2. Act I, scene iv: In scene iv, we encounter Mercutio, one of the most successful scene-stealers in all of Shakespeare's plays. Despite his apparent vulgarity and hysterical unpredictability- or perhaps because of them-many readers adore this character. Well, as the saying goes, one never gets a second chance to make a first impression. Based upon this first encounter with Mercutio, what is your first impression of the man and his personality? How do you respond to him, either emotionally or intellectually?
3. Act I, scene v: As demonstrated in scene v, not all members of the Capulet household are alike, especially regarding their varied responses to Romeo Montague's uninvited appearance at their feast. Consider all of the members of the Capulet household who actually recognize or interact with Romeo in this scene: What do their distinct responses to or interactions with him imply about their personalities or proprieties?
(Answer each question thoroughly with textual evidence and respond to at least one classmate.)
1. Lady Capulet I see as more of the upper class woman, who follows social norms and pushes them on her daughter regardless of what she wants. The Nurse, who actually raised and cared about Juliet sees her as a person with her own destiny instead of someone who needs her path carved for her. They are the same when it comes down to caring for Juliet. They both think they are doing the best for Juliet, though they are pushing her in different directions.
ReplyDelete2. I see Mercutio a typical party boy. He describes his dream encounters with maids so it makes him seem like a pervy kinda guy though extremely comical.
3. Some members of the Capulet family are more violent than others, while some are more mature and forgiving and making an effort to have peace. Tybalt makes the assumption that all Montagues are terrible people while others try to let the rivalry be. "Consent thee, gentle coz. Let him alone. He bears him like a portly gentleman, And, to say truth, Verona brags of him.." (Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet Act 1. Scene 5.) At least Capulet gives Romeo a chance instead of trying to fight him.
-Aissa
I agree that Mercutio seems like a party-er but I don't think he's pervy, I just think that he doesn't have a filter so he says whatever he's thinking.
DeleteSome textual evidence to prove my points...
Delete1. "This is the matter- Nurse, give me awhile. We must talk in secret. - Nuruse come back again. I have remembered me, thou's hear our counsel. Thou knowest my daughters of a pretty age. " (Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet, Act 1 Scene 3) This proves that the mother had the power over the Nurse, and could control her daughter any way she wanted too sense she had such power.
2. "If love be rough with you, be rough with love. Prick love for pricking and you beat love down." (Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 4) This proves that Mercutio saw himself as an expert on love and women, and cocky too, which makes him such a funny character.
-Aissa
1. Well I think that the Nurse is definitely more excitable than lady capulet because she went on and on about how she knows how old Juliet is and she told that long story about the earthquake while she was nursing Juliet, and she also is very enthusiastic about Juliet getting married which made her seem more energetic. "An I might live to see thee married once, I have my wish." However lady capulet is calm about the marriage situation so I would compare her to an introvert in the way that she thinks inwardly instead of out loud as the nurse does. She also seems like she has more power over Juliet because Juliet called her madam when lady capulet called her, so maybe she doesn't have as bonded of a relationship with her mother as she does with the Nurse.
ReplyDelete2. Mercutio confuses me but I still do like him. It's confusing how he tells the story's of Queen Mab yet he tells Romeo that dreams are "the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy." So that was sort of like saying dreams are stupid but he still believes in them. But also I do like that he has deep thought about the way things work and that he's a good friend to Romeo, like when he tried to cheer him up and get him to dance.
3. Tybalt was very aggressive towards Romeo so he's probably not as wise as capulet who tells tybalt to leave Romeo alone because he is a well respected person in the city. "To say truth, Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well-governed youth." But this also kinda makes it seem like capulet is scared of Romeo because of his reputation. Either way, capulet won't let his ego get in the way like tybalt did (which almost caused chaos). Juliet didn't react all that badly either, she was in love with him so maybe she's starting to think that maybe not all montagues are bad.
-Hannah Blankenship
I do agree that Juliet didn't feel hatred to Romeo when she found out that he was a Montague. The part that they are mainly starting to realize is that if they are in love, then how are they going to be allowed to be in love. I think that they already let go of the fact that are supposed to be against each other, the real question is, will their families accept it.
