Drama in Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeares Romeo

Drama in Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet 'Romeo and Juliet' is centred around three main themes. The love between Romeo and Juliet combined with the hatred between their families. 'Romeo and Juliet' is also about fate and destiny. In the prologue Romeo and Juliet are referred to as "a pair of star-crossed lovers". These themes are all closely linked and have consequences which eventually result in Romeo and Juliet's deaths. The chosen scenes are the most important in the play. The actions in these scenes create a lot of tension and are central to the plot. In the first scene Tybalt is given a reason to want to fight Romeo. Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time and instantly fall in love, only to be driven apart in the second scene when Romeo is banished as a consequence of a fight; this is immediately after they have secretly married. These scenes are closely linked, as the main action in act 3 scene 1 is a direct consequence of something which happened in act 1 scene 5.Shakespeare is a skilful dramatist. In the scenes he uses contrasting ways of gripping the audience's attention. Shakespeare uses a fast moving plot of only four days; he consciously shortened the source material to create effect. This makes it easier to act out as well as creating more drama. It shows how passionate Romeo and Juliet are. The shortened plot grips the audience's attention as there is always something of interest happening. The audience are shocked at how quickly things happen; there is always suspense as to what will happen next. Shakespeare has given thought to the position of act 1 scene 5; he c... ...acle and creates dramatic irony. This helps the audience feel involved as they have information the characters don't and it creates suspense as we wait for the characters to find out what we already know. Shakespeare creates tension and suspense throughout the whole play. This means we are constantly gripped and there is always something happening. This is helped by the fast moving plot which Shakespeare conscientiously created. Tension and suspense is a key aspect to the two key scenes and I think Shakespeare creates a lot of it and in an effective way. Shakespeare also very cleverly bases the two pivotal scenes around opposing themes which is dramatic in its own form. Overall I feel Shakespeare is a very skilful dramatist and knows how to grip the audiences' attention using a variety of techniques, in different ways.