Directing Act 3, Scene 5 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" Act 3 Scene 5 is a crucial part of
the play. It is the scene in which we see Juliet abandoned by all of
her allies: Romeo, her parents and, to a certain extent, her nurse. It
is also a scene where many of the themes of the whole play, such as
fate, marriage, individual freedom and day and night, are developed.
The scene is hectic and contains numerous exits and entrances. It sets
the pace for the rest of the play and the audience should feel that
the lovers' time together is running out. It is my role as director to
bring out the full dramatic ...view middle of the document...
This will be two shots superimposed over one another; one of
Romeo running and stumbling over the Capulet garden (what Juliet is
really seeing) and the other of Romeo drinking the poison and
stumbling towards a dead body in a tomb. The body is not identifiable
but the audience know this is a prophecy. When Romeo speaks lines
58-59 his voice sounds very quiet and faraway, a big close up of his
face is used and his mouth moves in slow motion. All these effects add
to the drama of their goodbyes.
The second part of Act 3 Scene 5 is where Juliet speaks with her
mother before her father enters (lines 60-125). In this part of the
scene I want the audience to realise the double meaning of Juliet and
Lady Capulet's conversation. I will do this by using flashbacks to
show what each character is thinking. For example, at line 74 "let yet
me weep for feeling such a loss" , a big close up of Juliet could be
followed by a shot of Romeo leaving, then cut to Lady Capulet and a
flashback of Tybalts death.
Line 94/95 is very interesting. There are two ways in which the line
can be read: 'til I behold him // dead is my poor heart, so far…" or
…'til I behold him dead // is my poor heart, so far…".
In order for the audience to clearly see that the line could be read
in two ways and have two very different meanings, the line must be
read in both ways as an interior monologue, one after the other with a
big close up of Juliet's face while her voice speaks the lines in the
background. She then says out loud to her mother "'til I behold him
dead // is my poor heart, so far…".
When Lady Capulet tells Juliet about the arranged marriage, she should
put her arm around Juliet and sit down on her bed with her. This shows
she cares for Juliet and wants her to be happy. When Juliet speaks
lines 105 and 106 she should seem a little cautious, showing the
audience she is not used to conversations such as this with her
mother.
Juliet's fear increases at line 111. When Lady Capulet tells Juliet of
the marriage there should be a long silence and a big close up of
Juliet's face trembling and pale. When Juliet speaks lines 116-123 she
should not raise her voice, but as she speaks start to silently cry.
At this point the audience should feel huge sympathy for Juliet. When
Lady Capulet speaks lines 124-125 "Here comes your father, tell him so
yourself; And see how he will take it at your hands." Lady Capulet
should not look at Juliet but speak them quietly, as she is shocked at
Juliet's response and thinks she is being extremely ungrateful.
When Capulet enters with the nurse he should open the door quietly and
pop his head round before coming in. Lady Capulet should stand up, to
distance herself from Juliet and show respect to her husband; the
nurse should follow Capulet in. Capulet should then sit...