Delete1. I know this was already said, but I agree that Lady Capulet cares about Juliet, just has a different way of showing it. She cares about reputation. The Nurse is very maternal, taking Juliet under her wing and cares about her wellbeing. She kind of reminds me of Molly Weasley, from Harry Potter. :)
ReplyDelete2. Mercutio is a rebel, telling Romeo to not care about anything, just "follow your heart" and "follow Cupid's love plan" rather than "think about your reputation" and "what would your family think?". He sarcastic, I think, especially when Romeo says, "I dreamt a dream tonight." (Act I, Scene IV, Line 53) Mercutio's kind of like, "For real? Wow, can't believe it, Romeo dreams just like every other human being on the earth." (Insert tons of sarcasm)
3. There are clearly two kinds of Capulets: Tybalt and Lord Capulet.
Tybalt thinks all Montagues are villains, and that "to strike him (Romeo) I hold it not a sin." (I,v,67)
Lord Capulet is simply indifferent. He doesn't care who's there as long as they don't destroy everything.
I don't really see Mercutio as a rebel, but I guess I can get the reasoning behind it.
Delete-Grace
ReplyDelete1.I see Lady Capulet as the rich girl’s mother. She is the type of mother who you always question if she truly loves her daughter or not, but in the end you realize that she just has a different way of showing it. “Can you love the gentlemen?”(Shakespeare Scene 3 Act 1). Right then she was asking Juliet if she could ever love Paris, which shows that Lady Capulet does care about her child’s well being. On the other hand you have Juliet’s nurse who seemingly appears to care more than her actual mother, but really just likes to get caught up in someone else's world and share their own opinion. ( Scene 3 Act 1 lines 18-53).
2.My first impression of Mercutio is that he is the perfect guy that practically every single girl falls for. And he could have any girl he wanted to but he always wants the one that he can’t have. This character reminds me of Neal Caffrey from White Collar.
3.There are two views of the Montagues by the Capulets. One is that they are infectious roaches and they should be disposed of (Tybalt). And the second one is more along the lines of; stop worrying about them just let them be and no bloodshed will happen between the two families (Capulet).
-Grace
I disagree. Mercutio sort of reminds me of Bottom or Puck. Sort of the always making jokes type. He seems more like a string of one night stands type of guy instead of a commited relationship.
DeleteI totally agree with Jenna. Mercutio reminds me of Puck as well.
Delete1. The way that both Lady Capulet and the nurse are the same is the fact that they are both trying to give their opinion to Juliet about what she should do about getting married.They both provide a motherly figure for Juliet, but express their opinions on the marriage in different ways. Lady Capulet uses her previous experience of marrying at an earlier age to try to influence Juliet to marry at a young age, just like she did."Well think of marriage now. Younger than you here in Veronia, ladies of esteem, are already made mothers. By my count i was your mother much upon these years..."(Shakespeare 39) The nurse feels almost a responsibility for Juliet because she did the work and raised her as a baby. She wants for Juliet to do what feels right for her, but at the same time says that it's coming anyways, so why hold it off." Thou was the prettiest babe that e're I nursed. An I might live to see thee married once."(Shakespear 37)
ReplyDelete2. Mercutio kind of reminds me of the saying, "the life at a party". Even through all of Romeo's depression and problems, he still finds a way to make jokes and try motivate Romeo to find his true love. The way that he motivates Romeo is almost by acting condescending to him, almost like mocking him."We'll draw thee from the mire-Or,save your reverence, love- wherein thou stickest." (Shakespeare 45)
3. Tybalt represents the violent and short tempered side of the Capulates. The second he sees a montague, he instantly feels hatred towards them and wants to fight them. "A villain that is hither come in spite." (Shakespeare 55). On the other hand, Capulate represents the side of the Capulets that don't instantly want to fight the Monagues on contact. he wants there to be peace, instead of conflict. "He bears him like a portly gentleman, and, to say truth, Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well-governed youth." (Shakespeare 55)
I totally agree when you say that Lady Capulet forces Juliet to join the early marriage tradition, but I think that Nurse sees Juliet as hers, and she doesn't really want anyone to take that away from her, though she isn't her mother.
DeleteOther than that, I agree with your opinions, and I couldn't think of a better way to describe Tybalt than short-tempered.
-Aissa
I also disagree slightly with your perception of the nurse. It sounds like you think that Juliet is her responsibility, her burden, but I do think that she loves taking care of her, it's a pleasure.
DeleteAgain, other than that, I totally agree with everything else, especially Mercutio being the life of the party.
