Discussion Starters

Image taken from Google images on 22/10/12

 

The following topics, as listed below, will be helpful for you as you practise writing extended responses to the text. As you work your way through topics (you do not have to complete them in the order they are listed), you should aim to make direct reference to the play. My expectation is that you complete two per week as we lead into your exam.

 
• Love vs. Lust: Romeo and Juliet are obsessed, infatuated, out of control, and irrational. Sounds like lust to me.

 
• Prejudice: The feuding families create tension and conflict, not unlike feuding cultures in today's society.

 
• The Role of Fate: Shakespeare calls the two lovers "star-crossed." Does fate, however, play a greater role than the numerous stupid choices made by Romeo and Juliet.

 
• Book Smarts vs. Street Smarts: Friar Lawrence knew a lot. Most of it was useless. After all, he had no real world experience. He just walked around all day collecting herbs.

 
• Suicide: It's the gigantic green elephant in the room. You might as well talk about it.

 
• The Role of Women: Verona society did not hold much for women, which makes Juliet's strength stand out even more.

 
• The Role of a Husband: Romeo's weakness dooms the relationship from the start.

 
• Friendship: Romeo's friend, Mercutio, causes his banishment. His other friend, Friar Lawrence, causes his death. Juliet's friend, the Nurse, abandons her in her time of need.

 
• Communication: Juliet and her father need to sit down and have a nice long talk.

Given that the discussion starters are written as statements, it may be useful for you to turn them into questions. Alternatively, you may be comfortable simply adapting them so that they read as clear topic sentences or thesis statements.

When writing your responses, please keep the following things in mind:

1. You need to plan your response before you start writing

2. You should follow the accepted structure for paragraphs and essays

3. You need to ensure that you are analysing the text, not simply describing what happens

4. When analysing you need to ensure that you are identifying the various positioning techniques that Shakespeare is using and evaluating how these techniques help to position the audience

5. When analysing you should be making reference to what messages are being presented, i.e. what is important, etc.

6. You need to make sure that you integrate your evidence - remember, we want to try and avoid simply throwing quotations into the sentence or introducing every quotation with , "For example..."

7. Make sure you reference your quotations e.g. (Act 3, Scene 5, 22-23)

8. Avoid using large quotations - shorter examples are often more effective

9. Make sure you proof-read and edit very carefully! If you are having trouble proof-reading and editing your own work, ask someone to read it aloud to you (for this to work effectively they need to read exactly what is on the screen - spelling and punctuation too!)

10. Once you have finished a response, make sure you remember to publish it.

What is love?

So far in Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, we have been exposed to various representations of love. Write an extended response that explores these representations.

In your response you must demonstrate your ability to do the following things:

1. Use direct evidence
2. Reference your evidence (Act 3, Scene 1, 45-67)
3. Refer to the various positioning techniques in your discussion. E.g. Foreshadowing, language choices, use of Shakespearean sonnet, imagery, metaphor, simile, symbolism, motifs,etc.
4. Synthesise your evidence - the discussion of positioning techniques should help you here.
5. Can you suggest what is valued by certain characters with regards to love?

Make sure you proof-read and edit carefully.

Tonight's homework

On Blackboard, under the folder, "Exploring the world of Juliet and her Romeo" there are three documents that I would like you to read. These documents are:

* "Expectations of daughters in Elizabethan England" (this has been scanned as a PDF file and therefore you need to open both PDFs to read the entire document)

* "17th Century rules regarding marriage"

* "Marriage Customs"

As you read, make note of the most important/interesting/surprising points and post them on your blogs once you are finished.

This needs to be completed by Thursday please along with any class work that is incomplete by the end of today's lesson.

Creating empathy

One of the central themes in Romeo and Juliet revolves around relationships and love, but it also links to the influence of family members on such a relationship. You are to write a diary entry that explores the following scenario.

It is 2012 and a girl in her late teens has started dating someone who she believes is her true love. Unfortunately, her parents, family and friends don't approve of the relationship and are trying to force her to end it. Her parents have even gone so far as to say that they will disown her if she doesn't stop the relationship. In her diary she writes down her feelings about the whole situation. What does she write?

In your response, consider where in the world this girl lives, what her family situation is, what her social status is, what it is about her 'true love' that her family and friends dislike, etc.

Opening lesson for Term 4

Image taken from: http://www.google.com/images on 5/10/10

For the first lesson of this term we will be looking at the themes of Romeo and Juliet and how these themes, alongside the classic story, have influenced popular culture. Specifically, we will be looking at Taylor Swift's song, Love Story and briefly at Baz Lurhmann's 1998 film adaptation of Romeo + Juliet.

You will find a copy of the song lyrics, along with links to YouTube clips and associated questions on Blackboard. You need to go into the main Romeo and Juliet folder in Units of Work, then click on the folder entitled, Exploring the world of Juliet and her Romeo. The file you are looking for is called, Introductory Lesson for Romeo and Juliet. It is at the top of the page.

You need to post the answers to the questions on your blog.

Please be aware that we will be using the Blogs quite extensively this term so you will need to be vigilant in checking the class blog and keeping up to date with your work.