It really bothers me how awkward the conversation between Juliet and Paris is. Juliet is blatant about her feelings toward Paris, while Paris seems to shrug them off and keep pushing. I know it is a custom of the time, but Shakespeare does a good job of making Juliet the victim and Paris the aggressor.
We learn in the first scene of Act 4 that Juliet's father has made the wedding between Juliet and Paris so soon because he hopes to abate Juliet's sorrow by giving her company. He believes her marriage to Paris will take her mind off Tybalt's death, and that he is helping her. Paris reveals this circumstance to Friar Lawrence when they meet about the upcoming wedding; “Now, sir, her father counts it as dangerous/That she do give her sorrow so much sway/And in his wisdom hastes our marriage/To stop the inundation of her tears,/Which, too much minded by herself alone/May be put from her by society” (IV, I, 9-14). This is yet another case of dramatic irony, because we, the readers, know Juliet is married to Romeo and her engagement to Paris has only further upset her.
In Act 4 Scene 1 we see the power Friar Lawrence has on the lovers situation, yet again. After marrying Romeo and Juliet then sending him to Mantua, now he is the one to provide Juliet with the potion, which determines her fate. The characters seem to have a great deal of trust in Friar as he plays a big role in their lives. Friar is seen as a knowledgeable man with answers, so will the results of his plans change that perception of him in the end?
In scene 1 of Act 4, Juliet threatens to kill herself if Friar Lawrence cannot solve her problem for her. Earlier, Romeo said that he would kill himself over being banished from Verona. Both characters jumping to suicide as their answers stood out to me. Although the times were much different, I think that their rash decisions show their ages and immaturity. I often forget that Juliet is less than 14 years old, and Romeo is not much older. Saying that they will kill themselves to solve their problems shows how dramatic and immature they both are. Both Romeo and Juliet are unable to think of other solutions without the help of Friar Lawrence. Also, death caused by love has been mentioned repeatedly, so the end comes as almost no surprise.
What stood out to me the most was the power of desperation and its effect on these two (young, as Anna mentioned) lovers. In Act 4 scene 1 Juliet says she would rather leap off a tower, walk in a street full of thieves, be chained with roaring bears (etc.) or be dead rather than marry Paris. Although these colorful illustrations may be due in large part to her age, it is important to consider how close the wedding is and how desperate she has become to be with Romeo. This desperation drives her to do immoral things, like deceive her family, as well as take risks she likely wouldnt have taken before, like take a mystery vile from Friar Lawrence. Desperation changes characters like Juliet and drives this story along.
Throughout the first two scenes of the fourth act, Juliet makes difficult decisions about her future and who she will marry. However, the observation I had was that she made her decisions based on the overall divine power she believes in. Obviously, talking with Friar Lawrence shows that she is at least somewhat akin to religion. Although throughout her conversation with him she says how "God joined [her] heart and Romeo's, thou [their] hands (V.I.56). This shows how deep her belief in her love for Romeo is, and that it will not ever fade and she won't marry Paris. Even if that means she has to lie to her parents, Paris and eventually poison herself in her sleep.
As I began reading the beginning of Act IV, the first question that came to my mind was why does Paris want to marry Juliet? Since the beginning of Act I Paris has been longing to marry Juliet, but they seem to have little to no interaction nor even be friends. This may just be due to the time period they live in as Peter said, but I feel that after Juliet banters with him throughout scene 1 he should feel completely differently about her. Obviously she has no feelings whatsoever for him so why would he want to marry someone that does not love him? I feel that this shows us Paris's immature personality in that he only he loves Juliet for her beauty. When Juliet gets sassy with him, he only gets angry and further demands that she marry him. Paris is spellbound by Juliet's beauty and is determined that she will marry him even if she does not love him.
