Performance Log 1

D1 ( I combine the part when Sam performed with Caitlyn with the D1 together)

When Sam on the stage to do the questions, I have understanding about the setting of the character. So what things can help us to create the character, must be the personalities and the settings. During Sam talked about the setting of Juliet, I was thinking about Friar Lawrence. He is a friar but he is a little old and he loves alchemy. He does not belong to any side in the story. Our scene happens in 4.2, so the setting must be in the morning, I stood in the chamber to talk with Paris, then Juliet will come in. Next to me there is a bible and now it plays the Gloria Patri in the church. The main color in the chamber is white and it is warm. Because of Caitlyn’s presentation, I set up the church and the image of Friar Lawrence in my brain, which can help me to relate my play with the origin story. As an actor, I need to understand character deeply, so before Sam and I read the lines, I ask myself several questions and I write down. “ Who am I? Where I am, why I am here and what should I do?” So with these questions, me and Sam began to read the lines.  After we finish reading about the lines. we were silent for a while because we were creating the image of our characters in our mind. Like when Juliet used knife to threat Friar, was she desperate or angry? Was Friar Lawrence angry or afraid about the threaten? These things we needed to consider from the point of the character. What I changed is about the costume of the Juliet, I talked with Sam about the costume and the movement. Sam agreed with me that we will begin in the stage SL and gradually move to the center of the stage. But she thought Juliet should not wear white because eve it can give the audience an image about how innocent is she, but Sam thought dark red was more suit for that Juliet, because she wanted to do something for her husband but she had no power and her family left her, it is very appropriate to use red describing her. However, in order to make a foreshadowing, dark red is easy for audience to think about the death, the desperate, so finally she agreed about Friar Lawrence’s costume but we changed a little bit on Juliet. 

D2 

Today we tried one time about the setting of the whole play. In the before we just roughly considered about our standing position and actions we will perform on the stage. So we decided to use the door as the starting points. First I will imitate I am talking with Paris, he is a fake character in our story. In order to make the story coherence, we rearrange the lines in our performance. Also, we practiced twice times about our lines, first time we said the lines, considering about our acting in the play, which gesture we needed to use, what facial emotion we need to express on the stage. But on second time, we changed our roles, Sam spoke my lines, and she began to revise my lines about which part i need to accentuate, to stress. Also she explained for me about the whole things in Lawrence’s lines, which part is important, which part is repetitive and which part I can speak quickly and which part I need to speak slowly in order to show its importance. Then, I read Sam’s lines, I chatted with her from an audience view that which emotion I want to see and which part is bored for an audience to understand. So after this rehearsal, I changed my mind about the speaking of Friar Lawrence, he’s a very complicated character, which he is both a friar and a alchemist. So audience would want to see two different characteristics on one character, also my lines and my actions are both important for me to express my understand on him to the audience. On first sight, audience will know my role on the stage, but as the performance continues, they will began to understand my characteristics and the interactions between me and Juliet. Which memorization of lines is hard for me, but at the same time I also need to consider about the expression of emotions to audience to let them see more directly toward my character. 

D3 Friday

Today we tried to go over the whole scene, because I can remember half of the lines, so in this rehearsal Sam and I payed more attention on how the movements and actions we perform on the stage. Sam had so many good ideas, she told me that as a Friar, when he faced with a girl who was only fourteen years old, I need to show my require to her.  Also she wanted me to think some actions when she’s speaking the lines, then it can make more interactions between two characters and also it can help the audience to feel they are watching a show not just two people are acting the characters. And at the end of the class, we tried two times about our actions and movements on the stage, so Sam and I decided to memorize the lines. But today I think we achieved a lot because first today is my first day rehearsal some part without looking at the lines, so I may discover what should i act when i am speaking out the lines. Also at the same  time, when Sam is speaking the lines, I should also act on the stage rather than standing on there, an actor should show the nature on the stage rather than show them concentration on the stage, which audience would feel weird. And at the same time I discovered that when we add some interactions, like when Sam wanted to use knife to threat me and kill herself, I will step back, then this action would give audience a clear image about my personality and what is the circumstance now, but also the step back action can help to remember the lines “ hold daughter, i do spy a kind of hope, which craves as desperate an execution.” So the memorization of lines is related with the actions that actors do on the stage, this is my biggest achievement today. 

