Act One of Romeo and Juliet Essay -- English Literature

Act One immediately engages the audience. Do you agree with thisstatement? How does Shakespe are achieve this?Act One of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare does indeedimmediately engage the audience. Shakespeare does this by using some(prenominal) language techniques to create an interesting opening scene.Shakespeare uses humour, action and romance all in Act One and it isthis variability that keeps the audiences attention.The play begins with a prologue that is written in the form of asonnet. The Prologue gives a summary of the play but does not giveaway too some(prenominal) of the plot, in order to keep the suspense. Shakespearetells of the great tragedy that will follow. The sonnet form is usedbecause it is more interesting when performed on stage than simpleprose. Shakespeare uses cute language in the Prologue to buildsuspense. For example, on line four he writes, From ancient grudgebreak new mutiny. Ancient grudge suggests that the disagreementbetween the Montague and C apulet families has been going on for a verylong time and the mutual hatred between them has grown stronger andstronger. The word mutiny is used to mean a sudden outburst ofviolence, which suggests thither will be an exciting, action-packedscene somewhere in the play. Then, on lines six and seven, Shakespearewrites about the misadventured piteous overthrows of the pair ofstar-crossed lovers. He uses this to suggest there will be severalunfortunate tragic accidents involving Romeo and Juliet throughout theplay. Furthermore, on line twelve of the sonnet, Shakespeare writesthat the play will be the two hours traffic of our stage, meaningthat the play will locomote two hours which will not be long enough tobore the au... ...says. Then finally, they ask each other if they shouldkiss. They kiss twice but are then interrupted by the Nurse. It is atthis point that the couple find out that they come from differentsides of the rift between the two households and the audience invitethe prob lem the two lovers face.Act One does immediately engage the audience due to the variety thatit contains. Shakespeare uses humour, in particular sexual innuendo,to great effect. The act full of exciting speeches, especiallyMercutios entertaining explanation of Queen Mab. Also, he usesfight scenes for moments of action. There is also lots of emotiondisplayed by the characters, like Romeos depression and love-sicknesswhile hanker for Rosaline in the opening scene. Shakespeare creates anintriguing opening act that grabs the audiences attention and keepsit well into the next acts.