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Active Shakespeare: Exploring the soliloquies of Romeo and JulietPupil reflection log

March 2010

QCDA/10/4807

Active Shakespeare: Exploring the soliloquies of Romeo and Juliet

Text extracts from the play have been taken from Cambridge School Shakespeare,

Romeo and Juliet, 3rd edition by Rex Gibson, text © Cambridge University Press 1984,

2005 reproduced with permission.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency is the non-regulatory part of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. © QCA 2010


Contents page

STAGE 1 1

Resource 1: Romeo's soliloquy Act 2 Scene 2 1

Task 1: Romeo’s soliloquy 2

STAGE 2 5

Resource 1: Juliet's soliloquy – Act 2 Scene 5 5

Task 1: Juliet’s soliloquy 6

STAGE 3 8

Resource 1: Taking the vial 8

Resource 2: ‘as ifs’ 9

Reflection opportunity 1: Juliet’s soliloquy in the vault 12

Task 1: Juliet’s soliloquies 13

STAGE 4 16

Resource 1: Repetitions 16

Resource 2: Freeze frames 17

Reflection opportunity 1: Romeo’s last soliloquy 20

Task 1: Romeo’s soliloquies 21

SYNOPTIC TASK: A commentary on two soliloquies 22

The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency is the non-regulatory part of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. © QCA 2010


STAGE 1

Resource 1: Romeo's soliloquy Act 2 Scene 2

1. But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

2. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief

That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.

3. (Juliet appears aloft as at a window.)

It is my lady, O it is my love:

O that she knew she were!

4. She speaks, yet she says nothing; what of that?

Her eye discourses, I will answer it.

I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:

5. Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,

Having some business, do entreat her eyes

To twinkle in their spheres till they return.

6. What if her eyes were there, they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,

As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven

7. Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

8. See how she leans her cheek upon her hand!

O that I were a glove upon that hand,

That I might touch that cheek!

The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency is the non-regulatory part of the 1Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. © QCA 2010


STAGE 1

Task 1: Romeo’s soliloquy

Write about either 1, 2 or 3. Your teacher will help you to decide which one to choose.

1. Use highlighter pens to select all the words and phrases in the speech that refer to:

the stars and the heavens

light and brightness.

Why do you think Shakespeare refers to the stars and the heavens?

Why do you think Shakespeare stresses light and darkness?

Give your reasons and include quotations from the text.




Write two short paragraphs to explain why Shakespeare uses each of these words and

phrases in this soliloquy.

If you have time look at The Prologue and the last two speeches of the Prince in Act 5

Scene 3. Make a note of any links with the soliloquy in the words and phrases used there.

Include quotations from the text.






Write two short paragraphs to explain why Shakespeare uses these words and phrases in

this soliloquy.

Now look at either the Prologue OR the last two speeches of the Prince in Act 5 Scene 3

and compare how Shakespeare uses these words and phrases in Romeo’s soliloquy and

in your chosen passage. You should comment on the similarities and differences between

the language of this passage and the language of Romeo’s first soliloquy. Include

quotations from the text.



Page for writing please ask for more paper if you need it

First write the number of the question you’re answering: ______



STAGE 2

Resource 1: Juliet's soliloquy – Act 2 Scene 5

The clock struck nine when I did send the Nurse;

In half an hour she promised to return.

Perchance she cannot meet him: that's not so.

O, she is lame! Love's heralds should be thoughts,

Which ten times faster glides than the sun's beams,

Driving back shadows over low'ring1 hills;

Now is the sun upon the highmost hill

Of this day's journey, and from nine till twelve

Is three long hours, yet she is not come.

Had she affections and warm youthful blood,

She would be as swift in motion as a ball;

My words would bandy2 her to my sweet love,

And his to me.

But old folks, many feign as they were dead,

Unwieldy, slow, heavy, and pale as lead.

1 louring, threatening

2 strike to and fro (like a tennis ball)



STAGE 2

Task 1: Juliet’s soliloquy


1. Use a highlighter pen and find lines or phrases in the speech that refer to:

‘speed’ or ‘time’.

Choose one of these lines or phrases and design a picture that might be used in a

comic book version of the play to go with the thought bubble containing your

line/phrase. Use your illustration to show how Juliet is feeling. Under the cell write a

sentence or two explaining your choice of illustration.

2. Use a highlighter pen to locate as many words as you can that relate to:


What’s the effect of all these ‘speed’ and ‘time’ words? How do they contrast with

the adjectives in the last line of the speech?

Now think about what comes before and after this speech. What is Shakespeare

telling us about Juliet at this point in the play? Where possible include direct

quotations from the text.

3. Use a highlighter pen and find lines or phrases in the speech that refer to:


Looking at the speech as a whole write a paragraph in which you analyse three of

these phrases closely and describe how the references to time and speed build

anticipation and tension for the audience. Look at the way Shakespeare ends the

soliloquy. Why does the list of adjectives in the last line make an effective ending?

