Final Fraft

Jiang 1

Litrature and Performance Written Courswork

A Major Analysis of Play and Performance Of Romeo and Juliet by Sharkesphere

Chosen Extract: Act II Scene II, Act IV Scene I, Act III Scene III and Act IV Scene III

session: November 2015

Word Count: 1866

Jiang 2

Through this project I have analyzed and discovered Romeo and Juliet’s characters' changing personalities, actions and reactions much more comprehensively and deeper than before. I want to show that Romeo and Juliet have learned from each other, and they became more like each other which means Romeo and Juliet switched their character roles. In order to show Romeo and Juliet switching their character roles, I choose Act II Scene II, Act IV Scene I, Act III Scene III and Act IV Scene III to compare and build Romeo and Juliet’ character. I am Romeo, Juliet and the Nurse in these three scenes which gives me a challenge to change between these three characters in a short time. Because this play was written during late 1500s, people in this time period saw men as stronger characters and women as weaker characters, and that was why I am curious about how Shakesphere wrote Romeo such a passive character and Juliet such a active character. In this project, I focused on showing how Romeo transforms to a more complaint character and how Juliet evolves to a more powerful character, by using costuming, blocking and switching actors’ gender which helps me to demonstrate each characters' transformation. Romeo and Juliet influence each other by showing their love, and this finally changes them into each other. 

I choose Act II Scene II which is the balcony scene because this is the point when Romeo and Juliet confess their love to each other which represents the beginning of their relationship. After they fall in love, they start to influence each other which changes their roles, indicating the transition. In this scene, Romeo is the one who acts so aggressive, forcing a solid and proven relationship. For example, “Lady, by yonder blessèd moon I vow,  That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops—” (2.2.107). As we can see, Romeo vows to Juliet to show his love which shows his braveness. However, Juliet stops him because she 

Jiang 3

thinks that it is such a rush, and it is the first day they meet each other, so she does not want Romeo to promise anything. “It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden” (2.2.118). In this situation, they both don’t know much about each other, but Romeo chooses to promise something he does’t even know, and Juliet decides to stop Romeo’s crazy behavior to think more before anything happens. Thus, Romeo is the one who initially pushes this relationship forward without considering problems of reality.

When I was blocking this scene, I was Romeo, so I had most movements to achieve this aggressive Romeo. For instance, I broke into Juliet's house first and hid behind a bush to wait for her to appear, then I moved forward to Juliet when I heard the line “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name” (2.2.33-34). While I said my line, I went toward Juliet and jumped on a box which was right next to Juliet’s balcony, so I could be as close as possible to her. When Juliet said “May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. Good night, good night!” (2.2.122-123). I knew she meant to leave me, so I stopped her by holding her arm tightly. Then, when I said “Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?” (2.2.130), Even though I had heard Juliet confirm her love, I still persevered to get her to tell me again, so I looked in Juliet’s eyes and I held my hand to her's and finally we held our hands together. Thus, the forcing of love and aggressive movements built a Romeo who is brave and wants to show his love to Juliet intensely, and he seeks Juliet’s responding love back.

Juliet's chang is mainly showed in Act IV, Scene I and Scene III, which are scenes in which Friar Lawrence gives her advice about Romeo's banishment and how to stop the marriage between her and Paris which her father forces on her. Even though she is seeking help from Friar, she acts so tough and brave, and she is leading and influencing the 

Jiang 4

conversation. For example, "And with this knife I’ll help it presently. (shows him a knife) God joined my heart and Romeo’s, thou our hands." (4.1.55-58). As we can see, Juliet chooses to kill herself if she has to marry to Paris because she loves Romeo so much. She is forcing Friar to give her a good solution rather than staying at home and waiting. Commiting suicide for someone only met two days ago is an action of such a magnitude that it requires not only love, but also courage. At the end of the conversation, Friar gives Juliet a potion which can create a fake death for her, so she can escape the wedding and reunite with Romeo. Even though, Juliet says all the concerns that she has, she still drinks the potion for Romeo which shows bravery of Juliet’s character. 

“What if it be a poison which the Friar Subtly hath ministered to have me dead, Lest in this marriage he should be dishonored Because he married me before to Romeo? I fear it is. And yet methinks it should not, For he hath still been tried a holy man. How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo Come to redeem me? Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here’s drink. I drink to thee” (4.3.25-33,59). 

