Romeo and Juliet - Act I

Romeo and Juliet (Prologue and Act I)

From the very beginning of Act I, we see that there is quite a bit of witty banter between both the Capulet and Montague houses as well as within them. Much of this has to do with picking a fight from another person in which the banter is used to its full effect in order to agitate the other person so they may draw their sword. Other times it is used to lighten the mood (such as by Benvolio to Romeo to try and cheer him up) or to silence a person (such as when Capulet does this to Tybalt at the party). The banter here tends to make me think sometimes that this is more of a comedy than a tragedy because of how much it is used. However, it does its job of making the reader laugh at some parts and scowl at its use at others. Compared to Much Ado About Nothing, the banter is less intelligent and more playfully used than the sarcastic banter in the latter.

When Romeo speaks with Benvolio in 1.1 we see how airy and light Romeo’s words seem to be even though he is very upset. I also noticed that Romeo’s words are quite poetic and have an undertone of flourishing love even to the very end of his speaking. As he talks to Benvolio, we see rhyming couplets as well that also help set apart his words from those of Benvolio or others. Although Romeo does seem to be sad in the beginning, I’m not entirely convinced that he is by the end due to the underlying tones as well as the way he speaks.

I read Romeo and Juliet in high school, but this time it is much easier for me to read. I also understand the witty banter more and didn’t realize how many sexual innuendos were used throughout even just Act I. I am also able to recognize the underlying tones from different speakers and how these tones play into how the person acts towards certain people.  

The Sonnets of Shakespeare

Sonnets 116 & 64

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 talks of how true love will never die if it is indeed true, and that no situation should be able to shake it’s hold if it lies in truth. He states that even if death becomes your lover then it will not matter for your love will still prevail even after his/her death and will forever remain. Love is “an ever fixed mark” (line 5) that remains through the good and the bad, and conquers time as true lovers may even remain in love even after death. A true love will forge itself strong and last until the very end of time when love would cease to be no more, and if this is untrue then love does not exist and no person has ever truly loved. The tone of this sonnet is about the ideals of love and romance, and is deeply rooted within the understanding of what true love is actually like. Clearly, Shakespeare had a very insightful perspective on what true love is like and I would venture to say he himself had this kind of love. As for the sentence structure, most of the sentences begin on a new line and then end at the end of a line except for the very first sentence, which begins at the first line and ends in the middle of the second. I do not believe that this sonnet has a connection to Pinsky’s ideas about Elizabethan sonnets due to the fact that it is not addressed to a woman, nor does it try to seduce a woman with flattery or the tale of how pained he is to be without her.

Contrary wise, Sonnet 64 is about death and how time is the bringer of it. Shakespeare says that through his own eyes he has seen death and decay even in non-living things such as a crumbling tower, or the erosion of the sand upon the beach. As he has seen this, these things have taught him to understand that death befalls everything – even if it is merely in the form of decay. Because of this he came to see that “time will come and take my love away” (line 12) and that there is nothing he or any person can do to stop such a thing. In the volta he confesses that this notion frightens him as he does not wish for his lover to die and weeps at the thought of losing that love. The tone of this sonnet is very foreboding and melancholy as we see the reality of life come to the forefront of his mind through his writing. The sentence structure for this sonnet has every new thought begin on a new line and all of the punctuation that dictates these separate thoughts are placed at the end of the lines (except for in the volta). This sonnet also does not seem to have a connection to what Pinsky believes an Elizabethan sonnet to be as it is not a sonnet that woos a woman, nor is it a sonnet that is for the purpose of courting. This sonnet actually defies Pinksy’s ideas about Elizabethan sonnets as it is not one to flatter nor make another happy through beautiful words, but is one to express the sorrow of death in life, as well as the sorrow of knowing that time will one day take love away from you.

I personally chose these sonnets because they were conflicting in nature to one another – one being about the joys of love in life and the other about the sorrows death brings to lovers. However, I find it interesting that in Sonnet 116 Shakespeare says that love will never die, but in Sonnet 64 it seems to be contradictory to this fact as he writes about how it is upsetting to know that one day love will be taken away. What does this say about Shakespeare’s writing? Do we think that his sonnets are fleeting within a moment as he writes them, or are they contradictory for a reason?

I do have a question about Sonnet 20 as this sonnet was particularly confusing to me. Part of me wants to say that this sonnet is about a woman who Shakespeare cannot have because she is a beautiful lesbian and only wishes to court other women, however I’m not quite sure about this. Another part of me wonders if this sonnet is about a woman who falls for a gorgeous man and therefore Shakespeare is cheated out of having her, however there are a few confusing lines in the sonnet that I struggled with. Therefore, my question is what is this sonnet really about? Or at least what is the most common interpretation of it?

Much Ado About Nothing - Act 5

Much Ado About Nothing (Act 5)

In Act 5 of Much Ado About Nothing we find Benedick trying to write a sonnet to his love, Beatrice. However, this does not work out so well as Benedick himself says, “No, I was not born under a rhyming planet, nor I cannot woo in festival terms.” (lines 34-35) Benedick does indeed finish the sonnet, although we do not know how it turned out or what it encompassed. Yet, in a recent adaptation of the play by BBC the sonnet is read and is actually Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116”. Looking at this sonnet I find that it is too well versed to come from Benedick and therefore disagree with the choice they made. Benedick is much cruder when it comes to words, and especially with Beatrice who spits such wit back at him. Therefore, I have picked a different sonnet that I believe would be better suited in place of “Sonnet 116”, which is “Three Sorts of Serpents to Resemble Thee” by the poet Drayton.

