Draft 3

Romeo and Juliet is the most widely read William Shakespeare play. It’s overwhelming themes of loyalty, family and love are no doubt reasons why. The characters and the journeys they lead allow for an exemplary piece of art to learn from.  When working with Shakespearean texts, the most important parts of the performance center on deciphering the intentions of language. This scene, 5.3, comes at a pivotal point in the play. Romeo must make the decision to live forever in agony without Juliet, or die to be with her. Romeo is a character that stands out from others through his extensive development throughout each act. My staging centered on Romeo as a character, aiming to highlight the change he has undergone throughout the play. Therefore, I used the text to find contrasting language showing Romeo’s growth, and in my body expressed this change and the passion that consumed him. While performing the final death scene, I focused on displaying the climax of Romeo’s change, as well as embodying Romeo’s love as motivation.

Romeo is a character with passion and excitement for anything new. In the play, he is a warm-hearted, adventurous spirit whose newfound love has dictated his every move. Romeo is introduced into the play as an innocent teenager, whose sonnets and overly dramatic language display his adolescence. For example, Shakespeare uses metaphors in Romeo’s text to symbolize his eagerness to understand love. When talking about his love for Rosaline, Romeo speaks in exaggerated and poetic language. This presents him as inexperienced with the concept of love.

“Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs;
Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;
Being vexed a sea nourish'd with loving tears:
What is it else? a madness most discreet,
A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.”
(1.1.197-201)

This quote emphasizes “lovers’ eyes” a concept I interpreted as foreshadowing. I believed Shakespeare was alluding to Romeo being blind of what love is until he falls for Juliet at first sight. Using literary features such as foreshadowing and symbolism to understand the person Romeo was, allowed for a greater understanding of his change throughout the play. This was important to my scene because I had to show how Romeo grew from an innocent boy, to a man who has fallen in love and seen death.

In the final death scene, his language displays this change clearly. Romeo begins to speak in blank verse, which is completely without rhyme, instilling seriousness. This was different than the romantic poems Romeo spoke in during act one. The language in this scene also enabled an honesty, which did not translate through in the beginning of the play. “Death, that hath suck’d the honey of thy breath,/ Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty/ Thou art not conquer’d, beauty’s ensign yet/ Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,”(5.3.92-95) This line shows that while the content is beauty and love, the way Romeo speaks has become much darker. Words such as ‘suck’d the honey’ and ‘crimson’ show variety in tone of Romeo’s text. This contrast of Romeo in act one then act five displays the way Shakespeare uses language and style to show character development.

I showed this growth on stage by contrasting the character Romeo was first introduced as through my body and voice. To display the change, I focused on being unafraid of emotional vulnerability and embracing passion. On stage, I made many small details flourish into an arched theme of change. For example, I began my lines standing completely still, facing towards the audience. I thought this was important because it displayed Romeo’s disbelief of Juliet’s death. I tried to stand so still it seemed that Romeo was incapable of moving because of the pain he felt. I started lines soft, reiterating Romeo’s fear. On the lines, “Or did I dream it so?/ Or am I mad, hearing him talk of Juliet,/ To think it was so?” (5.3.87-89) I grew louder and more frustrated in my tone. On these lines I broke my stillness and sharply reached out as if I was grasping for answers. After line 94, I slowly turned towards Juliet and began to breathe heavily. This showed Romeo’s cautiousness to see Juliet’s body. I theorized that once Romeo saw her, he knew he would finally have to accept her death.  This acceptance would drive the following emotion of the scene. When I did see Juliet, I ran over and yelled the line “O my love, my wife!” (5.3.100) with obvious heartbreak. All of these subtle acting choices performed the change discussed before.

