Year 10 CAT Scene Recital and Analysis- Romeo and Juliet
Romeo is grief-stricken as he has been banished for killing Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. Romeo is down-hearted about being banished, not because of the actual act of exile, but for not actually being able to see his darling Juliet for the rest of his days. Rome has taken refuge in Friar Lawrence’s cell, and is venting to the Friar about the situation he is currently in. The Nurse has come to visit the Friar and Romeo to inform them of the deep state of sadness Juliet has fallen into. Friar Lawrence then convinces Romeo to go and visit Juliet before he passes into Mantua.
Before: Romeo has hidden in Friar Lawrence’s cell to escape from the madness that has engulfed his life. He has confided in the Friar about the struggles he has had to face with his exile and having killed a man. They are bantering back and forth about Romeo, the Friar is trying to cheer Romeo up in a way, but Romeo keeps referring to his exile as worse than death. Because he has to deal with the heart ache that comes with not seeing his Juliet ever again.
After: After the Nurse has come and visited the friar and Romeo, Friar Lawrence has instilled a false sense of hope within Romeo, and he begins to believe that he can stay with his love forever. Romeo heads off to see Juliet at her home and once the sun has risen e would need to be off to Mantua where he shall live until the Friar can talk to the prince about his exile
When Romeo first came to Friar Lawrence he was beyond distressed, but after the Nurse comes and Frair Lawrence lifts his spirits Romeo is over the moon with joy and love. He is excited to see Juliet and even though their love is bound to fail, everyone till tries their hardest to make their love prevail. This shows Romeos development, not as a character but in his hopes and feelings as he went from feeling desolate to feeling buoyant.
Idealism versus Pragmatism is one of the very prevalent themes in this particular scene from Romeo and Juliet. This is demonstrated in this quote “How well my comfort is revived by this!’’ This shows Romeos beatific attitude to see his love, but it also shows that himself and everyone around him oblivious to the certain and impending doom that is to occur in Romeo and Juliet’s lives. Their love was never destined to work, their lives didn’t correlate in a way that would allow them to love whilst they were alive.