These are lines which Juliet says when she is preparing to drink the potion, and these lines clearly show that Juliet worries if she will be dead or Romeo will not be able to find her, but she still drinks the potion because she loves Romeo. The last words she says is about how love will carry her to get through this trail. “Love give me strength, and strength shall help afford” (4.1.129). Juliet is acting extremely brave and active than she ever did before which make her become a more leading character.

My Juliet character in these two scenes was much more brave and active than the Act II Scene II Juliet, and I demonstrate it by switching actors' gender and blocking. In these two scenes, I built a manly Juliet because I wanted to show how she becomes to a character who 

Jiang 5

reacts so quickly and bravely. First of all, I wore the dress which Wiebke wore in the balcony scene, so it showed that I was Juliet in the scene which also made Juliet's character look much stronger. I decided to play Juliet’s role because when I was reading the play I saw what a strong character she is, which was the inverse of people’s view of females during late 1500s. Then, I showed that I would rather die than marry Paris by holding the knife up to my neck which made it appear as if I would kill myself any second. However, when Friar gave me the idea of his potion with which I can avoid death, I put the knife down, then I took the potion from Friar Lawrence without any concern which showed I believed in the power of love. In the next monologue when I drank the potion, I chose kneeling rather than standing because I wanted to show I was depressed and hopeless which also can help showing how I beat hopelessness in a later scene. After I took out the potion, I also pulled out the knife to show I was deciding between commiting suicide or drinking the potion. However, after I remembered how much I love Romeo, I drank the potion immediately. Comparing the bravery when I drank the potion and the hopelessness when I was deciding, I represent how Juliet evolves to a manly character who is full of courage and love.

Act III Scene III was selected because it is between Friar Lawrence and Romeo after Romeo knows that he is banished which can be used in comparison with the scene between Juliet and Friar. Even though Romeo mentions that he would rather be dead if he cannot be with Juliet multiple times, he does not do any actual actions to prove it. For example, “So to be banished from Verona is like being banished from the world, and being banished from the world is death.” (3.3.19-20). This line superficially states how much Romeo loves Juliet, how he does not want to live because he cannot see Juliet anymore. However, he did not do anything, like put a knife up to his neck to show his death wish which makes him looks like a 

Jiang 6

coward. He is not only reacting so passively, but also follows Friar’s order completely which shows he is now much weaker than before. For instance, “But that a joy past joy calls out on me, It were a grief so brief to part with thee. Farewell.” (3.3.174-176). As we can see, Romeo now girlishly follows Friar’s orders and stops fighting for Juliet’s love and the future of their relationship. Compared to Juliet’s development, Romeo deconstructs to a feminine character and loses his courage.

Because we switched actors’ gender for Romeo and Juliet, I played the Nurse in this scene. Even though I played a minor role, the few lines I said still pointed out the most important part which showed how weak and passive Romeo had become. “Stand up, stand up. Stand, and you be a man” (3.3.88). This line directly told  Romeo to claim his masculinity which also reflects that Romeo is being so weak and hopeless just like a little girl. When I was saying this line I also used my hands to hold Romeo up from the ground when Romeo was weeping and blubbering which made Romeo looks even more passive and weak, so the audience can see clearly how Romoe reacts differently than he did before which showed he transform to a girlish character.

Through all these three scenes, I had created a aggressive Romeo, a manly Juliet and a girlish Romeo which accomplish my goal that they have changed into each other along with their relation. This was such a  fun and meaningful project, and I have learned how to achieve a character, and also make the character, setting and story believable and realistic. This was the first time I played a female role, but I didn't feel too hard because I wanted to present a manly Juliet. To be honest, I just acted as myself in the real life because I am the person who is brave and react so fast. Switching gender was also so interesting because audience can more directly see how Romeo and Juliet change into each other because they see the same 

Jiang 7

actor, and costumes helped to distinguish characters. Finally, after I tried my best to work on costuming, blocking and switching actors’ gender, it helped me to demonstrate each characters' transformation which showed how Romeo transforms to a girlish character and how Juliet evolves to a manly character.

Jiang 8

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. New York: Washington Square Published by Pocket, 1992. Print.