Beyond showing Romeo’s change, I knew I needed to understand Romeo’s deep love for Juliet as something true to make his suicide genuine. Understanding Romeo and Juliet’s story past the romance and into the depth of Romeo’s inner conflict was of highest priority. I found that by honing in on the climate leading up to the moment, I could grasp the true essence of Romeo’s intense love for Juliet. Since the beginning of the play, Shakespeare has foreshadowed to the lover’s being true, but never finding peace together. For example, this foreshadowing can be found in act one; “My mind misgives/ Some consequence/ yet hanging in the stars/ Shall bitterly begin his fearful date” (1.4.106-107) Therefore, I knew that this scene was the peak of their love. I found this to be relevant of the character’s thoughts from the prologue which states “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.” (Prologue, 6-9) This showed me Shakespeare’s emphasis on Romeo and Juliet’s inevitable physical distance, which I knew needed to be a theme of the performance.

To put this love to stage, my main focus was taking the literary themes, and then transforming it into a physical, as well as emotional, experience. I concentrated on using the insight I gained from analyzing the text to embody Romeo’s love discussed prior. The scene begins with Romeo off stage and Juliet center stage. This immediately sets the tone of the scene as the pair being separated. Despite this, Juliet’s texts centers around Romeo, instilling an idea of their souls being together. This choice proves a theme of the two being the ‘star-crossed lovers’. I wanted to do this to show how even through death, the two believe their love is everlasting.

Continuing, I often found myself using my body to show these themes of love and distance. For instance, by kneeling down next to Juliet for a majority of the lines, I was able to hold her physically close. This closeness portrayed love and intimacy, important pieces of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. I wanted Romeo to embrace his last moments with Juliet on Earth before taking his life to join her spirit. “O here/ Will I set up my everlasting rest/ And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars/ From this world wearied flesh.” (5.3.109-112) This line was where I showed Romeo’s final decision to die. I said the line with conviction and strength to exemplify Romeo’s willingness sacrifice. “The yoke of inauspicious stars” (5.3.111) was a line I explained as Romeo’s decision to forget his past and forgive the darkness of his life. Thus, I delivered this line compassionately. Knowing Romeo’s past with violence and feud, I understood that this forgiveness was a convincing factor to Romeo’s suicide, both for the audience and the character himself. I did not over dramatize this piece, but sought humanity from the audience to evoke authenticity. The most important place where I found a balance of drama and truth was when Romeo eventually drank the poison and died in Juliet’s lap. I imagined tearing up in complete despair to see his love dead. I slowly started to move Romeo towards suicide by exaggerating the lines with dramatic pauses. I also kept visual focus right on Juliet’s face. I had to find a medium between the emotion in my voice and the honesty in the movements. I also wanted to reveal Romeo second-guessing what afterlife would entail for him. Having Romeo second guess his faith was an intentional decision I made to add layers to Romeo’s death on stage. This drove home the theme of the lover's passion.

To display the previously discussed death scene climax and emotion, not only did I use my voice, but also my face and body. Body language and movements were a large part of the scene. I focused on how to move with a strong, relevant presence on stage. For example, in the moments of drinking the poison, I committed to moving very slowly to show Romeo’s contemplation. In the pauses I found moments to breathe and look up to the sky. I thought this showed Romeo’s fear but also his want for guidance. When holding Juliet I always was soft but simultaneously intense in my need to be as close as I could to Juliet’s body. My face was constantly changing depending upon the content of my lines. When speaking of Juliet’s beauty, for example, “And, lips, O you/ The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss” (5.3.122-123) I smiled and showed a sense of nostalgia in my face, as if Romeo was reminiscing of the joy he had with Juliet. Although when speaking of Romeo’s hate for death on lines 111-114, “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?” (5.3.111-114) I strived to show the disgust of death in Romeo’s face.

Romeo and Juliet is interesting to perform because it is a tragedy that focuses on change just as much as emotion. Understanding how Romeo grows up and learns to love in a way that leads to suicide is valuable for any actor striving to develop their script interpretation. The literary aspects of the text allow for the characters to be so extraordinarily deep. Therefore, while focusing on love and change to portray Romeo, I believe I grew as both an actress able to embody themes as well as characters, and a reader of literature holistically. The most interesting piece of this performance was how I initially had a hard time relating to Romeo. Eventually I was able to hone in on my own personalities that aligned with him. This helped me find Romeo in myself. I found my voice in the scene and freedom in my acting, which I value immensely. For the first time as an actor I paid close attention to the text analysis. I truly relied on my literary interpretation skills for most of my acting choices. This was highly liberating as it gave me a new perspective on finding truth in my acting. I looked closely at Shakespeare's writing and dug deep into the rhyme, patterns and word choice that made Romeo stand out. For the first time, I looked at a script as a piece of literature, not just acting lines.

