Some easily corrected errors occur when students write about stage plays of this kind - avoid losing marks in your coursework and exam essays by following these basic tips:
While working on your essay, remember that you are writing an essay about a play, something that was, first and foremost, created for the stage, not the page - something for an audience to watch as well as hear.
Even though you may have watched the play as a video, DVD, you should be absolutely certain to discuss aspects of the stage production as if you had seen it acted on a stage in a theatre. Don't waffle on about guns and fish tanks and flash cars, they form part of a modern adaptation and interpretation of the play. Stick to the text.
Your essay is, technically speaking, an analytical essay. This means that your writing must be based upon your own analysis of the play and a discussion of how some of the key scenes contribute to the whole effect of the play on its audience. You must base your essay on a discussion of some of the important effects the writer has created through careful choices of language and drama with a particular purpose in created by the writer. In a play such as 'Romeo and Juliet', this means writing about the effects and purposes of not only the poetry and language chosen by Shakespeare, but also of the action on stage, too - especially to Shakespeare's highly effective and important uses of dramatic devices and conventions such as dramatic irony, soliloquy and asides (see dramatic effects tab at top of page).
You also need to avoid referring to the play as if it were a story: remember, it was written for the stage, not the page!
It is always more effective to write your essay as if you were a member of the audience:
what you (as if you were in the theatre watching the play) see and hear on stage, taking account of what has already happened,
what the effect is of you being in the privileged position of knowing more than do some characters on the stage (i.e. the effects of dramatic irony),
how what you have seen so far prepares you for what is yet to happen.
What you are being asked to do (the basics):
What I am asking you to do is write about how Shakespeare creates a sense of dramatic tension, excitement and impact in this scene and how this relates to the rest of the play and the issues it raises. In this scene the audience really gets to know the two main characters and we discover lots of things about their personalities and their opinions about love, marriage and family duty. Shakespeare didn’t include stage directions in his plays, so you have to read very closely to see where the actors give the audience verbal clues about the time of day, weather and the setting.
I am also asking you to comment upon how the audience in Shakespeare’s day would have reacted to the scene compared with how you,as a modern and sophisticated female, react to the scene. How have opinions changed to the play and the issues it raises: love, marriage, relationships, suicide etc? Is R&J a timeless romance, or just a load of overly sentimental tosh? Act 2 Scene 2 is a key scene in the play and is seen by many as a turning point – the moment of peace before the storm that will follow - so you will need to write about how this scene sets up the rest of the play.
What I look for in a winning essay:
Lots of close reading of the text with some personal insights into why this is such an important scene. I always know when someone has taken the time to analyse the text because they introduce relevant and interesting quotes and explain what we can learn from the quote (Point Evidence Explain) and how it links back to the essay question.
As always, I am searching for that golden observation. Something new and exciting that leaps off the page. Think about the symbolism of the setting, the similes and metaphors used by the two lovers and how their youthful innocence is presented and how this adds an element of tension and excitement to the scene.
Always proofread your work!
If typed ensure you use Times New Roman or Comic Sands font, size (12) and double space your work.
Always write the question at the top of your essay.
Don’t forget to put your name on it.
Writing your essay:
Introduction – you should mention:
ü Summarise what has happened before this scene and then what happens afterwards in 4/5 sentences max.
ü You should mention that this is the first time that the two main characters speak at length to each other and so the audience learn what they are like.
ü You might also explain how the themes of the play are woven through this scene – love, death, family, duty, youth, innocence etc
Essay – you should mention:
ü Romeo is hiding in the orchard. How long before R&J actually speak to each other? How does this help to create dramatic tension and anticipation?
ü Several of the themes of the play: love, faith, death, conflict, duty etc are mentioned in this scene. Discuss what the effect of this is.
ü Light and dark imagery is used throughout this scene. What is the effect of this?
ü Explain why it was important for the Shakespearean audience to hear these verbal signposts about the time of day / weather / setting etc?
ü Language – what kind of language / imagery is being used? Remember that Romeo and Juliet are trying to follow the expectations (rules) of romance of the time.
ü Why does Juliet think that their love is too rushed and too sudden? Why doesn’t she want to appear too ‘easily won?’ How do you think the Shakespearean audience would have reacted to this? What about modern audiences?
ü What are R&J’s opinions about love? (You could examine one character at a time). Do their opinions about love reflect the way Shakespearean society viewed love and marriage (arranged marriages etc)?
ü Look at where Juliet tells Romeo not the ‘swear by the moon’ and interrupts him, what was he about to say? Why did she stop him? Remember, Romeo has previous declared his love for Rosaline, so what does this tell us about his character? Can he be trusted? Does Juliet trust his word straight away?
ü Remember, it was fashionable at the time to have an unobtainable object as the focus of your affections, so perhaps Juliet is testing Romeo to see if his feelings are real or just a trick so he could have his fun and leave her.
ü Forbidden love – do you think their love affair would have been so exciting and so ‘rushed’ if there had been peace between their families? Is the danger what makes it seem so intense and exciting for R&J and the audience?
ü What is the symbolism of the Capulet orchard / garden? Always try to think about the double meanings of the setting and environment. Orchard = Garden of Eden. Forbidden fruit (Juliet), sin, The Fall of man?
