Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Act I Scenes 1-5.

Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare

Act I

Scenes 1-5

Literary Response & Analysis

Which character played the most important role in Act I?

1. Step One – Think about the question and possible answers.

Which characters are the BEST options?

2. Step Two – Select the text details that best SUPPORT your answer.

Focus on the words and actions of the character.

• List the details that support you would use.



1. Step One – Think about the question and possible answers.

Which characters are the BEST options?

2. Step Two – Select the text details that best SUPPORT your answer.

Focus on the words and actions of the character.

• he attempts to break up the first fight, he tries to find out what is bothering Romeo, and he persuades Romeo to go to the party



3. Step Three – Think about the order in which to express your thoughts and ideas.

How could the details be organized?

• Strongest to Weakest

• Weakest to Strongest

• Chronological

• Importance

• ???



3. Step Three – Think about the order in which to express your thoughts and ideas.

How could the details be organized?

• Importance (least to most important)

?

?

?



4. Step Four – Write your response in a well-thought out and complete paragraph.

Write about one detail at a time.

TOPIC SENTENCE

• __________ show his/her importance

• when ________________________________

• because ______________________________



DETAIL/SUPPORTING SENTENCES

• Benvolio persuades Romeo to attend the Capulet party with the idea that meeting other girls will help Romeo forget about Rosalind and his broken-heart. His actions while well-meaning serve as both positive and negative rising actions for the play. Benvolio’s concern for his friend and cousin are clear by his desire to help Romeo in the best way he knows. Benvolio also demonstrates his mischievous side by going to the Capulet’s so soon after the Prince’s warning about fighting. He is willing to take signficigant risks in order to help Romeo, but his actions show that he is rash and may not think things out before acting.

EXAMPLE



CONCLUDING SENTENCE

• Benvolio’s actions and words help to start a chain reaction that even he will not be able to stop. His inability to see the possible consequences of his actions will play a part in the death of the very person he is trying to help.

Things to Know

Elements of Drama and Tragedy

Purpose of Drama

Purpose of the Prologue

Modifiers for the Characters

Role the Characters have Played

Shakespeare’s Language/Vocabulary

Literary Terms – soliloquy, monologue, aside, foil…

Sidebar Information

Review the sidebar information and write down any BOLD PRINT WORDS/PHRASES

you see.

Stage directions

Aside

Comic Touch

Rhyme

Contradictions

Comic Scenes

Character Foil

Monologue

Sonnet

Act I QuestionsPages 840-841

Answer Questions 1-11 on page 840

Read the Vocabulary Development Information

on page 841

Review the Literary and Reading Focus Questions on the Bottom of the Textbook Pages Throughout the

Act

(You should be doing this as you read the text!!!)


Answers that demonstrate an understanding of the text.

Reading Focus1. What does the prologue say ends the rage between

the two families of Verona?

The lovers’ deaths end the feud

between the two families.


Reading Focus2. Who is Tybalt? What does he do that is unsafe?

He is Lady Capulet’s nephew.

He quarrels with Benvolio and vows to fight Romeo.


Reading Focus3. Where do Romeo and Juliet first meet?

They meet at the Capulet feast.


Reading Focus4. In Act I, have Romeo and Juliet merely been victims

of fate or have they made conscious decisions about their actions? Explain your answer.

Romeo decides to go to the party although he has a bad feeling about

what will happen.

Juliet fatefully falls in love with Romeo without knowing his identity.


Reading Focus5. You recorded the causes that led Romeo to the party

where he meets Juliet. What is the effect of their meeting? What do you predict will happen: will they

marry, run off together, break up?

The effect is that they fall in love.

Any prediction is valid.


Literary Focus – Literary Analysis6. Analyze – Mercutio is a character foil to Romeo. In a

drama, a character foil is a character who sets off another character by strong contrast. In what way is

Mercutio a foil to Romeo?

Mercutio is confident and the life of the party, while Romeo is more

withdrawn and introspective.


Literary Focus – Literary Analysis7. Interpret – Romeo and Juliet first speak to each other

in a sonnet in which Romeo sees himself as a pilgrim and Juliet as the saint he worships. How does the language and imagery embody their feelings for

each other?

Their love is compared to pure, spiritual love. Their actions mimic those of a

person in prayer with their hands and lips being pressed together.


Literary Focus – Literary Analysis8. Evaluate – Romeo and Juliet fall deeply in love at

first sight. Does Shakespeare succeed in making this scene convincing? EXPLAIN.

The audience will probably recognize their attraction but may think that

they are only infatuated.


Literary Focus – Literary Skills: Tragedy9. Analyze – What problem, or complication, is presented in Scenes 2 and 3 that may limit Juliet’s

freedom?

Her parents want her to marry Paris, and she needs their permission to

marry.


Literary Focus – Literary Skills: Tragedy10. Analyze – The title of the play tells us it is a tragedy – a play in which the main characters come to an unhappy end. How do Romeo’s and Juliet’s

reactions in Scene 5 (when they learn of each other’s identity) foreshadow, or give clues to, what

trouble may lie ahead?

Both characters recognize and accept their doom after their meeting.


Literary Focus – Literary Skills Review Characterization

11. Analyze – The process of revealing the personality of a character is called characterization. In Scene 3,

what do you learn about Juliet’s relationship with her mother and her feelings about marriage?

Juliet is not close to her mother.

Juliet has no interest in marriage.

Vocabulary Term

Word Origin Archaic Meaning

Modern Meaning

maid Middle English unmarried girl girl who cleans

stay Middle English cease to do something or make a stand

remain

still Middle English ever or constantly

at or up to the time indicated

soft Middle English quiet or hush gentle or low

wit Middle English intellect or reason

power of thinking or reasoning

Act I

Which character in ACT I do you think was the most important?

Describe the character and his or her important traits?

Defend his or her importance and significance.

Act I

Which scene in ACT I do you think was the most important?

What happened in the scene?

Defend its importance and significance.

Act ICharacters

What do you know about the following characters?Romeo

Juliet

Nurse

Benvolio

Mercutio

Capulet

Montague

Lady Capulet

Lady Montague

Tybalt

Paris

Prince Escalus

STUDY • Review a little each night as you read the play.

• Re-read what you do not understand.

• Read the extra information about the play.

• Pay attention to the videos.

• Pay attention to what the teacher says.

• Pay attention to what other students have to say.

• Ask questions when you do not understand.

• Do all of the assigned work, especially when it is difficult.

• Think about the play and try to make a personal connection to the events and characters.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Act I Scenes 1-5.

Documents

literary response analysis

important role

foil slide

party slide

characters role

best support

sentence benvolios actions

text details