Critique Paper

About
(Romeo and Juliet)

Performance task in English

Submitted to:

Ma’am Shane
Submitted by:

Kier C.Pineda Grade 10

Introduction (Romeo and Juliet)

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story between two
dynamic characters, who have a forbidden love. I chose to see the
UWG Theatre Company’s production on Wednesday, November 18,
in the Richard L. Dangle Theatre because I have loved the theatre
and the stage since a young age. I also made a special effort to see
Romeo and Juliet since I have seen numerous versions of the script
both on the screen and on stage. I will say that the UWG Theatre
Company’s production of the show was relevant, modern, and
helped to bring Shakespeare to life.

Many would say that Romeo and Juliet is outdated and irrelevant,
but I believe that we can find relevancy in every one of
Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets- especially Romeo and Juliet. Love
is always

The use of film added to the intensity of the production because it

helped the audience to view powerful scenes between characters
such as Lady Montague and Juliet. The way the characters interacted
with the audience and almost made them apart of the show was yet
another modern twist on this classical production. Technology plays
such a large part in today’s culture and society, and I think that by
incorporating technology into the show helped to relate what was
going on to the audience. Also, by using technology, it allowed to the
audience to gage what was happening and I believe caused them to
pay attention to the show. Many people who watch the theatre
productions for class and not for pleasure, most likely do not want to
be sitting in the theatre and are bored half way through the
production, but since you, the director, made the choice to
modernize the show I feel like that really drew the audience in. As I
sat back and watched the show Wednesday night, I could easily point
out the individuals who were not “theatre people”, and I was certain
that throughout the show they would be on their phones, asleep, or
just bored out of their minds. I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone in
the audience that night was completely engaged in the tragic love

The UWG Theatre Company’s production of the show was modern,

which made it easy to understand and relate too. I related to this
particular production of the show because I’m a young adult
searching for love just like everyone else. Everyone is searching for
their person- the one who would literally die for them. I think that’s
why Romeo and Juliet will always be a personal favorite of mine
because each and every time I see it, I take something else away.
Shakespeare has a way with words and in his works, there is always
an abundance of meanings to unpack and comprehend. Shakespeare
will always impact the reader, performer.

A short Exposition of the story

Romeo and Juliet begins as the Chorus introduces two feuding
families of Verona: the Capulets and the Montagues. On a hot
summer’s day, the young men of each faction fight until the Prince of
Verona intercedes and threatens to banish them. Soon after, the
head of the Capulet family plans a feast.

Analysis of the plot

A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is handsome, intelligent, and
sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion
make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a
violent feud between his family and the Capulets, but he is not at all
interested in violence.
It Is a tragic love story where the two main characters, Romeo and
Juliet, are supposed to be sworn enemies but fall in love. Due to their
families’ ongoing conflict, they cannot be together, so they kill
themselves because they cannot cope with being separated from
one another.

Analysis of the structure

Dramatic structure of Romeo and Juliet

We can analyze the structure of the play in more detail using what is
called Freytag’s pyramid. This is a diagram which divides a plot into
five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and
resolution. Freytag’s pyramid of plot structure

Analysis of the Characters

A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is handsome, intelligent, and

sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion
make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a
violent feud between his family and the Capulets, but he is not at all
interested in violence.

*Mercutio = Mercutio is Romeo’s best friend. Mercutio likes to

have a good laugh, is optimistic, loyal and a good friend. When
Romeo is depressed because of his unrequited love for Rosaline, it is
Mercutio that suggests they should all gate-crash the Capulet party.
*Juliet= Juliet is the daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet. She falls in
love with Romeo. Friar Laurence is a Franciscan monk. He is a trusted
friend of Romeo.

*Friar Lawrence=Friar Laurence is a friar who plays the part of a

wise adviser to Romeo and Juliet, along with aiding in major plot
developments. Alone, he foreshadows the later, tragic events of the
play with his soliloquy about plants and their similarities to humans.

*Tybalt =Tybalt is Juliet’s fiery Capulet cousin, swift to feel angered

and insulted by the Montague clan. Tybalt is clearly set on fighting as
a means of resolving issues. He aggravates the fighting in the
opening scene and causes the trouble in Act III that fatally changes
the course of events.

*Benvolio =Between this hot-tempered pair stands level-headed

Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin, a Montague and friend to Mercutio. In
contrast to Mercutio, Benvolio wants to avoid confrontation. He is
presented throughout the play as cautious and careful (his name,
translated from Italian, means ‘good will’).