What surprised me at first when reading the 1st half of Act IV was the Friar's willingness to do whatever he could to make the young couple happy.He devises or proposes a plan to Juliet that involves giving her this potion to create this temporary death,so that she and Romeo can escape to Mantua together. This brings me back to when the Friar was having his own soliloquy per say in which he talked about natures ability to do both good and bad. He creates a remedy that appears bad, but will hopefully do someone good. Its a little strange, but kind of cool for a minister.
Paris is insistent upon marrying Juliet, and in Act 4 Scene 1 he is trying to brainwash Juliet into thinking she loves him too. He, as well as Juliet's father, insist that the marriage will take place on Thursday. Without taking into consideration Juliet's feelings, this arranged marriage is the will of her parents as well at the County Paris. Even though Juliet is of age to marry during these times, her feelings or emotions aren't even taken into consideration by the people who supposedly love her most. She usually looks to the Nurse for advice, but this time, the Nurse also tells her marrying Paris is the right decision. Juliet turns to Friar Lawrence who goes over the top in devising a plan for Romeo and Juliet. As Nantambu said, I was also surprised at how far the Friar went into helping this young, supposedly in love, couple. Is it Juliet's immaturity that causes her to want death if she can't have Romeo, or does she actually love him?
What is the significance of the servingman at the beginning of Act IV Scene 2? What message does he intend to send with "...he who cannot lick his fingers goes not with me" (IV.2.7-8)? There has to be some sort of significance to this seemingly random quote, especially due to its placement at the beginning of a scene. Perhaps Shakespeare uses the servingman to relate the current situation with Juliet to cooking. Capulet is either reluctant or unable to use the information right at his fingertips to put two and two together about Juliet keeping a secret from him. In this sense he's missing out on the foul taste that is Juliet's deception against him. I could be reading too much into it, but that proverbial quote stuck out to me.
The whole concept of Romeo's "wonderful dream" in the beginning of Act IV, Scene 1, is just controversial. Even if Juliet breathed life back into Romeo, it seems that no lover should find it pleasant that his or her lover found him dead. I also find it weird that in his dream he was able to see himself dead. Even though this is a novel, I have never had a dream where I am looking at myself from the outside. Also, Whenever you are about to die in a dream, you most likely wake up or a different sequence of events takes place. Romeo seems to have had an out of body, out of mind, experience.
"Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears; Or shut me nightly in a charnel house, O'ercovered quite with dead men’s rattling bones, With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls" (IV. 1. 82-85).
When Juliet and Friar are speaking, this rant Juliet goes on uses a fair share of horrific imagery. I thought this scene was particularly significant because of the gravity it shows to her distaste of Paris. Yes, her feelings are rather obvious after she talks to Paris, but not until she (again) makes suicidal references are her feelings shown at such a level. I also thought is was a bit ironic that this conversation was with Friar. While he clearly doesn't doesn't behave as a typical priest would, the mere fact that she shares these feelings and he tells her he has the "remedy" proves to be ironic.
In scenes 1 and 2 I noticed how Shakespeare continues to make Juliet seem like the victim. He makes it seem like everyone is trying to make Juliet feel better, but they actually end up making it worse. One example is when Juliet has to talk to Paris and she makes it very clear that she doesn't like him, but that doesn't seem to bother him. Juliet's father is trying to marry Juliet and Paris quickly to help Juliet and her unhappiness, but he is actually making it worse for Juliet since she is married to Romeo. She consistently reminds Paris and her father of what she thinks of their intended marriage, yet they don't seem to care. I think it is interesting that Juliet's friends and family act like they care about her, but they actually disregard her feelings completely.
We keep seeing Romeo and Juliet turn to Friar Lawrence as an authority to give them advice for their teenage drama, and Friar Lawrence continues to try to control their situation. He allows them to be married in an attempt to have their families make peace, despite the fact that he understood that their marriage was impulsive. Then he convinces Romeo to flee to Mantua telling him that his banishment “is dear mercy” (act 3. sc. 3 line 30). Now he has created this elaborate plan for Juliet to fake her death in order to avoid marrying Paris. It seems that Friar Lawrence controls the fate of both of their lives because they follow any advice he gives them. Why do you think Romeo and Juliet place so much trust in Friar Lawrence?