Blog 5

    In my scene, it mainly focuses on a conversation between a desperate girl and a friar. Which girl needs to find a solution to escape the marriage, so desperate is Juliet, she even uses the knife to threat the Friar in order for a solution. Finally, Friar gives her a vial for fake death.   So in scene part, it happens a lot, which means I could add more gesture or actions depend on my interpretation of Romeo and Juliet. I will play Friar Lawrence in the story, in my opinion, Friar Lawrence is a character who does not belong to any side, he was not Capulet and not Montague, so his starting point of helping Romeo and Juliet is to make peace in Verona, from his selfishness, he agreed Romeo that he will help them about the marriage. However, as the time moves, I think his personality changes to be positive which he stands in the same line with Romeo and Juliet, where I read the line about how he comforts Juliet before Juliet threats him. In my mind, Friar Lawrence is a good guy, he does lots of things not following his heart. Take the vial as an example, if Juliet does not threat him I think he would not think about that thing. Even though he is an alchemist, that thing is too devil and too bad using on a noble family’s daughter. So when I perform Friar Lawrence, I need to think about his personality first, and then place myself into that situation, and see how I perform the Friar Lawrence from my perspective. 

    For the given circumstance, I am Friar Lawrence who lives in Verona as a friar and an old friend of Romeo. The time period is the time after Romeo and Juliet got marriage but after Paris met with me, then I meet with Juliet. The main plot is that Paris found me in order to arrange a marriage between Juliet and him. He is the noble in this city and he has not excuse to reject Paris. However, in his mind he has not a solution for solving the problem of Romeo and Juliet,  former is banished from Verona, latter one can not share her happiness with others. What a sad story, but now he has no choice. Possible future is that he opens a marriage between Paris and Juliet, even Juliet will feel sad about it, it is the best solution to the circumstance Or maybe he could use his vial to do something, but he won’t use this vial than he has to do it. Friar Lawrence’s strength is that he is candid and likes to help others, but because of his strength, which makes him stay in nowadays’ situation. Also, I am concerning about one characteristic shows on him, the role of the alchemist. This role makes him become unique with others, he could have the ambition to do the things, but also the role of the alchemist is also his vulnerability, he can not publish this role to the public because he is a friar in the church, two contradict roles made him afraid of using alchemy to others. 

    I think before I perform Friar Lawrence, the first thing I need to do is to understand him. His main goal is to let Juliet drink the vial in order to cheat others then makes Juliet and Romeo, this couple to be together in Mantua. However, before Juliet threats him, he does not have a clear goal, Lawrence does not want to comfort her. However, after Juliet threats him, he changes his mind, he thought these two’s love is unseparated, so he changes his tone to ask Juliet accepting his advice on drinking vial. However, the obstacle also exists, the first obstacle is to ask Juliet to give up the weapons, so he thinks about the alchemy and vial. However, after Juliet threw the weapons, the next obstacle for him is to think about the whole plan and explain to Juliet clearly about each step. For me, as performing Friar Lawrence, I should perform this character from relaxed to stressful. I needed to think and rehearsal more on the change of emotion. Like when Friar Lawrence closes the door, when Juliet takes the weapon to threat me and when I think about the vial to help Juliet. Under these circumstances, my emotion can not be the same, I need to express to audience about my emotion change. Also, in order to achieve the motivation, I can also control my speaking speed and add some actions in each scene. Take speaking speed as an example, after I found out I could use vial to help Juliet escaping from the marriage, in my mind I think about the whole plan, but when I speak out, I need to imitate that I just think about the whole plan, speaking out the plan. So at this time, my tone should not be the same with the speaking speed and tone when I close the door and try to comfort Juliet, or even I can add an action about sponging sweat off my forehead, which would become more realistic and more convincing to audience.  

