Week 10 Syllabus: May 28

ACT FOUR IS WELL SUMMARIZED BY 1988 DJ JAZZY JEFF and Fresh Prince’s song, “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” insomuch as we see the Lord and Lady Capulet make a fierce 180 degree turnaround, in respect to their daughter. At the end of Act 3, Capulet threatens that Juliet can “hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, for, by my soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee.” Yet when his suicidal daughter seems to have taken her life, he becomes somberly, even morbidly reflective: “Death lies on her like an untimely frost upon the sweetest flower of all the field. … the night before thy wedding day hath Death lain with thy wife. There she lies, flower as she was, deflowered by him. Death is my son-in-law; Death is my heir. My daughter he hath wedded. I will die and leave him all. Life, living, all is Death’s.” In line’s like these, we see Shakespeare’s view of mortality emerging through the plot of the play. Clearly, this is a writer who has experienced death, is familiar with losing a child. Can we say the same about Romeo and Juliet’s love? Do we see the poet’s view of love—forbidden, and love divided by parental strife—in what Romeo or Juliet says? What do you make of their fascination and deep commitment to one another? Is their extreme behavior similar to their parents?

MONDAY May 27

  • No school.

  • HW: Read act five. Pay attention to extremes and opposites in your marginal notes! Finish the study guide for act four.

TUESDAY, May 28

  • Watching the 2009 Globe version of act four, and the Zefferelli and Lehrman versions of act five. (Everyone dies in the end, except the adults—the live on).

  • Small group work on act five questions. When done, I will collect the guides.

  • HW: There are five remaining annotation grades: study guides for act 1, act 2, act 3, acts 4-5, and your notes in script.

  • When I collect books, I will pay special attention to your written-in-the-book notes on the following passages:

    • Prologue, act 1 (7)

    • Princes speech, act 1.1 (15)

    • Mercutio’s speech on love, act 1.4 (47-9)

    • Romeo & Juliet’s meeting, act 1.5 (53-61)

    • The Balcony scene, act 2.2 (69-83)

    • Friar Lawrence’s soliloguy, act 2.3 (83-5)

    • Juliet’s soliloquy, act 2.5 (103-5)

    • Mercutio & Tybalt’s deaths, act 3.1 (121-125)

    • Prince’s decree, act 3.1 (129)

    • Juliet’s soliloquy, act 3.2 (129-131)

    • Juliet’s response to slaying of Tybalt, act 3.2 (135-139)

    • Romeo’s response to banishment. act 3.3 (143)

    • Friar Lawrence chastising Romeo, act 3.3 (149-51)

    • Romeo & Juliet’s last meeting (while alive), act 3.5 (155-161)

    • Juliet threatens suicide and Friar’s plan, act 4.1 (181-85)

    • Juliet drinks the potion, act 4.3 (191-3)

    • All of act 5 (211-243)

THURSDAY, May 30

  • Watching the Globe presentation of Act 5.

  • Watching “The Condensed Shakespeare” performance of R&J.

  • While doing so, I will collect and grade annotations in your Folger’s edition of R&J.

  • Time permitting we will watch part one and part two of John Greene’s crash course of the play.

  • HW: Our final will be in the following room(s):

    • Period 1 in room B-301, Wednesday June 5, 10-11:30 am

    • Period 4 in room B-313, Wednesday June 5, 10-11:30 am

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Written by Paul Easton On