Throughout the play, we have seen how dramatic everyone is. Juliet has been a bit over-dramatic, but not to the extent that Romeo has been. She has. She has not seemed so desperate as Romeo has, but now when she realizes that there could be a problem the desperation shows Juliet says, "O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower" (IV. i. 78). She says to Friar Lawrence that she would rather kill herself than marry Paris. At this moment it seems that she is being simply a melodramatic teen, but then at the end of the play, we see that she really is willing to kill herself for Romeo. Maybe she really does feel this way, or perhaps she is just out of her mind.
During Act IV Scene I, I also noticed Romeo and Juliet's hormonal stupidity. But to play devil's advocate, I think Juliet was brave for taking the potion. Was it rash and impulsive? Yes, but she risked everything to be with Romeo. We talk about how immature both Romeo and Juliet are, but I think Juliet is pretty sharp. She laid all the groundwork with her father by apologizing him and making things good with her family before leaving them. Although her actions were stupid, they were executed with bravery which is something to be admirable of.
As I was reading the scenes several things jumped out at me, though none of them were very profound. First of all, Paris is extremely presumptuous for someone who has never heard a happy phrase from Juliet. He imagines that life will be good regardless of her feelings for him and that she will learn to love him. Perhaps he doesn't know what love is. In addition, the end of the book is broadcasted in these passages. The Friar gives Juliet a special potion that makes her appear dead. It makes the reader think, "Well what would happen if Romeo didn't know she was still alive? He already has shown that he is suicidal..." I have a lot of respect for Friar Lawrence for his help of Romeo and Juliet, but he should have done more to save them in the end.
It really bothers me how awkward the conversation between Juliet and Paris is. Juliet is blatant about her feelings toward Paris, while Paris seems to shrug them off and keep pushing. I know it is a custom of the time, but Shakespeare does a good job of making Juliet the victim and Paris the aggressor.
ReplyDeleteWe learn in the first scene of Act 4 that Juliet's father has made the wedding between Juliet and Paris so soon because he hopes to abate Juliet's sorrow by giving her company. He believes her marriage to Paris will take her mind off Tybalt's death, and that he is helping her. Paris reveals this circumstance to Friar Lawrence when they meet about the upcoming wedding; “Now, sir, her father counts it as dangerous/That she do give her sorrow so much sway/And in his wisdom hastes our marriage/To stop the inundation of her tears,/Which, too much minded by herself alone/May be put from her by society” (IV, I, 9-14). This is yet another case of dramatic irony, because we, the readers, know Juliet is married to Romeo and her engagement to Paris has only further upset her.
ReplyDeleteIn Act 4 Scene 1 we see the power Friar Lawrence has on the lovers situation, yet again. After marrying Romeo and Juliet then sending him to Mantua, now he is the one to provide Juliet with the potion, which determines her fate. The characters seem to have a great deal of trust in Friar as he plays a big role in their lives. Friar is seen as a knowledgeable man with answers, so will the results of his plans change that perception of him in the end?
ReplyDeleteIn scene 1 of Act 4, Juliet threatens to kill herself if Friar Lawrence cannot solve her problem for her. Earlier, Romeo said that he would kill himself over being banished from Verona. Both characters jumping to suicide as their answers stood out to me. Although the times were much different, I think that their rash decisions show their ages and immaturity. I often forget that Juliet is less than 14 years old, and Romeo is not much older. Saying that they will kill themselves to solve their problems shows how dramatic and immature they both are. Both Romeo and Juliet are unable to think of other solutions without the help of Friar Lawrence.
ReplyDeleteAlso, death caused by love has been mentioned repeatedly, so the end comes as almost no surprise.