Works Cited

1.     Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet: Original Text next to a Filmed Performance. New York: New Book, LLC, 2014. Print.

KRIK? KRAK! Background Knowledge

Edwidge Danticat

• Edwidge Danticat is a Haitian–American novelist and short story writer
• Her family left Haiti without her and her brother 
• Left Haiti for the US as a teenager and found her family
• When to Barnar and Brown, studied French and creative writing, her masters theis were her first book 'Breathe, Eyes, Memory' which told the story of a girl from Haiti

History of Haiti

• Christopher Columbus arrived in Haiti and claimed the land as 'little Spain'
• Haiti becomes a conoly of France with slavery 
• 1804 was the end of the Revolution and Haiti became an independent nation 
• 1915 US invades Haiti
• 1934 US withdrawls troops but kept fiscal control
• Dictatorship until 1990 when the first free election was held
• Current- vilolence from gangs and politics, supported by the President

Toussaint L'Ouverture

- Best known leader of the Haitian revolution, military and political

Boukman

- Another leader of the Revolution, black enslaved man who fought early in the war

1937, Dominican Massacre

President Rafael Trujillo wanted the Domican Republic to be very 'pure' and white so he gave the black Haitians time to leave and all those who didn't/couldn't were killed in a giant gencidal attack

Voodoo religion-  Orginated in African and the Caribbean, thought to be a religious mix of Catholic,  African and Native American trandtions and practices, no scripture or word authority, it is practiced around the world but not really recognized as an organized religion 

Duvalier (Papa Doc)

- Francois Duvalier was the president of Haiti from 1957-1971. He was elected upon a black nationalist platform and successfully prevented a coup d'etat in 1958 

Tonton Macoute

- a special operations unit created under the dictatorship of Papa Doc under Haitian parliamentary rule, Hatians named the force Tonton Macoute after a creole mythological 'bogeyman' who was known to kidnap children 

Jean Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc)

- Jean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed “Baby Doc”, was the President of Haiti from 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986.  His father was Papa Doc, he improved US and Haitian relations immensely 

KRIK? KRAK! Notes

KRIK? KRAK! Notes


Chapter One: Children of the Sea


Book jumps right in, no  context or backstory just yet, right off the bat very poetic language
Referring to the reader or another unnamed character as ‘you’
A lot of imagery (mountains, smells, red ants)
Symbolism? (white sheets- innocence)
Rape/sexual assault culture
Is this is letter to a man’s past lover?
‘Soldiers not like humans’
Setting- Haiti
War going on where the woman is, man is gone on a boat, maybe fighting abroad?
They are late teens, early twenties
Man has no hope for his country
Man is heading to America
Man is much more educated than the woman, he does not seem happy, his language is very sad/defeatist
Gender roles, woman is oppressed by her society, man got leave
Violence, conflict, government- big themes so far
Butterflies- recurring symbolism
Baby is dead, women is only 15, raped by soldiers
‘Sea has no mercy’ dead baby in it, symbolism of Haiti w/ death
They are in love, but cannot be together... ‘Romeo and Juliet”??? separated by conflict??

Draft 2

Currently this is 2,125 words so I need help cutting it down...

Romeo and Juliet is the most widely read William Shakespeare play and it’s overwhelming themes of loyalty, family and love are no doubt reasons why. The characters and journey of the play allow for an exemplary piece of art to learn from. Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy in the 1500s during a time of conflict and violence. When working with Shakespearean texts, the most important parts of the adaptation center around deciphering the intentions of language. This scene, 5.3, comes at a pivotal point in the play. In this moment, Romeo must make the decision to live forever in agony without Juliet, or die to be with her. Romeo is a character that stands out from others through his extensive development throughout each act. My adaptation centered around Romeo as a character, aiming to highlight the change he has undergone throughout the play leading up to this moment. Therefore, I used the text to find contrasting language showing Romeo’s growth, and in my body expressed this change and the passion that consumed him. While performing the final death scene, I focused on displaying the climax of Romeo’s change, as well as embodying Romeo’s love as motivation. 