During last week and this week, I learned a lot in Ms.Guarino class about the different expression from different actors. All of them repeated one thing, which is to put yourself into the character. You need to think in the same way with the character. All the famous actors have different understanding on how to perform the scenes, but they both agree that you cannot act the character, you need to live as the character on the stage.  For me, I did not have much experience about Friar Lawrence, so my method is to watch the threaten part in the movie several times, I’ll learn from them about their understanding on the role of Frair Lawrence, then I will rehearsal with Sam about the threaten part, so during our interaction, she and me can discover some problems and then we will solve them, also we can add more body languages or gestures to show our characters’ personalities clearly. 

In class writing

To relate the story to your own life. That is the most repetitive sentence I listened and learned from all presentation, especially Stanislavski and Lee.  They ask actors to no only rely on the script, they paid more attention on the interaction. For me, because I do not have much experience about playing Friar Lawrence, I need to watch different versions of Romeo and Juliet, just about the threaten part, I need to know how they act in order to let audience believe he was threaten by Juliet. Like repetition.  In order to understand Friar Lawrence actions and thinking way, after one day of rehearsal, I can ask Sam about her feeling as Juliet toward Friar Lawrence, first we need to make connections to understand Friar Lawrence and Juliet's personalities,  then the audience would believe that on the stage I am Friar Lawrence not I play as Friar Lawrence.  So jumped out from the script, but I need to live as Friar Lawrence on the stage.

First draft of script

ACT IV

SCENE I. Friar Laurence's cell.

For Friar Lawrence 

He would dress in dark color, like dark brown or dark red to show his personality. And also he needs to wear a cross in order to let the audience first understand his role in the show.  Also he needs to prepare a drink ( like Powerade)and places it in a tube as the poison. He does not need to wear fashion, just let the audience understand his role. 

For for Juliet’s costume, I think she could wear in white because when she uses weapon to threat Friar Lawrence, audience could find the contradict between a girl and a knife. It is very interesting because at that time period men dominated the power, so if we show a scene that girl uses power to threat a man, it must be interesting. So for Juliet’s costume I think she could wear any bright color, just do not wear the same color costume as Friar Lawrence. 

And in our show, we do not need much space, because its a private talk between Juliet and Friar Lawrence, it is easy for the setting part. And we will play our show starting on SL, as a fake door, when Juliet goes into the church, we will move near to the center. We will arrange a table and a chair in center in order to show the last scene for audience. We do not have much movements in the show, but we will focus more on the interactions during the conversation.  

I just added some details in my role, for Juliet’s part I think I need to talk more with Sam. 

JULIET

Are you at leisure, holy father, now;

Or shall I come to you at evening mass?

(I stand in front of the door) 

FRIAR LAURENCE 

My leisure serves me, pensive daughter, now. 

Juliet came in. 

(After I act I close the door, Juliet will be so sad and desperate.)

JULIET

O shut the door! and when thou hast done so,

Come weep with me; past hope, past cure, past help!

(In this part, I could add some actions in it, and I will accent some important words. ) 

FRIAR LAURENCE

Ah, Juliet, I already know thy grief;

It strains me past the compass of my wits:

I hear thou must, and nothing may prorogue it,

On Thursday next be married to this county.

JULIET

Tell me not, friar, that thou hear'st of this,

Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it:

If, in thy wisdom, thou canst give no help,

Do thou but call my resolution wise,

And with this knife I'll help it presently.

God join'd my heart and Romeo's, thou our hands;

And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo seal'd,

Shall be the label to another deed,

Or my true heart with treacherous revolt

Turn to another, this shall slay them both:

Therefore, out of thy long-experienced time,

Give me some present counsel, or, behold,

'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife

Shall play the umpire, arbitrating that

Which the commission of thy years and art

Could to no issue of true honour bring.

Be not so long to speak; I long to die,

If what thou speak'st speak not of remedy.