What stood out to me the most was the power of desperation and its effect on these two (young, as Anna mentioned) lovers. In Act 4 scene 1 Juliet says she would rather leap off a tower, walk in a street full of thieves, be chained with roaring bears (etc.) or be dead rather than marry Paris. Although these colorful illustrations may be due in large part to her age, it is important to consider how close the wedding is and how desperate she has become to be with Romeo. This desperation drives her to do immoral things, like deceive her family, as well as take risks she likely wouldnt have taken before, like take a mystery vile from Friar Lawrence. Desperation changes characters like Juliet and drives this story along.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the first two scenes of the fourth act, Juliet makes difficult decisions about her future and who she will marry. However, the observation I had was that she made her decisions based on the overall divine power she believes in. Obviously, talking with Friar Lawrence shows that she is at least somewhat akin to religion. Although throughout her conversation with him she says how "God joined [her] heart and Romeo's, thou [their] hands (V.I.56). This shows how deep her belief in her love for Romeo is, and that it will not ever fade and she won't marry Paris. Even if that means she has to lie to her parents, Paris and eventually poison herself in her sleep.
ReplyDeleteAs I began reading the beginning of Act IV, the first question that came to my mind was why does Paris want to marry Juliet? Since the beginning of Act I Paris has been longing to marry Juliet, but they seem to have little to no interaction nor even be friends. This may just be due to the time period they live in as Peter said, but I feel that after Juliet banters with him throughout scene 1 he should feel completely differently about her. Obviously she has no feelings whatsoever for him so why would he want to marry someone that does not love him? I feel that this shows us Paris's immature personality in that he only he loves Juliet for her beauty. When Juliet gets sassy with him, he only gets angry and further demands that she marry him. Paris is spellbound by Juliet's beauty and is determined that she will marry him even if she does not love him.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me at first when reading the 1st half of Act IV was the Friar's willingness to do whatever he could to make the young couple happy.He devises or proposes a plan to Juliet that involves giving her this potion to create this temporary death,so that she and Romeo can escape to Mantua together. This brings me back to when the Friar was having his own soliloquy per say in which he talked about natures ability to do both good and bad. He creates a remedy that appears bad, but will hopefully do someone good. Its a little strange, but kind of cool for a minister.
ReplyDeleteParis is insistent upon marrying Juliet, and in Act 4 Scene 1 he is trying to brainwash Juliet into thinking she loves him too. He, as well as Juliet's father, insist that the marriage will take place on Thursday. Without taking into consideration Juliet's feelings, this arranged marriage is the will of her parents as well at the County Paris. Even though Juliet is of age to marry during these times, her feelings or emotions aren't even taken into consideration by the people who supposedly love her most. She usually looks to the Nurse for advice, but this time, the Nurse also tells her marrying Paris is the right decision. Juliet turns to Friar Lawrence who goes over the top in devising a plan for Romeo and Juliet. As Nantambu said, I was also surprised at how far the Friar went into helping this young, supposedly in love, couple. Is it Juliet's immaturity that causes her to want death if she can't have Romeo, or does she actually love him?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the significance of the servingman at the beginning of Act IV Scene 2? What message does he intend to send with "...he who cannot lick his fingers goes not with me" (IV.2.7-8)? There has to be some sort of significance to this seemingly random quote, especially due to its placement at the beginning of a scene. Perhaps Shakespeare uses the servingman to relate the current situation with Juliet to cooking. Capulet is either reluctant or unable to use the information right at his fingertips to put two and two together about Juliet keeping a secret from him. In this sense he's missing out on the foul taste that is Juliet's deception against him. I could be reading too much into it, but that proverbial quote stuck out to me.
ReplyDeleteThe whole concept of Romeo's "wonderful dream" in the beginning of Act IV, Scene 1, is just controversial. Even if Juliet breathed life back into Romeo, it seems that no lover should find it pleasant that his or her lover found him dead. I also find it weird that in his dream he was able to see himself dead. Even though this is a novel, I have never had a dream where I am looking at myself from the outside. Also, Whenever you are about to die in a dream, you most likely wake up or a different sequence of events takes place. Romeo seems to have had an out of body, out of mind, experience.