In this poem, Drayton explains his love for the woman in more of a way that his love for her is dangerous and almost against his will because she is seen as a siren. In this respect, we see how Benedick could have the potential to write this because although he does love Beatrice, he sees her wit as deadly to any man (and says so early on in the play). I could also see Benedick writing this due to it’s underlying complimentary tone in which he states that her wit is alluring; even though it seems deadly it is not so to him and he has fallen in love with her for it. Drayton’s sonnet seems to be a better fit than Shakespeare’s for Benedick, and I find it to be much more enticing in Benedick’s situation with Beatrice (meaning the trying of wits) than it would be if it were Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” being read.

Much Ado About Nothing   (Act 2)

v Leonato is mostly present throughout this act, with the exception of a few places here and there. In the beginning we see that Leonato talks little, especially when Beatrice begins another one of her witty comments and continues to rant. It is likely here that once again Leonato is at a loss for words in trying to match Beatrice’s wit, which is why he merely interjects for small comments on what she says. However, later on Leonato offers us some good insight into Beatrice’s relationships with people after hearing her put down the idea of ever having a husband. This is an important aspect to note as Leonato sets off cues for the reader about Beatrice’s personality other than what we have heard her say herself. I can tell that Leonato feels bad for Beatrice because, as he says, “She mocks all her wooers out of suit.” (line 305) It is then that we see Don Pedro hatch a plan to bring Beatrice and Benedick together in love, and Leonato is included in the scheme on behalf of his love for his niece. In the very last section of the second act the plan Don Pedro has come up with is hatched as he, Claudio, and Leonato talk about how Beatrice has confessed her love for him to them, but refuses to ever confess it to Benedick. The plan works perfectly as Benedick was hiding near them and listened in on their conversation, and it is then that Benedick admits to himself that he loves Beatrice. This section of act two intrigued me due to the fact that Leonato performed very well and quite seriously without giving it away. He is usually not one to talk for long periods of time, however he did talk for quite a while during this conversation and made it even more convincing due to the fact that he is Beatrice’s uncle and Benedick believed that he would not spew such lies.

v Balthasar is truly a scarce character throughout this act and only shows up a couple of times. The first time we see him merely ask Margaret for a dance, however it should be noted that he is smooth with his words and woos her onto the floor. The second time is when Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato have retreated outside to put their plan into motion with Benedick hiding near. Here Balthasar is called out to sing for them and although he does not believe his singing voice is worthy enough, he complies with the request from Don Pedro. The song that he sings is about ladies who should turn their woes into song to nourish their broken hearts from men. This is an interesting song to sing seeing as Beatrice is slightly heartbroken because she knows that although she does secretly love Benedick, she says she will never reveal it to him. The song is almost a ballad solely for her even though she cannot hear it.

Much Ado About Nothing - Act I

Much Ado About Nothing (Act I)

In Act I of Much Ado About Nothing we are opened into the house of Leonato, the governor of Messina, and told of a man named Don Pedro who has long been at war and thusly returns. Don Pedro is a brave man who “hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing in the figure of a lab the feats of a lion.” (lines 11-12) Further in we are introduced to Beatrice, the niece of Leonato, who is quite witty for a woman of that time. Beatrice particularly interested me because of this feature – she openly scolded Signor Benedick of Padua and insisted that her accusations were quite true of him. This came as a bit of a shock due to the fact that women back then were usually not permitted to speak of men in that way, nor did women usually speak with wit to match a man’s. Beatrice’s independence and intelligence is openly shown through her actions and words, which leads me to believe that she will prove to be the most unique character in this play.

Later in Act I, we find out that Claudio is in love with Beatrice, but requires assistance in telling her in which Don Pedro volunteers to help him woo her. Funnily enough, one of Antonio’s (Leonato’s brother) men over hears this conversation between Claudio and Don Pedro, but misunderstands and reports to Antonio and Leonato that it is Don Pedro who is in love with Beatrice, not Claudio. From this short conversation between Leonato, Antonio, and his messenger, I find it peculiar that the messenger heard wrong, when another man, Borachio, heard the same conversation and knew that it was Claudio who is in love with Beatrice. I wonder whether or not the messenger for Leonato and Antonio truly did hear wrong, or if there is a scheme in the making.

Don Paul is the bastard brother of Don Pedro and, as we learn in the end of Act I, truly dislikes (I’d even say hates) Don Pedro. Thus, when he learns of Claudio’s love for Beatrice he decides to create trouble amongst this arrangement. However, I’m intrigued by why it is that he has such a hatred for Don Pedro and his right hand, Claudio. Surely, it cannot just be because he is Don Pedro’s bastard brother and there must be another reason. But, this reason is unknown and leaves me wondering what happened and why it is that Don John desires to cause such trouble for the two of them.