Activity 2: Juliet
 
 
  Objectives

This activity will help you to gain a detailed understanding of the ways in which Juliet’s character develops during the course of the play. You will:
 
 
study the scenes in which Juliet appears (or is discussed by other characters) with the help of prompt questions
 
 
think about how Juliet’s character is conveyed
 
 
identify important quotations.
 
 
  Outcomes

By working through this activity you will:
 
 
create a storyboard, which shows key moments in Juliet’s character development.
 
 
  Resources

You will need:
 
 
Kar2ouche Romeo and Juliet Content Library
 
 


  Activities
 
 
  Introduction
 
 
  1. First open the interactive Real Juliet storyboard. This gives an overview of Juliet’s character in each act of the play.
 
 
to open the Real Juliet storyboard
 
 


  Development
 
 
  2. Now you can create a more detailed storyboard showing what Juliet is like and how she changes during the play. A framework for this – the Juliet storyboard - has been created for you. This consists of a title frame, thirteen blank frames (each labelled with an act and scene number) and a closing frame. After you have opened the storyboard, use the study questions below to help you to find the key moments in Juliet’s development. .
 
 
to open the Juliet storyboard
 
 
We first hear about Juliet in Act 1 Scene 2. What do you learn about her from Paris and Capulet’s conversation? Does Capulet have any other children? Does he seem like a strict or a loving father? Now compose the first frame in your storyboard, summing up what you have learned so far.
 
What do you learn about Juliet from Lady Capulet and the Nurse’s conversation in Act 1 Scene 3? Juliet says very little here. What impression does this – and the few lines that she does speak – give? Now create the second frame.
 
Look at Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting in Act 1 Scene 5. How does Juliet’s behaviour here differ from the impression she made on the audience in Act 1 Scene 3? What reasons for this can you suggest? Romeo’s first words to Juliet are full of religious imagery – and she picks this up in her responses. Why do you think they use this language? Now create the frame for this scene in your storyboard.
 
Turn to Act 2 Scene 2. Juliet declares her love for Romeo not realising that he can hear her. Look carefully at lines 88-89: ‘Fain would I dwell on form – fain, fain deny/ What I have spoke. But farewell compliment!’ What does this tell us about her character? Note that Juliet is not simply swept away by her feelings. She recognises their attraction is ‘too rash, too unadvised, too sudden’ (line 118). Note too, that it is Juliet who first mentions marriage and organises the details of getting a message to Romeo. Now compose two frames, in the blanks provided, which sum up Juliet’s character in this scene.
 
What impression do the audience get of Juliet in Act 2 Scene 5? Next look closely at her reply to Romeo in Act 2 Scene 6 lines 30-34: ‘Conceit, more rich in matter than in words … half my wealth.’ Note that she does not simply agree with him. She seems to argue that true love cannot be measured or fully expressed in words. Do you agree? Now fill in the frame for this scene in your storyboard.
 
Look at Juliet’s reaction to the news that Romeo has killed her cousin Tybalt in Act 3 Scene 2 lines 73-113: ‘O serpent heart …. Romeo – banishčd.’ Although only married to Romeo for a few hours, and clearly very fond of her cousin, Juliet’s loyalty has now shifted from her family to her husband. Compose the frame for this scene in your storyboard.
 
Juliet’s strength of character is further revealed in Act 3 Scene 5. Only moments after Romeo’s departure she has to face an impossibly difficult situation with her parents. Her father threatens her (lines 188-196: ‘Graze where you will … shall never do thee good’), her mother washes her hands of her (lines 203-4: ‘Talk not to me … have done with thee’), and her Nurse, in her advice, shows how little she understands her (lines 217-220: ‘I think it best you married … you no use of him’). Where can Juliet turn for help now? Fill in the two frames for Act 3 Scene 5.
 
Juliet is clearly desperate when she visits Friar Laurence in Act 4 Scene 1. What six things is she prepared to do rather than marry Paris? (Lines 77-88: ‘O bid me leap … to my sweet love.’) The Friar’s plan is both terrifying and risky; what does Juliet’s reaction to it add to your impression of her character? (Lines 121-5: ‘Give me, give me … shall help afford.’) Compose the first frame for Act 4 now.
 
Juliet’s father calls his daughter ‘headstrong’ and ‘wayward’ in Act 4 Scene 2. Is he justified in feeling so angry at her reaction to the marriage that he has arranged for her? Think about the normal expectations of marriage for women at this time. Juliet convinces her parents and Nurse that she is now happy to fall in with their wishes. What does this reveal about her? Complete the next frame in your storyboard.
 
Look at Juliet’s soliloquy in Act 4 Scene 3 (from line 14: ‘Farewell, God knows when we shall meet again …’). What does she fear may happen to her if she goes through with the Friar’s plan? Why, in spite of these fears does she take the potion? (Lines 58-9: ‘Romeo … I drink to thee.’) Complete the frame for Act 4 Scene 3 now.
 
When Juliet awakes to find the plan has tragically failed, she does not hesitate to choose death rather than life without Romeo (Act 5 Scene 3 lines 160-170: ‘Go get thee hence … and let me die’). Compose the final frame of the storyboard showing Juliet as she appears in this scene.
 
 
  3. Drag and drop your completed frames into a template in the printing screen and print your storyboard.
 
 


  Plenary
 
 
  4. In small groups, compare the storyboards you have created. Discuss the choices you made when selecting the character’s poses, the frame backgrounds and the text you have used in the speech and thought bubbles.
 
 


  Extension/Homework
 
 
  5. Your storyboard, and the research you have done in order to create it, can now form the basis of an essay on Juliet’s character and development in the play.
 
 
  TITLE: Trace the development of Juliet’s character during the play. What methods does Shakespeare use to reveal her character to the audience?
 
 




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