*Capulet=Lord Capulet is head of the Capulet house and Juliet’s

father. Lady Capulet is Lord Capulet’s wife and Juliet’s mother. She
married very young. Mercutio is a friend of Romeo’s and relative of
Prince Escalus

*Rosaline Capulet=She is the niece of Lord Capulet. Although an

unseen character, her role is important: Romeo’s unrequited love for
Rosaline leads him to try to catch a glimpse of her at a gathering
hosted by the Capulet family, during which he first spots her cousin,
Juliet.
Analysis of Dialogue
My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I
give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.” “Don’t waste
your love on somebody, who doesn’t value it.”

Deny thy father and refuse thy name, Or if thou wilt not, be but
sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet. Juliet speaks these
lines, perhaps the most famous in the play, in the balcony scene (2.1.

Analysis of the scenes (including special effects,camera

techniques etc.)

The scene opens with a brawl on the streets of Verona between

servants from the affluent Montague and Capulet households. While
attempting to stop the fight, Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin) is drawn into
the fray by Tybalt, kinsman of the Capulets. The fight rapidly
escalates as more citizens become involved and soon the heads of
both households appear on the scene. At last, Prince Escalus arrives
and stops the riot, forbidding any further outbreaks of violence on
pain of death.

After Escalus dismisses both sides, Montague and his wife discuss
Romeo’s recent melancholy behavior with Benvolio and ask him to
discover its cause. They exit as Romeo enters in his sad state — a
victim of an unrequited love for the cold and unresponsive Rosaline.
Benvolio advises him to forget Rosaline by looking for another, but
Romeo insists that this would be impossible.
A spirited exchange of vulgar jokes between servants opens the play
and immediately links sex with conflict. In their bawdy quarrel, the
servants’ references to “tool” and “naked weapon,” together with
repeated images of striking and thrusting, illustrate how images of
love and sex are intertwined with violence and death — and will
continue to be throughout the play.

The sudden switch from the comedic interplay between the servants
to a potentially life-threatening situation demonstrates the rapidly
changing pace that drives the action of the rest of the play. For
instance, Benvolio, whose name means “goodwill,” tries to act as a
peacemaker by dividing the servants, but the quick-tempered “fiery
Tybalt” forces him to draw his sword, and the atmosphere changes
from harmony to hatred within a few lines. This undercurrent of
uncertain fortune wrenches the characters into and out of pleasure
and pain as fate seemingly preempts each of their hopes with
another tragic turn of events.

When the elderly, hot-tempered Capulet calls for his long sword to
jump into a duel with the young swordsmen wielding light, modern
weapons, both the absurdity of the feud and the gulf between the
old and the young are evident. Both patriarchs are chastised by their
wives for such impetuous behavior: “A crutch. Why call you for a
sword?” chides Capulet’s wife. Though Romeo and Juliet try to
separate themselves from such archaic grudges and foolish fighting,
the couple can’t escape the repercussionsd of the feud, which
ultimately deals their love a fatal wound.

The second half of the scene switches its focus from the theme of
feuding and violence to the play’s other key theme, love. Romeo
woefully bemoans his plight as an unrequited, Petrarchan lover. The
term Petrarchan comes from the poet, Petrarch, who wrote sonnets
obsessively consumed with his unrequited love for Laura. Romeo’s
feelings of love have not been reciprocated by Rosaline, and this
predicament causes him to dwell on his emotional torment.
Scene 2

Romeo stands in the shadows beneath Juliet’s bedroom window.

Juliet appears on the balcony and thinking she’s alone, reveals in a
soliloquy her love for Romeo. She despairs over the feud between
the two families and the problems the feud presents. Romeo listens
and when Juliet calls on him to “doff” his name, he steps from the
darkness saying, “call me but love.”

After the two exchange expressions of devotion, the Nurse calls Juliet
from the balcony. Juliet leaves, but returns momentarily. They agree
to marry. Juliet promises to send a messenger the next day so that
Romeo can tell her what wedding arrangements he has made. The
scene concludes as day breaks and Romeo leaves to seek the advice
of Friar Laurence.

Analysis

The scene contains some of the more recognizable and memorable

passages in all of Shakespeare. Here, in the famous balcony scene,
Romeo and Juliet reveal their love to each other, and at Juliet’s
suggestion, they plan to marry.
Shakespeare uses light and dark imagery in this scene to describe the
blossoming of Romeo and Juliet’s romance. As Romeo stands in the
shadows, he looks to the balcony and compares Juliet to the sun. He
then asks the sun to rise and kill the envious moon. Romeo had
always compared Rosaline to the moon, and now, his love for Juliet
has outshone the moon. Thus, as Romeo steps from the moonlit
darkness into the light from Juliet’s balcony, he has left behind his
melodramatic woes and moved toward a more genuine, mature
understanding of love.