ReplyDelete"Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears;
ReplyDeleteOr shut me nightly in a charnel house,
O'ercovered quite with dead men’s rattling bones,
With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls" (IV. 1. 82-85).
When Juliet and Friar are speaking, this rant Juliet goes on uses a fair share of horrific imagery. I thought this scene was particularly significant because of the gravity it shows to her distaste of Paris. Yes, her feelings are rather obvious after she talks to Paris, but not until she (again) makes suicidal references are her feelings shown at such a level. I also thought is was a bit ironic that this conversation was with Friar. While he clearly doesn't doesn't behave as a typical priest would, the mere fact that she shares these feelings and he tells her he has the "remedy" proves to be ironic.
In scenes 1 and 2 I noticed how Shakespeare continues to make Juliet seem like the victim. He makes it seem like everyone is trying to make Juliet feel better, but they actually end up making it worse. One example is when Juliet has to talk to Paris and she makes it very clear that she doesn't like him, but that doesn't seem to bother him. Juliet's father is trying to marry Juliet and Paris quickly to help Juliet and her unhappiness, but he is actually making it worse for Juliet since she is married to Romeo. She consistently reminds Paris and her father of what she thinks of their intended marriage, yet they don't seem to care. I think it is interesting that Juliet's friends and family act like they care about her, but they actually disregard her feelings completely.
ReplyDeleteWe keep seeing Romeo and Juliet turn to Friar Lawrence as an authority to give them advice for their teenage drama, and Friar Lawrence continues to try to control their situation. He allows them to be married in an attempt to have their families make peace, despite the fact that he understood that their marriage was impulsive. Then he convinces Romeo to flee to Mantua telling him that his banishment “is dear mercy” (act 3. sc. 3 line 30). Now he has created this elaborate plan for Juliet to fake her death in order to avoid marrying Paris. It seems that Friar Lawrence controls the fate of both of their lives because they follow any advice he gives them. Why do you think Romeo and Juliet place so much trust in Friar Lawrence?
ReplyDeleteThroughout the play, we have seen how dramatic everyone is. Juliet has been a bit over-dramatic, but not to the extent that Romeo has been. She has. She has not seemed so desperate as Romeo has, but now when she realizes that there could be a problem the desperation shows Juliet says, "O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower" (IV. i. 78). She says to Friar Lawrence that she would rather kill herself than marry Paris. At this moment it seems that she is being simply a melodramatic teen, but then at the end of the play, we see that she really is willing to kill herself for Romeo. Maybe she really does feel this way, or perhaps she is just out of her mind.
ReplyDeleteDuring Act IV Scene I, I also noticed Romeo and Juliet's hormonal stupidity. But to play devil's advocate, I think Juliet was brave for taking the potion. Was it rash and impulsive? Yes, but she risked everything to be with Romeo. We talk about how immature both Romeo and Juliet are, but I think Juliet is pretty sharp. She laid all the groundwork with her father by apologizing him and making things good with her family before leaving them. Although her actions were stupid, they were executed with bravery which is something to be admirable of.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading the scenes several things jumped out at me, though none of them were very profound. First of all, Paris is extremely presumptuous for someone who has never heard a happy phrase from Juliet. He imagines that life will be good regardless of her feelings for him and that she will learn to love him. Perhaps he doesn't know what love is. In addition, the end of the book is broadcasted in these passages. The Friar gives Juliet a special potion that makes her appear dead. It makes the reader think, "Well what would happen if Romeo didn't know she was still alive? He already has shown that he is suicidal..." I have a lot of respect for Friar Lawrence for his help of Romeo and Juliet, but he should have done more to save them in the end.
ReplyDelete