Romeo is a character with plenty of passion and excitement for anything new. In the play, he is a warm-hearted, adventurous spirit whose new found love has dictated his every move. Romeo is introduced into the play as an innocent teenager, who’s sonnets and overly dramatic language display his adolescence. For example, Shakespeare uses metaphors in Romeo’s text to symbolize his eagerness to understand love. Such as when talking about his love for Rosaline, Romeo speaks in exaggerated and poetic language, presenting him as inexperienced with the concept of love.

“Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs;

Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;

Being vexed a sea nourish'd with loving tears:

What is it else? a madness most discreet,

A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.”

(1.1.197-201)

This quote shows the emphasis on “lovers’ eyes” a concept I interpreted during my character study as Shakespeare foreshadowing. I believed he was alluding to Romeo being blind of what love is until he falls for Juliet at first sight. Using literary features such as foreshadowing and symbolism to understand the person Romeo was, allowed for a greater understanding of his change throughout the play. Romeo has experienced monumental moments in his life such as marriage and murder, all which have shifted his perspective on love. This was important to my scene because I had to show how Romeo grew from an innocent boy, to a man who fallen in love and seen death. 

In the final death scene, his language displays this change clearly. Romeo begins to speak in blank verse, which is completely without rhyme, instilling a seriousness. This was different than the romantic poems Romeo spoke in during act one. The language is this scene also enabled an honesty which did not translate through in the beginning of the play. “Death, that hath suck’d the honey of thy breath,/ Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty/ Thou art not conquer’d, beauty’s ensign yet/ Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,”(5.3.92-95) This line shows that while content is similar of beauty and love in act one and act five, the way Romeo speaks has changed to be much darker. Words such as ‘suck’d the honey’ and ‘crimson’ show variety in the tone of Romeo’s text. 

This growth showed on stage by contrasting the character Romeo was first introduced as completely through my body and voice. To display the change occurring in Romeo while putting the scene to stage, I focused on being as unafraid of emotional vulnerability as possible and embracing the passion or Romeo’s love. To express this critical change on stage, I made many small details flourish into an arched theme. For example, I began my lines standing completely still, facing towards the audience. I thought this was important because it displayed Romeo’s fear and disbelief of Juliet’s death. I tried to stand so still it seemed that Romeo was incapable of moving because of the pain he felt. I started lines soft, reiterating Romeo’s disbelief. On the lines, “Or did I dream it so?/ Or am I mad, hearing him talk of Juliet,/ To think it was so?” (5.3.87-89) I grew louder and more frustrated in my tone. On these lines I broke my stillness and sharply reached out as if I was grasping for answers. After line 94, I slowly turned towards Juliet and began to breathe heavily. This showed Romeo’s cautiousness to see Juliet’s body. I theorized that once Romeo saw her, he knew he would finally have to accept her death.  This acceptance would drive the following emotion of the scene. When I did see Juliet, I ran over and yelled the line “O my love, my wife!” (5.3.100) with obvious heartbreak and tragedy in my voice. This contrast of Romeo in act one then act five displays the way Shakespeare uses language and style to show character development. 

Beyond showing Romeo’s change, I knew I needed to understand Romeo’s deep love for Juliet as something true to make his suicide genuine. Understanding Romeo and Juliet’s story past the romance and into the depth of Romeo’s inner conflict was of highest priority. I found that by honing in on the tone of the death scene and the climate leading up to the moment, I could grasp the true essence of Romeo’s intentions. Since the beginning of the play, Shakespeare has foreshadowed to the lover’s never finding peace together. For example, this foreshadowing can be found in act one; “My mind misgives/ Some consequence/ yet hanging in the stars/ Shall bitterly begin his fearful date” (1.4.106-107) Therefore, I knew from the text that this scene was the climax of the drama. 

