rjplo.html

PLOTTING in Romeo and Juliet

Plotting refers to the artistry the author employs to shape the story to convey emotion and meaning.

Summary on Plotting in Romeo and Juliet

Plotting 1: Foils to Romeo (Click on the underlined phrase to go to this section.)

Plotting 2: Day and Night (sample answer available)

Plotting 3: Portraying Sexuality

Return to Romeo and Juliet Menu

Return to SHG Table of Contents

Plotting 1: Foils to Romeo

A "foil" is a minor character who is in a situation similar to one of a major character. By comparing the behaviors of the two, the audience has a context within the value system of the play by which to judge the main character. Consider Romeo in comparison to the foil characters listed below:

Benvolio, also a Montague, is Romeo's friend and contemporary. What do you conclude about Romeo from Benvolio's attitude toward Romeo's love of Rosaline and his behavior in potential feud situations?

Click on the appropriate button below to see an excerpt from the opening scene of the play with Benvolio (reddish blonde hair in a crew cut) and Tybalt (dark hair) from Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film in a contemporary setting:

Tybalt, a Capulet, is about Romeo's age. From his behavior in the initial brawl (1.1.71 "drawn and talk of peace?") and at the Capulet ball and in his challenge to Romeo (3.1.62 "thou art a villain"), how do you judge him in comparison to Romeo?
Mercutio, Romeo's friend, is a kinsman of the Prince and so not involved in the feud. He mocks Romeo's sense of foreboding before going to the Capulet ball, with his Queen Mab speech in 1.4. He bawdily mocks Romeo's love for Rosaline ("I conjure thee" 2.1.20). And, in a quarrelsome mood, he draws on Tybalt when Romeo refuses his challenge in 3.1.75 ("O calm dishonorable, vile submission").
Paris, also a kinsman of the Prince, woos Juliet with her father's approval and later is engaged to her by Capulet's insistence. When he goes to Juliet's tomb to mourn her, he meets and is killed by Romeo. How does Romeo compare to this rival?

Question 1: What do you think of Romeo when you compare him to one or more foils in the play?

To respond to Question 1 on Plotting, copy the question into a word processor, write your response and then submit it as indicated by your instructor.

Return to Plotting Menu

Plotting 2: Day and Night

In Romeo and Juliet, the lovers are together only at night, with the important exception of their marriage in 2.6. Day and night come to have a cluster of meanings attached because of Shakespeare's timing of events and the value the main characters associate with light and dark.

Romeo and Juliet meet at night at the ball (1.5), pledge marriage at night in the balcony scene (2.2), Romeo leaves at the end of their wedding night (3.5), and they commit suicide at night in the Capulet tomb (5.3). What does it mean that Shakespeare sets their wedding (2.6) during the day?
Review the balcony scene (2.2) for images of light and dark, day and night. What value do Romeo and Juliet seem to attach to night? (You may choose Text in the header and search the play for "night." See the Instructional Guide for further directions.)
Review Juliet's speech as she awaits her bridegroom in 3.2.1-34 ("Gallop apace..."). What is the relation of night and love in this speech?

Question 2: What is the symbolic value of night and day in Romeo and Juliet? You may want to narrow your response to one of the topics listed above.

Click here to see a sample answer.

To respond to Question 2 on Plotting, copy the question into a word processor, write your response and then submit it as indicated by your instructor.

Return to Issues Menu

Plotting 3: Portraying Sexuality

Shakespeare insists on the sexuality of the relationship between Romeo and Juliet in a number of ways, but provides a context within which to judge it.

The story line separates the marriage ceremony from the wedding night with hours of decision: Romeo's killing of Tybalt and Juliet's choice to seek Romeo despite his murder of her kin. Shakespeare also chooses to join in one scene both the parting of the husband and wife and the insistence that Juliet marry Paris (in 3.5).
The Nurse's emphasis on sexual pleasure makes Romeo and Juliet look more honorable and spiritual than she is. The bawdy jokes of Mercutio are directed at Romeo's love for Rosaline (in 2.1), and it is followed by the innocent sexuality of the young mutual lovers in 2.2.
Consider the images of light (torches, stars, sun, lightning) connected with the lovers.
The imagery of the lovers is sensual, but not specifically sexual, before they commit to marriage--in the ball scene and the balcony scene.
Death and love are united in images of the senses in 5.3: Romeo will cram the mouth of death with more food, he imagines Death as a rival lover, he drinks to Juliet, she sees herself as a sheath for the knife (in contrast with the use of knives as a pun on penises in the bawdy talk of 1.1).

Question 3: How is the audience kept from censuring the sexuality of this relationship? Consider some of the questions listed above.

To respond to Question 3 on Plotting, copy the question into a word processor, write your response and then submit it as indicated by your instructor.

Return to Plotting Menu

Return to Menu for Romeo and Juliet

Return to SHG Table of Contents

URL: http://www.iupui.edu/~elit/shakes/rj/rjplo.html