( Friar Lawrence would change the tone from average to low voice, and maybe a little serious but also very attractive because Friar Lawrence knew it is a good chance to solve this problem and then he wished he could use his power as alchemist to do something. )

FRIAR LAURENCE 

Hold, daughter: I do spy a kind of hope,

Which craves as desperate an execution.

As that is desperate which we would prevent.

If, rather than to marry County Paris,

Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself,

Then is it likely thou wilt undertake

A thing like death to chide away this shame,

That copest with death himself to scape from it:

And, if thou darest, I'll give thee remedy.

JULIET

O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,

From off the battlements of yonder tower;

Or walk in thievish ways; or bid me lurk

Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears;

Or shut me nightly in a charnel-house,

O'er-cover'd quite with dead men's rattling bones,

With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls;

Or bid me go into a new-made grave

And hide me with a dead man in his shroud;

Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble;

And I will do it without fear or doubt,

To live an unstain'd wife to my sweet love.

( At this time. because Friar Lawrence gave the vial to Juliet, so I will act that I am very caring about the situation and ask Juliet about many things she needs to prepare before she drinks the vial, because if her parents found out I (Friar Lawrence) persuades Juliet to drink the vial, I wouldn't be a friar anymore. So I must show my stress. )

FRIAR LAURENCE

Hold, then; go home, be merry, give consent

To marry Paris: Wednesday is to-morrow:

To-morrow night look that thou lie alone;

Let not thy nurse lie with thee in thy chamber:

Take thou this vial, being then in bed,

And this distilled liquor drink thou off;

When presently through all thy veins shall run

A cold and drowsy humour, for no pulse

Shall keep his native progress, but surcease:

No warmth, no breath, shall testify thou livest;

The roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade

To paly ashes, thy eyes' windows fall,

Like death, when he shuts up the day of life;

Each part, deprived of supple government,

Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death:

And in this borrow'd likeness of shrunk death

Thou shalt continue two and forty hours,

And then awake as from a pleasant sleep.

Now, when the bridegroom in the morning comes

To rouse thee from thy bed, there art thou dead:

Then, as the manner of our country is,

In thy best robes uncover'd on the bier

Thou shalt be borne to that same ancient vault

Where all the kindred of the Capulets lie.

In the mean time, against thou shalt awake,

Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift,

And hither shall he come: and he and I

Will watch thy waking, and that very night

Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua.

And this shall free thee from this present shame;

If no inconstant toy, nor womanish fear,

Abate thy valour in the acting it.

JULIET

Give me, give me! O, tell not me of fear!

(Also shows very careful mind.)

FRIAR LAURENCE

Hold; get you gone, be strong and prosperous

In this resolve: I'll send a friar with speed

To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord.

JULIET

Love give me strength! and strength shall help afford.

Farewell, dear father!

Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.

I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins,

That almost freezes up the heat of life:

I needs must act alone. Come, vial.

What if this mixture do not work at all?

Shall I be married then to-morrow morning?

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

What if it be a poison, which the friar

Subtly hath minister'd to have me dead,

Lest in this marriage he should be dishonour'd,

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? 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?

Or, if I live, is it not very like,

The horrible conceit of death and night,

Together with the terror of the place,

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

Environed with all these hideous fears?

Romeo, I come! this do I drink to thee.

I will play Friar Lawerence and Sam will play Juliet.

research acting project

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zlwpn7yBPFYKgug79nMOzj-7ge5UfUL-1HVfhw04a6o/edit#slide=id.p

Edited version 4.1

 ACT IV
SCENE I. Friar Laurence's cell.


JULIET
Are you at leisure, holy father, now;
Or shall I come to you at evening mass?

FRIAR LAURENCE
My leisure serves me, pensive daughter, now.

JULIET
O shut the door! and when thou hast done so,
Come weep with me; past hope, past cure, past help!

FRIAR LAURENCE
Ah, Juliet, I already know thy grief;
It strains me past the compass of my wits:
I hear thou must, and nothing may prorogue it,
On Thursday next be married to this county.