To show this climax, I had to know the importance of this scene in relevance to the complete story and embody it. I knew Romeo’s fear and love had to shine through, therefore I trembled throughout several lines. I believe this showed the emotional intensity of the scene. I imagined tearing up in complete despair to see his love dead. This is where I began to focus on Romeo’s intense love for Juliet. I slowly started to move Romeo towards suicide himself by exaggerating the lines with dramatic pauses and kept visual focus right on Juliet’s face. This reiterated the theme of Romeo’s pain and allowed me to bring more emotion to the scene. I also focused on allowing Romeo to live in his last moments with Juliet. Although I eventually showed a strong confidence in Romeo’s decision to kill himself, I believed it was important to still display Romeo’s grief. I also wanted to reveal Romeo second guessing what afterlife will entail for him. Having Romeo second guess his faith was an intentional decision I made to add layers to Romeo’s death. I did this by taking moments to hold Juliet close as well as look away from her to show the contrast of Romeo’s inner conflict.

Continuing the process of putting literature to stage, my main focus was taking the literary themes and style of the script, then transforming it into a physical, as well as emotional, experience. I concentrated on using the insight I gained from analyzing the text to embody Romeo’s change and love. The scene begins with Romeo off stage and Juliet center stage. This immediately sets the tone of the scene as the pair being separated. Despite this, Juliet’s texts centers around Romeo, instilling an idea of their souls being together. This choice proves a theme of the two being the ‘star-crossed lovers’. I wanted to do this to show how even through death, the two believe their love is everlasting. I found this to be relevant of the character’s thoughts from the prologue which states “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.” (Prologue, 6-9) This showed me Shakespeare’s emphasis on Romeo and Juliet’s inevitable physical distance, which I knew needed to be a theme of the adaption.

I often found myself using my body to show these themes of love and distance. For instance, by kneeling down next to Juliet for a majority of the lines, I was able to hold her physically close. This closeness portrayed love and intimacy, important pieces of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. I wanted Romeo to embrace his last moments with Juliet on Earth before taking his life to join her spirit. “O here/ Will I set up my everlasting rest/ And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars/ From this world wearied flesh.” (5.3.109-112) This line was where I showed Romeo’s final decision to die. I said the line with conviction and strength to exemplify Romeo’s sacrifice. “The yoke of inauspicious stars” (5.3.111) was a line I explained as Romeo’s decision to forget his past and forgive the darkness of his life. Thus, I delivered this line strong and compassionately. Knowing Romeo’s past with violence and feud, I understood that this forgiveness was a convincing factor to Romeo’s suicide, both for the audience and the character himself. I did not over dramatize this piece, but seeked empathy and humanity from the audience to evoke authenticity. The most important place where I found a balance of drama and truth was when Romeo eventually drank the poison and died in Juliet’s lap. I had to find a medium between the emotion in my voice and the honesty in the movements. I used the text to find beats and natural breathes. 

To display the previously discussed emotion, not only did I use my voice, but also my face and body. Body language and movements were a large part of the scene. I focused on how to move with a strong, relevant presence on stage. I decided where I felt Romeo had no choice but to move and committed to the motions. For example, in the moments of drinking the poison, I moved very slowly to show Romeo’s contemplation and in the pauses found moments to breathe and look up to the sky. I thought this showed Romeo’s fear but also his want for guidance. I strived to always move with purpose, and whenever I touched Juliet I made sure to devote energy to the movement. I believe this showed the passion and extremity of the moment which caused Romeo to move initially. This aligned with the emotion and passion I described before. When holding Juliet I always was soft but simultaneously intense in my need to be as close as I could to Juliet’s body. My face was constantly changing depending upon the content of my lines. When speaking of Juliet’s beauty, for example, “And, lips, O you/ The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss” (5.3.122-123) I smiled and showed a sense of nostalgia in my face, as if Romeo was reminiscing of the joy he had with Juliet. Although when speaking of Romeo’s hate for death on lines 111-114, “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?” (5.3.111-114) I strived to show the hate in my face and disgust of Romeo’s unfortunate situation.

