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How Does Shakespeare Make Romeo and Juliet Dramatically Effective?

Satisfactory Essays

William Shakespeare, the well-known play writer and poet, had a knack for knowing how to engage his Elizabethan audiences, and it still works today. Romeo and Juliet, a romantic tragedy, is one such play, and I will be exploring the ways that Shakespeare attracted audiences, and the skills and techniques he used in his writing. Act 3 Scene 1 is a very important part of Romeo and Juliet. There are various mixed emotions the audience will endure throughout the scene and I will mainly be using it to discuss how Shakespeare makes Romeo and Juliet dramatically effective. Firstly, I will look at pivotal points. Act 3 Scene 1 is full of pivotal points, the most important one being the alteration of the play from romance to tragedy. A clear …show more content…

Shakespeare DID make most of these character changes for the worse. For instance, Mercutio’s end of allegiance to the Montague house is very sudden, and would’ve shocked both the characters and audience. When he dies, he is blaming families for what has happened, when it was his fault for getting caught up in the feud. At death, Mercutio is shouting ‘a plague o’both your houses,’ which would’ve deeply disturbed and Elizabethan audience. ‘Plague’ can also mean ‘curse’, so it’s as if Mercutio is putting a curse on their houses, which can be associated with witchcraft. In Elizabethan times, witchcraft was punishable by death, so Elizabethans would be furious at Mercutio. Another interpretation of the word ‘plague’ is just that – the plague. Although big outbreaks happened in 1665 and 16766, it had still been occurring in islands and coast towns of England whilst Shakespeare was alive. The plague affected many people, so for Shakespeare to bring up in his play would be a disrespectful thing to do. Surprisingly, Shakespeare used the word ‘plague’ a lot in his plays, and other words like ‘wicked sin’ and ‘damnation’. Living in a contemporary society, we do not think much of these words, but for a widely Christian audience in Elizabethan times, it would be very

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