JULIET
Tell me not, friar, that thou hear'st of this,
Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it:
If, in thy wisdom, thou canst give no help,
Do thou but call my resolution wise,
And with this knife I'll help it presently.
God join'd my heart and Romeo's, thou our hands;
And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo seal'd,
Shall be the label to another deed,
Or my true heart with treacherous revolt
Turn to another, this shall slay them both:
Therefore, out of thy long-experienced time,
Give me some present counsel, or, behold,
'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife
Shall play the umpire, arbitrating that
Which the commission of thy years and art
Could to no issue of true honour bring.
Be not so long to speak; I long to die,
If what thou speak'st speak not of remedy.

FRIAR LAURENCE
Hold, daughter: I do spy a kind of hope,
Which craves as desperate an execution.
As that is desperate which we would prevent.
If, rather than to marry County Paris,
Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself,
Then is it likely thou wilt undertake
A thing like death to chide away this shame,
That copest with death himself to scape from it:
And, if thou darest, I'll give thee remedy.

JULIET
O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,
From off the battlements of yonder tower;
Or walk in thievish ways; or bid me lurk
Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears;
Or shut me nightly in a charnel-house,
O'er-cover'd quite with dead men's rattling bones,
With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls;
Or bid me go into a new-made grave
And hide me with a dead man in his shroud;
Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble;
And I will do it without fear or doubt,
To live an unstain'd wife to my sweet love.

FRIAR LAURENCE
Hold, then; go home, be merry, give consent
To marry Paris: Wednesday is to-morrow:
To-morrow night look that thou lie alone;
Let not thy nurse lie with thee in thy chamber:
Take thou this vial, being then in bed,
And this distilled liquor drink thou off;
When presently through all thy veins shall run
A cold and drowsy humour, for no pulse
Shall keep his native progress, but surcease:
No warmth, no breath, shall testify thou livest;
The roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade
To paly ashes, thy eyes' windows fall,
Like death, when he shuts up the day of life;
Each part, deprived of supple government,
Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death:
And in this borrow'd likeness of shrunk death
Thou shalt continue two and forty hours,
And then awake as from a pleasant sleep.
Now, when the bridegroom in the morning comes
To rouse thee from thy bed, there art thou dead:
Then, as the manner of our country is,
In thy best robes uncover'd on the bier
Thou shalt be borne to that same ancient vault
Where all the kindred of the Capulets lie.
In the mean time, against thou shalt awake,
Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift,
And hither shall he come: and he and I
Will watch thy waking, and that very night
Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua.
And this shall free thee from this present shame;
If no inconstant toy, nor womanish fear,
Abate thy valour in the acting it.

JULIET
Give me, give me! O, tell not me of fear!

FRIAR LAURENCE
Hold; get you gone, be strong and prosperous
In this resolve: I'll send a friar with speed
To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord.


JULIET
Love give me strength! and strength shall help afford.
Farewell, dear father!
Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.
I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins,
That almost freezes up the heat of life:
I needs must act alone. Come, vial.
What if this mixture do not work at all?
Shall I be married then to-morrow morning?
No, no: this shall forbid it: lie thou there.
What if it be a poison, which the friar
Subtly hath minister'd to have me dead,
Lest in this marriage he should be dishonour'd,
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? 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?
Or, if I live, is it not very like,
The horrible conceit of death and night,
Together with the terror of the place,
O, if I wake, shall I not be distraught,
Environed with all these hideous fears?
Romeo, I come! this do I drink to thee.


I will play Friar Lawerence and Sam will play Juliet.

