliar.)
  • Track the rhyme scheme of the sonnet and compare it to the sonnet in the prologue. What is Shakespeare implying by tying these two together?
  • How do both Romeo and Juliet react when they learn each other’s true identities?
  • Shakespeare ties love to what other emotions in pp. 59 and 61? Why? What is he implying?

Notes


  • To understand the central metaphor of Romeo and Juliet’s first encounter, students must know what a pilgrim is and the relationship between a pilgrim and a saint. A short reading from Spartacus Educational for the Do Now would be helpful.
  • Shakespeare uses the motifs of light/dark and day/night throughout the play. Darkness and night protect the lovers, while street fights and tragedy seem to happen in the light or during the day. The images of lightness even in the dark (just as Romeo and Juliet’s love brings light into an otherwise dark world filled with conflict) appear throughout the play and help to develop both the conflict and the theme. However, what darkness and light represent can vary throughout the play.
  • A related note: At the end of scene 5, Shakespeare makes reference to “a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear” to contrast light and dark. Students may need to be told that Ethiop refers to a person from Ethiopia, or perhaps more generally, a person from Africa. It is worth noting that Shakespeare’s understanding of race in Elizabethan England would have been quite different than the way we might understand race in the United States today. For more on this and Baz Lurmann’s portrayal of race in the modern film version, the teacher can consult this essay by Nicholas F. Radel.
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