Where possible include direct quotations from the text.




STAGE 3

Resource 1: Taking the vial

Extracts from Juliet’s second soliloquy from Act 4 Scene 3

1. Come, vial.

2. What if this mixture do not work at all?

Shall I be married then tomorrow morning?

3. What if it be a poison which the Friar

Subtly hath ministered3 to have me dead, …

I fear it is, and yet methinks it should not,

4. How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the

time that Romeo come to redeem me?

5. Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, and there die

strangled ere my Romeo comes?

6. O, if I wake, shall I not be distraught, environèd4 with all

these hideous fears

7. And in this rage, with some great kinsman's bone … dash

out my desp’rate brains?

8. O, look! methinks I see my cousin's ghost seeking out

Romeo

9. Stay, Tybalt, stay!

10. Romeo, Romeo, Romeo? Here’s drink - I drink to thee.

(She falls upon her bed)

3 administered, given

4 surrounded



STAGE 3

Resource 2: ‘as ifs’

Come, vial.

What if this mixture do not work at all?

Shall I be married then tomorrow morning?

No, no, this shall forbid it; lie thou there.

(Laying down her dagger.)

Play Juliet:

as if she’s determined to take the vial

as if she’s nervous

as if …

What if it be a poison which the Friar

Subtly hath ministered to have me dead,

Lest in this marriage he should be dishonoured,

Because he married me before to Romeo?

Play Juliet:

as if she’s scared

as if she’s angry with the Friar

as if …

I fear it is, and yet methinks it should not,

For he hath still been tried a holy man.



Play Juliet:

as if she’s laughing at her fears

as if she doesn’t believe what she’s saying

as if …

How if, when I am laid into the tomb,

I wake before the time that Romeo

Come to redeem me? There's a fearful point!

Shall I not then be stifled in the vault,

To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in,

And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes?

Play Juliet:

as if she’s repeating a worst nightmare

as if she’s only just thought about this

as if …

O, if I wake, shall I not be distraught,

Environèd with all these hideous fears,

And madly play with my forefathers’ joints?



And pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud?

And in this rage, with some great kinsman's bone,

As with a club, dash out my desp’rate brains?

Play Juliet:

as if she’s terrified

as if she’s now exhausted by all her fears

as if …

O look! methinks I see my cousin's ghost

Seeking out Romeo that did spit5 his body

Upon a rapier's point. Stay, Tybalt, stay!

Play Juliet:

as if she’s scared of ghosts

as if she’s pleased to see Tybalt again

as if …

Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here’s drink - I drink to thee.

(She falls upon her bed within the curtains)

Play Juliet:

as if …?

5 pierce



STAGE 3

Reflection opportunity 1: Juliet’s soliloquy in the vault

Write your thoughts about the following:

how Shakespeare structures the speech to show Juliet’s changing thoughts, fears

and emotions

the effect of all the questions Juliet asks herself

the effect of the repetitions, for example married/marriage; Romeo; Tybalt; and any

others you can see

the effect of Juliet’s description of the vault, in this scene and in the scene towards

the end of the play which actually takes place in the vault

the effects of different ways of saying the lines.

Remember: include quotations from the speech.



STAGE 3

Task 1: Juliet’s soliloquies


1. Using a highlighter choose six words or phrases from Juliet’s soliloquy on page 8

which show us the horrors that Juliet is imagining. Now draw a picture (using stick

men) for each of these words or phrases. Explain why the pictures you have chosen

are so important to this speech, and to the rest of the play.

Now go back to the Juliet soliloquy on page 5. Choose up to six words or phrases

from that soliloquy that best describe Juliet’s mood.

How does Shakespeare show how Juliet has changed from the first to the second

soliloquy? Write about some or all of the following:

Shakespeare’s use of imagery

the effect of any repeated words

how the last word of each line highlights the changes in Juliet’s thoughts and

emotions.

2. Using a highlighter choose six lines or phrases from Juliet’s soliloquy on page 8

which show the horrors that Juliet is imagining. Explain each line or phrase,

describe what Juliet fears and comment on how Shakespeare’s writing prepares the

audience for the play’s ending.

Now go back to the Juliet soliloquy on page 5. Choose up to six lines or phrases


How does Shakespeare show how Juliet has changed from the first to the second

soliloquy? Write in detail about one or two of the following:


how Shakespeare structures the two soliloquies to highlight the contrast

between how Juliet feels in the first and the second soliloquy

how Shakespeare uses a range of features to create dramatic tension.



3. In the soliloquy on page 8 Juliet imagines a series of increasingly terrifying images

of her future. By carefully selecting six different images from the speech show how

Shakespeare structures the soliloquy to become more and more dramatic and to

build up the sense of horror and anticipation in the audience.