Blog 4

Yichen.Li

Oct. 10th. 2016

Liter & Performance

Today I watched the 1996s Romeo and Juliet, which was directed by Baz Lurhmann. This version is my favorite one because the main characters’ beauty and interesting plot. First of all, in the movie, the director retained most of the language use from the book, which was written by Shakespeare. However, in order to show difference and creativity, director improved some language into modern language and also moved the time period of Romeo and Juliet into modern days, which gave audience a new feeling and understand on the show Romeo and Juliet. In the last two acts of the play, the director made the new version of the show that was faithful to the original, but also added some new elements in it in order to make it seem more modernized.  For example, after Juliet went to the Friar Lawrence cell but met with Paris, she wanted Lawrence to give her some solution to avoid the marriage, she throat Lawrence with a gun in stead of a knife. Also instead of using a priest to go to Mantua to tell Romeo about the fake death of Juliet, in the movie it used a “ post post haste dispatch “ as a modern element in the movie to show why Romeo did not get the letter from Lawrence. So these modern elements make me feel that it exists in my period not Shakespeare time because it relates closer to my time period. However, the director also deleted some scenes form the Shakespeare’s version.  For example when Romeo went into the churchyard, there was no Paris inside the churchyard but there were many policemen outside. And also Lawrence did not go to churchyard to save Juliet. However these elements are not important, they are not related so much on the main plot, the most important scene is the death of Romeo and Juliet. Both the additional modern elements and deleted scenes make the whole video become modernized and attractive to the audience. For me, as an audience, I could have more time in the movie to look at Romeo and Juliet whatever they were in Juliet’s room or in the churchyard. The absence of Paris made me pay more attention on the despair Juliet showed when she realized her lover was died in front of her. 

Moreover, compared with Shakespeare’s version, in the 1996 version, the audience would feel the plot from peace to despair to happiness then finally turn to despair. I like the plot that the director arranged the scenes. His style was similar with Shakespeare’s writing style, which everything was in peace however if one thing disturbed, all the things would have a chain reaction to break. Audience have to adjust the fast change style in the movie. In the movie version, audience would feel Juliet and Romeo always stays in the two different world, Romeo always got wounded by Tybalt or the police. But Juliet always wore in white and smiled. The direct difference between Juliet and Romeo made the audience get a hint about their final tragic result.  The main feeling audience felt would be the continues despair and disappointment. For example when Juliet felt she was abandoned by her families and her dad, her mom and the Nurse can nothing for her. She felt helpless and lonely. And after she woke up she would experience another despair from her husband. Also, one of the most surprising scene in the movie is when Juliet woke up but watching her husband died in front of her. In the original story, Juliet saw her husband died in front of her and finally made the decision to kill herself by a knife. However, in the movie version, she did not do the soliloquy, the director made the Romeo did not die soon after he drunk the poison, the director wanted to make a dialogue between Juliet and him. So Juliet watched her man drinking the poison without any thinking and then she felt this was not a good thing, so she touched Romeo. For Romeo, it was the most surprising and most tragic movement in his life. His wife did not suicide but he drunk the poison, he can not accompany with her in the future.  So he stared her a long time but only said: “ Thus, with a kiss I die.” He knew he had no time to accompany with Juliet but he wished time could be traced back, so under the comparison between the surprising of Juliet’s live but the despair of drinking the poison, he only desired a kiss from her. For the audience, because we know the whole story from Juliet and Romeo sides, we would think Romeo is stupid on Juliet’s “death”. However, if you really experience in that situation, you would do the same thing with Romeo. I feel sorry to Romeo but I would also say the director was also awesome because even he deleted the battle scene between Romeo and Paris, he letted Romeo to show more love on Juliet. Thus the audience could watch more unsuspected situations from the original book. 

Blog 3

In Romeo and Juliet, I have seen a great world, where everything arranged in their own place. However, after I read the whole chapters in Romeo and Juliet, I began to think deeply on its setting. Why did Shakespeare create this story as an epic? What are characteristics that  show its superiority?  Then I found several factors which led Romeo and Juliet become the treasure.