Romeo and Juliet is interesting to perform because it is a tragedy that focuses on change just as much as emotion. Understanding how Romeo grows up and learns to love in a way that leads to suicide, is valuable for any actor striving to develop their script interpretation. The literary aspects of the text allow for the characters to be so extraordinary in their depth. Therefore, while focusing on love and change to portray Romeo, I believe I grew as both an actress able to embody themes as well as characters, and a reader of literature holistically. The most interesting piece of this performance was how I initially had a hard time relating to Romeo. Although, eventually I was able to hone in on my own personalities that aligned with Romeo which helped me find him in myself. I found my voice in the scene and freedom in my acting which I value immensely. For the first time as an actor I payed close attention to the text analysis. I truly relied on my literary interpretation skills for most of my acting choices. I looked closely at Shakespeare's writing and dug deep into the rhyme, patterns and word choice that made Romeo stand out.

Sample Paper Grading

Sample Paper 1- 15/20

Criterion A: 4

Criterion B: 6

Criterion C: 4

Explanation: I thought this paper had very good focus and organization. I thought that their set up and use of language allowed the piece to be understandable and gave the reader good insight to their process. The literary analysis piece of the paper was very well done. They had strong points which always were paired with relevant evidence. They went into the deep detail of Margaret as a character, and did a good job of explaining the importance of their textual analysis in preparing for the performance. My only critique of this part of the paper was there was a bit too much unnecessary summary. The acting part of the paper was also well done. The diagram of the stage was interesting and gave me a clear view of the scene. I am unsure if it was needed, but it was a nice specific. They went into detail of their emotions but they focused a bit too much on the audience and fellow actors rather than honing in on their personal body language/face. I would have liked to see more specific ideas of taking their literary analysis to stage, such as movements and facial expressions. Overall, I think the paper was very good but could have used more on the acting part of their process. I gave them a 6/10 because they had all the literary analysis needed, just not the information that explained how they put it to stage.

Sample Paper 2- 17/20

Criterion A: 5

Criterion B: 7

Criterion C: 5

Explanation: This paper did a good job of incorporating their acting and literary choices as single thoughts rather than two parts of the paper. This was a different approach but successful one in structure. The language and organization were great and I has no trouble reading the paper. While I thought the literary analysis of language, punctuation, rhyme etc. were all great, there was very little on their acting choices. Once in a while there would be explanation of how they showed the emotions they were grasping from the text, but not enough. They found a lot of great acting ideas from the text but never went on to explain how they adapted that to the stage. Apart from once or twice saying they kneeled down, very little movements/body language were discussed. This is why I scored it a 7/10 in criterion B. I appreciated how they had little no drop quotes and always took the time to explain their evidence. The student also gave close attention to language and Shakespeare's writing to find their character choices. I thought this was great. The only thing this paper was really lacking was specifics and details of acting choices.

Draft of Written Coursework #1

Romeo and Juliet is the most widely read William Shakespeare play and it’s overwhelming themes of loyalty, family and love are no doubt reasons why. The characters in the play and the journeys they follow allow for an exemplary piece of art to learn about both literary topics and performance skills. When working with Shakespearean texts, the most important parts of the adaptation center around deciphering the intentions of the language. This scene comes at a pivotal point where Romeo must make the decision to live forever in agony without Juliet, or die to be with her. Romeo specifically is a character that stands out from others through his extensive development throughout each act. The adaptation centered around Romeo as a character, aiming to highlight the change he has undergone throughout the play leading up to this moment in act five, scene three. Therefore, while performing the final death scene, I focused on displaying the climax of Romeo’s change, as well as embodying Romeo’s love as his motivation. I used the text to find contrasting language showing Romeo’s growth, and in my body expressed the love that consumed him.


Romeo is a character with plenty of passion, loyalty and excitement for anything new. He is a warm-hearted, adventurous spirit whose new found love has dictated his every move. Romeo is introduced into the play as an innocent teenager, who’s sonnets and overly dramatic language display his adolescence. Shakespeare uses metaphors in Romeo’s text to symbolize Romeo’s eagerness to understand love. For example, when talking about his love for Rosaline, Romeo speaks in exaggerated and poetic language, presenting him as inexperienced with the concept of love.


“Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs;
Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;
Being vexed a sea nourish'd with loving tears:
What is it else? a madness most discreet,
A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.”
(1.1.197-201)


This quote shows the emphasis on “lovers’ eyes” a concept I interpreted during my character study as Shakespeare foreshadowing. I believed he was alluding to Romeo being blind of what love is until he falls for Juliet at first sight. Using literary features such as foreshadowing and symbolism to understand the person Romeo was, allowed for a greater understanding of his change. This was important to my scene because I had to show how Romeo grew from an innocent boy, to a man who has not only fallen in love, but also seen death and disownment from his family. Romeo upon meeting Juliet has seen the realistic conflict in his world, thus making his love even more cherishable. He has experienced monumental moments in his life such as marriage and murder, that have shifted his perspective on love.


In the final death scene, his language displays this change clearly. Romeo begins to speak in rhyme and blank verse as the play becomes increasingly serious. This enables an honesty in his words. Romeo’s text begins to exhibit conversation and truth, thus making his suicide more understandable. This contrast of Romeo in act one then act five displays the way Shakespeare uses language and style to show character development. “Death, that hath suck’d the honey of thy breath,/ Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty/ Thou art not conquer’d, beauty’s ensign yet/ Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,”(5.3.92-95) This line shows that while content is similar of beauty and love in act one and act five, the way Romeo speaks has changed to be much darker. Words such as ‘suck’d the honey’ and ‘crimson’ show variety in the tone of Romeo’s text.


Beyond showing Romeo’s change, I knew I needed to understand Romeo’s deep love for Juliet as something truly genuine to make his suicide authentic. Understanding Romeo and Juliet’s story beyond the romance and into the depth of Romeo’s inner conflict was of highest priority. I found that by honing in on the tone of the death scene and the climate leading up to the moment, I could grasp the true essence of Romeo’s intentions and motivations. Since the beginning of the play, Shakespeare has foreshadowed to the lover’s never finding peace together. For example, this foreshadowing can be found in act one; “My mind misgives/ Some consequence/ yet hanging in the stars/ Shall bitterly begin his fearful date” (1.4.106-107) Therefore, I knew from the text that this scene was the climax of the drama. Understanding the importance of this scene in relevance to the complete story was a focus of mine in preparing for the performance.


When beginning the process of putting literature to stage my main focus was taking the literary themes as well as style of the script and transforming it into a physical experience. I focused on using the insight I gained from analyzing the text to embody Romeo’s change and love. The scene begins with Romeo off stage and Juliet center stage. This immediately sets the tone of the scene as the pair being separated. Despite this, Juliet’s texts centers around Romeo, instilling an idea of their souls being together. This choice proves a theme of the two being the star-crossed lovers. I wanted to do this to show how even through death, the two believe their love is everlasting. I found this to be relevant of the character’s thoughts from the prologue which states “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.” (Prologue, 6-9) This showed me Shakespeare’s emphasis on Romeo and Juliet’s inevitable physical distance, which I knew needed to be a theme of the adaption.


To display the change occurring in Romeo while putting the scene to stage, I focused on being as unafraid of emotional vulnerability as possible and embracing the passion or Romeo’s love. This showed his change by contrasting the character Romeo was first introduced as completely. I began my lines standing completely still, facing towards the audience. I thought this was important because it displayed Romeo’s fear and disbelief of Juliet’s death. I tried to stand so still it seemed that Romeo was incapable of moving because of the pain he felt. I started my lines soft, reiterating Romeo’s disbelief. On the lines, “Or did I dream it so?/ Or am I mad, hearing him talk of Juliet,/ To think it was so?” (5.3.87-89) I grew louder and more frustrated in my tone. On these lines I broke my stillness and sharply reached out as if I was grasping for answers. After line 94, I slowly turned towards Juliet and began to breathe heavily. I did so by assumed Romeo would be very cautious to finally see Juliet’s body. I theorized that once Romeo saw her, he knew he would finally have to accept her death.  This acceptance would drive the following emotion of the scene. When I did see Juliet, I ran over and yelled the line “O my love, my wife!” (5.3.100) with obvious heartbreak and tragedy in my voice.