1) I think the nurse has had more of an impact on Juliet because it seems as if she was the main one looking after her most of the time. Lady Capulet wrecked on the nurse to raise, take care of and look after Juliet. Juliet's mother of course wants the best for her but doesn't know if she is ready to be married at age 14. However the nurse thinks Juliet has grown up and is mature enough and ready to take on the role of being a married woman.
ReplyDelete2) Mercutio is a teenage boy who is more about partying. He is trying to get Romeo to go to the party so he can get his mind off Rosland. Mercuito seems like the kind of person who wants his life to be full to the max with adventure and excitement so he doesn't live a wasted life. Intellectually he comes off as a not so smart person because of some of the things he says about women & partying. However emotionally he seems like a fun person who is jut trying to be a friend to Romeo but can't help but think what most teenage boys do. (page 47)
3) The variation of how some of the Capulets feel about the Montague's is very different. Some feel very, very strong hate towards them, like they shouldn't be there. And some feel like they are ok; kind of like... if you don't mess with me, I won't mess with you. Examples of these types of people are (for the first one) Tibalt... "Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe, a villain that is hither come in spite to scorn our solemnity this night." (page 55, line 69-71). (for the second one) Capulet... "Content thee, gentle coz. Let him alone. He bears him like a portly gentleman..." (page 55, line 74-75)
-Ashlyn
I totally agreed with your answer to the third question.
Delete-Haley
1. The whole dynamic between the nurse and the mother reminds me of a rich white girl (Juliet) with a nanny who raised her (Nurse) and a mother (Lady Capulet) who wants what she thinks is best for her daughter even though she hardly raised her daughter and doesn't care if her daughter hates her decision. The story that the nurse tells on page 35 shows how involved she was in rearing the child. On 39 Lady Capulet says "Well think of marriage now. Younger than you here in Verona, ladies of esteem, are made already mothers. By my count I was your mother much upon these years that you are now a maid. Thus,then in brief: The valiant Paris seeks you for his love." Juliet's mother wants her to be married even though Juliet does not wish it.
ReplyDelete2. Mercutio is that friend that is always dragging you someplace to make a bad decision. He's not my favorite character but he's better than Tybalt or Lady Capulet. He's sort of that "friends with everyone but kind of a stoner" sort of guy. He goes from talking about dream fantasies to responding to Romeo with, "True, I talk of dreams, which are the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy, which is as thin of substance as the air.." on page 49.
3. Capulet doesn't hate Romeo and doesn't wish to cause a fuss at the party so he orders Tybalt, who thoroughly hates all Capulets, to stand down and let the boy be. Juliet falls for Romeo and upon realizing he is a Montague declares how unfair it is that she would find love in an enemy. On page 61 she says, "My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me that I must love a loathed enemy."
I agree with your perception of Mercutio. Pretty much exactly what I had in mind. :)
Delete1. Juliet's mother doesn't really know her and wants her to be married just because that's what she thinks is best for Juliet. The nurse has been with Juliet for awhile and knows how she thinks and what she likes. I feel like the nurse is closer to her especially since the mother doesn't even know Juliet age, "Tho knowest my daughter's of a pretty age"
ReplyDelete2. I don't really like Mercutio, he freaks me out. He takes up an entire page and a half to talk about his wild sex dreams and has to have Romeo stop him. He's basically like that one creepy guy who always stares down girls at partys.
3. The way people feel toward Romeo being at the party varies greatly. Some want to see him unmasked and thrown out like Tybalt, "-that villain Romeo," and some just couldn't really care less like Capulet, "Content thee, gentle coz. let him alone."
-Haley
1) I see lady capulet as a snobby, stuck up, rich woman who forces her daughter into things that she simply doesn't want to do. Sort of like Jenna was saying theres the rich white woman who never has enough time to actually pay attention to her daughter and the house keeper who takes care of the upperclass little girl and raises her as her own. like hannah said; the mother doesn't even know juliet's age " thou knowest my daughter's of a pretty age"
ReplyDelete2) I don't quite know exactly how I feel about this dude. He seems degrading of women and sounds as though he is a pubescent teen who is full to the rim with testosterone.
Agreeing with Reagan and Jenna, he's that one friend who is always up to no good who you like, but you just can't line up with his morals.
3) part of the family is hostile to him and the other half just sort of ignore him because the have better things to do than stir up trouble with the other side.