First, for the characters’ change, especially on Romeo and Juliet, they changed the most. For Romeo. One obvious fact is that he changed his lover from Rosaline to Juliet,  he began to have his own thinking and realized more about this society.  Moreover, so was Juliet. Before she was only an innocent girl who just listened to her parents’ order. However, after she met with Romeo, she grew up from a child to a mature woman, and also her thinking also developed to a mature woman who could even argue with her mom and won. From Act 3 Scene 5, she said to her mom that “ I must wed ere he that should be husband comes to woo. I will not marry yet, and when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo whom you know I hate, rather than Paris.” Juliet leads the talk and her mom seemed no chance to interrupt her and finally called her dad, Capulet to solve the problem. Also, two families’ relationship was also changed by their change.  In the before, Romeo and Juliet believed that love is a solution for their family conflict, but their parents thought the love was not the solution, but like a catalyst to Montague and Capulet. However, after several main characters died, and the Prince’s curse, “ Capulet! Montague! See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. “ After all things happened, two families, both figured out what they really need to do. But it was ridiculous that their recognition was based on the death of Romeo and Juliet. On the other hand,  Romeo and Juliet believed that their love was the solution for their two families’ conflict. In fact, their death was the true solution of their families’ conflict. So with the sadness on the death of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare used another way to sarcasm the ancient society which all the power controlled in the highest positions, lower class had no power to against. Which made the style of this story be more sad and ironic.
 
Moreover, characters’ change did not make up the whole world, but also the setting was changing. In the book Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 1 readers could directly know the fight happened usually during day times. Also during the conflict happening, the play will increase its speed, so Shakespeare increases the processing of the play. However, when time goes to evening, the love scenes always take place (for example in Act 2 Scene 3 and Act 3 Scene 3 )until the next day’s morning, in this time period, the speed of the show is quite slow. I guess because Shakespeare wanted to make the comparison between the daytime and the night time in order to let readers feel the kind atmosphere in the night and begin to treasure the night time because no one knows what will happen tomorrow. The second change was the climate, it did not only mean the weather but also related with the condition in Verona where Montague was opposite with Capulet. Their conflict made the sadness of Romeo and Juliet, Montague and Capulet’s relation changed from opposition to cooperation because of Romeo and Juliet’s love and death. Readers could understand the tone of the story changed from aggressive and sharp to sad and regret. From Act 1 Scene 1 67, Capulet said that “ My sword, I say! Old Montague is come, and flourishes his blade in spite of me.” To the end, Act 5 Scene 3 298 Capulet said that“ Oh brother Montague, give me thy hand. This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more can I demand.” So the image of the whole play changed from opposition and conflict to the love between two crossed stars and finally turned to the regret and sadness of both families. Shakespeare arranged all the characters and the plots in the most suitable place which let the readers follow with his mind and also can understand his writing world deeply.

ACT 4&5 note

R&J Act 4&5.

Act 4 Scene 1

Main character: 

Juliet, Friar Lawrence, Paris

Place:

Friar Lawrence’s cell

Happen: 

Juliet went Lawrence’s cell, found Paris is making marriage on Thursday. Then she talked with Lawrence, Lawrence had an idea that he could let Juliet fake die due to a fake vial in order to let her out to the family cemetery. Then he could call Romeo to the cemetery to get her to go Mantua together. 

Marriage due to little love. That maybe must be. I will confess to you that I love him.  God joined my heart and Romeo’s, thou our hands. 

Act 4 Scene 2

Main characters: 

Juliet, lord Capulet, lady Capulet, and Nurse( she did not talk just stand)

Place: 

Capulet’s home

Happen: 

Capulet is planning about the wedding. Juliet disguised that she did wrong things, she should not disobey her father, she will marry with Paris. Capulet was happy and told the information to Paris. 

Act 4 Scene 3

Main characters: 

Juliet, Lady Capulet, Nurse

Place: 

Juliet’s bedroom 

Happen: 

Juliet went back to her room, let nurse go and let mom leave so she can imitate she would be prepared for marriage. Then she took out the vial, worried about no work ( marry with Paris tomorrow )or poison ( Friar may felt dishonored) , then she drunk the mixture and lay down. 

Act 4 Scene 4

Main characters: 

Capulet, Lady Capulet, Nurse, Sirrah. 