Now go back to Juliet’s soliloquy on page 5 and choose up to six lines or phrases


How, and for what effect, does Shakespeare show how Juliet has changed from the

first to the second soliloquy? Write in detail about one or two of the following:


how, and for what effect, Shakespeare structures the two soliloquies to

highlight the contrast between how Juliet feels in the first and the second

soliloquy

how Shakespeare uses a range of features to create dramatic tension

how the features and structure of these two soliloquies contribute to the

overall themes of the play.



STAGE 4

Resource 1: Repetitions

From Act 5 Scene 3 – edited

1. O my love, my wife,

2. Death … Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:

3. Death's pale flag is not advancèd there.

4. Ah, dear Juliet, why art thou yet so fair?

5. Shall I believe that … the lean abhorrèd monster keeps thee here …to be his

paramour6?

6. For fear of that, I still will stay with thee,

7. Here, here will I remain with worms that are thy chambermaids;

8. O here will I set up my everlasting rest,

9. Arms, take your last embrace!

10. Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!

11. O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick.

12. Thus with a kiss I die. (Dies)

Activity

Read the sentences aloud in turn with your partner.

Underline the words which are repeated.

Annotate the lines with brief notes on the effects of repeating the words.

6 lover



STAGE 4

Resource 2: Freeze frames

Extracts from Act 5 Scene 3

1. O my love, my wife,

2. Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath,

Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:

3. Thou art not conquered, beauty's ensign7 yet

Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,

And Death's pale flag is not advancèd there.

4. Ah, dear Juliet,

Why art thou yet so fair? Shall I believe

That unsubstantial Death is amorous,

And that the lean abhorrèd monster keeps

Thee here in dark to be his paramour?

5. For fear of that, I still will stay with thee,

And never from this palace of dim night

Depart again.

6. Here, here will I remain

With worms that are thy chambermaids;

7. O here

Will I set up my everlasting rest,

7 flag



And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars

From this world-wearied flesh.

8. Eyes, look your last!

Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you

The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss

A dateless bargain to engrossing8 Death!

9. Come, bitter conduct9, come, unsavoury guide!

Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on

The dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark!

10. Here's to my love! (Drinks) O true apothecary!

Thy drugs are quick.

11. Thus with a kiss I die. (Dies)

Activity

Create your images

Together as a group read out loud the extracts you’ve been given.

8 all-owning

9 the poison



As a group you need to create and perform one or two freeze frames for each

extract, that bring to life the images within the text.

Think about how to say the text

Think about the different ways you can say the words, for example:

saying some words very loudly or very quietly

echoing certain words

creating a sound effect underneath certain words.

The way you say the words should support the freeze frames you’ve created.

Annotate the lines to show how you are going to say the words (eg underline, make

notes etc.).

Now put your freeze frames and words together and practise a couple of times.



STAGE 4

Reflection opportunity 1: Romeo’s last soliloquy

Write your thoughts about the following:

how Shakespeare uses repetition of words or images for dramatic effect

how Shakespeare’s choice of words, particularly about death and love, highlight

Romeo’s thoughts

how Shakespeare uses the last word of each line to highlight Romeo’s thoughts and

feelings

how the imagery helps to describe Romeo’s feelings.

Remember: include quotations from the speech.



STAGE 4

Task 1: Romeo’s soliloquies


1. How is the imagery in this soliloquy different from the imagery in Romeo’s soliloquy

in Act 2 Scene 2 (page 1)? How does this soliloquy link to other parts of the play?

2. Look at the way Shakespeare structures Romeo’s soliloquy. What is the effect of

Romeo’s repeated references to love and death? How does this link in to the

themes of the play? What features does Shakespeare use to highlight the changes

in Romeo’s thoughts and emotions from his first soliloquy?

3. Look at Romeo’s speech alongside Juliet’s soliloquy in Act 4 Scene 3. Using a

highlighter pen choose five details that link the two speeches. Write a short

explanation of why you have chosen to compare the two lines/phrases in each case

and discuss how Shakespeare structures the two speeches for dramatic effect. How

do your chosen lines/phrases link in to the themes of the play?




SYNOPTIC TASK: A commentary on two soliloquies

Write a detailed commentary comparing and contrasting two of the soliloquies you’ve

studied. These should be either Juliet’s two soliloquies OR Romeo’s two soliloquies.

Write about some or all of the following:

Shakespeare’s use of language:

what the language tells us about Romeo or Juliet

the first and last word of each line

the use of punctuation

repetition of words

Shakespeare’s choice of adjectives.

The structure, position and features of the two soliloquies:

how Shakespeare structures the beginnings and ends of each soliloquy

how the imagery and themes link to other areas in the play

the use of contrasts.

The effect on the audience/reader of each soliloquy:

how Shakespeare’s choice of language contributes to the overall effect

your own personal responses to these soliloquies.

Write about your first chosen soliloquy, then your second, and then a summary comparing

and contrasting the two. Make detailed reference to each of the two soliloquies.

Remember

Refer back to all the notes you’ve made throughout this reflection log.

Use quotations from the play to support your ideas.



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