I trembled the next few lines as Romeo’s text centered on his confusion of Juliet’s incomprehensible beauty. I imagined tearing up in complete despair to see his love dead. This is where I began to focus on Romeo’s intense love for Juliet. I slowly started to move Romeo towards suicide himself by exaggerating the lines with dramatic pauses and kept visual focus right on Juliet’s face. This reiterated the theme of Romeo’s pain and allowed me to bring more emotion to the scene. I also focused on allowing Romeo to live in his last moments with Juliet. Although I eventually showed a strong confidence in Romeo’s decision to kill himself, I believed it was important to still display Romeo’s grief. I also wanted to reveal Romeo second guessing what afterlife will entail for him. Having Romeo second guess his faith was an intentional decision I made to add layers to Romeo’s death. I did this by taking moments to hold Juliet close as well as look away from her to show the contrast of Romeo’s inner conflict.


By kneeling down next to Juliet for a majority of the lines, I was able to hold her physically close. I wanted Romeo to embrace his last moments with Juliet on Earth before taking his life to join her spirit. “O here/ Will I set up my everlasting rest/ And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars/ From this world wearied flesh.” (5.3.109-112) This line was where I showed Romeo’s final decision to die. I said the line with conviction and strength to exemplify Romeo’s sacrifice. “The yoke of inauspicious stars” (5.3.111) was a line I explained as Romeo’s decision to forget his past and forgive the darkness of his life. Thus, I delivered this line strong and compassionately. Knowing Romeo’s past with violence and feud, I understood that this forgiveness was a convincing factor to Romeo’s suicide, both for the audience and the character himself. By displaying this love for all those in his life, and immense passion for Juliet, I believe I allowed his death to make sense in the play. I did not over dramatize it, but seeked empathy and humanity from the audience to evoke a sense of authenticity.


Body language and movements were a large part of the scene. I focused on how to move with a strong, relevant presence on stage. I decided where I felt Romeo had no choice but to move and committed to the motions. I strived to always move with purpose, and whenever I touched Juliet I made sure to devote energy to the movement. I believe this showed the passion and extremity of the moment which caused Romeo to move initially. When holding Juliet I always was soft but simultaneously intense in my need to be as close as I could to Juliet’s body. My face was constantly changing depending upon the content of my lines. When speaking of Juliet’s beauty, for example, “And, lips, O you/ The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss” (5.3.122-123) I smiled and showed a sense of nostalgia in my face, as if Romeo was reminiscing of the joy he had with Juliet. Although when speaking of Romeo’s hate for death on lines 111-114, “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?” (5.3.111-114) I strived to show the hate in my face and disgust of Romeo’s unfortunate situation.

Romeo and Juliet is interesting to perform because it is a tragedy that focuses on change. Love is a strong theme of the play, although I would argue, when performing change is more important to observe. Understanding how Romeo grows up and learns to love in a way that leads to suicide, is valuable for any actor striving to develop their script interpretation. The literary aspects of the text allow for the characters to be so extraordinary in their depth. Therefore, while focusing on love and change to portray Romeo, I believe I grew as both an actress able to embody themes as well as characters, and a reader of literature holistically.

I need more on the process (how it was portraying a boy and how I progressed) and a better conclusion of some sort.. I am stuck here as of now.

Sample 3 Grading

A- Analysis of literary features of the text (4)

• Too much summarizing
• Good analysis of literary features

B- Exploration of the chosen approach to the text (3)

• Really good literary features but barely any analyzing of the dramatic aspects

C- Use of language, structure (3)

• Some run on sentences and weird writing
• Not great organization 

Thesis Statement?

Therefore, while performing the final death scene, I focused on displaying the climax of Romeo’s change, as well as embodying Romeo’s love as his motivation. I used the text to find contrasting language showing Romeo’s growth, and in my body expressed the love that consumed him.