Place: 

Capulet’s home

Happen: 

Lady Capulet and Nurse wanted to remind Capulet that he needed to sleep, but Capulet did not care and felt excited. annoyed about their actions. Suddenly as the servants passed, he heard that Paris was coming, so he met him and told Nurse to wake Juliet up. 

Act 4 Scene 5 

Main characters: 

Capulet, Lady Capulet, Nurse, Paris, Juliet, Friar Lawrence, Peter, three musicians. 

Place: 

Capulet’s home. 

Happen 

Nurse tried to wake Juliet up, can not be shaker up but she’s dead, cold, blood is settled. joints are stiff  Everyone came and found out that today was not a good day.  Paris seemed not good due to her death.  Then Friar Lawrence orders everyone to move. Then he took Juliet to family burial place. Then Peter talked with Musicians about the music. 

Accursed, unhappy, wretched, hateful day. miserable hour. She’s not well married that lives married long. But she is best married that dies married young. All things change to contrary. 

What a pestilent knave is he. Wait for mourners. 

Act 5 Scene 1

Main characters: 

Romeo, Balthazar, Apothecary. 

Place: 

Mantua street. 

Happen: 

Romeo waited Friar Lawrence impatiently because he dreamed Juliet came and found his death. Strange, but Suddenly Romeo received news of Juliet’s death and buried in family tomb from Balthazar. Then he bought a poison from a meager apothecary. Decided to kill himself besides Juliet. At that time, he did not receive that Juliet is only in deep sleep. 

She is well and nothing can be ill, her body sleeps in Capel’s monument. 

Forty ducats, poison. My poverty but not my will, consents, I pay thy poverty, and not thy will. Not liquid, beat twenty men. 

Act 5 Scene 2

Main characters: 

Friar Lawrence, Friar John. 

Place: 

Friar Lawrence’s cell

Happen:

Friar realized that Friar John and her order were suspected to be inflected by plague, so his letter did not deliver to Romeo’s hand. So he decided to go to family tomb alone with crow bar in order to let Juliet out of tomb.  Three hours. 

Act 5 Scene 3

Main characters: 

Paris, Page, Romeo, Balthasar, Paris, Friar Lawrence, Juliet, watchmen. Capulet, Lady Capulet, Prince. Montague. 

Place: 

Churchyard

Happen: 

Paris visited Juliet alone, let servant outside. Nobody noticed. Then a warning,  Romeo arrived to the tomb, asked Balthasar leave with money. Then he wanted to open tomb, Paris appeared and stopped him. Began to fight and Paris died. Then Romeo found Juliet’s body, drunk the poison beside hers. died. Then Friar Lawrence came and Balthasar came and explained all things,  then Lawrence found out the blood of Paris and then figured out Romeo died too. Suddenly Juliet awake, figured out two men were died, Friar Lawrence wanted to escape but Juliet rejected and stabbed herself no poison, Lawrence escaped. Then after all people came together, Montague announced that Romeo’s died due to grief and Lawrence was caught, so did Balthasar and then he explained everything. Then Balthasar explained all things he knew and gave the letter Romeo wrote to his father to Prince. Also Page talked all things he knew, he called the watch after he saw his master died. Prince became angry about M and C’s division’s result.  They decided to give their children a final destiny.  

Some fact: 

Vile montague. Banished haughty montague. Murdered my love’s cousin, do some villainous shame to the death bodies. 

I love thee better than myself. 

O I am slain, be merciful open tomb and lay me with Juliet. 

I fear some ill unthrifty thing. I dreamt my master and anther fought and that my master slew him. What an unkind hour is guilty of this lamentable chance. 

No friendly drop to help me after. Kiss lips. this is the sheath. 

Because Lawrence and Romeo’s follower has the weapon to open the tomb. 

Alas, my wife died,what further woe conspires against mine age? O what manners is in this, to press before your father to a grave. 

I stand both to impeach and purge myself condemned and myself excused.  

This letter he early bid me give his father, threat me with death, going in the vault if i departed not and left him there. 

Poor sacrifices of our enmity.