Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Marriage, Death and Juliet (to be completed Wednesday evening)
Juliet is the primary character that rules the action of scenes 1-3 in Act IV. The two main subjects she is most concerned with in these scenes is marriage and death. Read through these scenes carefully looking at the different language and imagery that Juliet uses when discussing these two topics. Does the way she speaks about marriage and death change through the act or remain consistent? Is there a theme or unifying thought behind the way she talks about the two topics? What do you think the audience is supposed to understand about how Juliet feels about marriage and death by the time she takes the poison that will make her appear dead? Please cite which lines lead you to your conclusions in your response.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJuliet seems to be consistent in her views on marriage and death throughout this act. She is constant in stating that dying is preferable to marrying Paris. In Act IV Scene I, lines 52-55, Juliet says, “… unless thou tell me how I may prevent it [marrying Paris]. If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, do thou but call my resolution wise, and with this knife I’ll handle is presently.” She then proceeds to show Friar Lawrence a knife, threatening to kill herself if he cannot help her find a solution. This occurred in the beginning of the act. In Scene III, lines 22-24, Juliet is in the middle of her anxious soliloquy. She says, “What if this mixture [in reference to the poison] do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning? No, no, this shall forbid it.” The last sentence is accompanied by her placing the knife on her nightstand as a last resort in case the poison fails, so she is still standing by her original resolution to prevent the marriage at all costs, even by the end of the reading. I think Juliet sees both death and marriage as eternal contracts that she can never escape, and sha has to choose one or the other. She sees death as the lesser of two evils, because marrying Paris will mean faking devotion to him and denying Romeo, which is worse to her than ending her own life. I think the audience is supposed to understand that Juliet doesn’t want to die; in fact, she loves her life on the condition that she can spend it with Romeo. She only “dies” as a desperate attempt to escape both death and marriage (to Paris).
ReplyDeleteTo Juliet, marriage to Paris has long been a worse punishment than death. First appeared in her mind from Act 1, she reacted to marry anyone other than Romeo as "My grave is like to be my wedding bed." Later on, with Romeo banished and her wedding day approaching, unforgivingly pushed up to 2 days from the present, Juliet view remained unchanged and translated to something even more profound than just thought. "Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it,...with this knife I'll help it presently" (Act 4, Scene 1, line 52-55), Juliet presented Friar Lawrence with 2 solid options: either Friar could, by any measure, prevented her wedding tomorrow, or none of his advices and wisdom could sway her away from immediate suicide. The knife was brought in with her to solidified her determination to self sacrifice for love and put pressure on Friar. In addition, after Friar offered a remedy, Juliet had compared marriage with Paris as a lighter punishments than all of her most frightening fear. "O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,....Or bid me go into a new made grave And hide me with a dead men in his shroud (Things that to hear them told have made me tremble)". Advancing to Act 4, Scene 3, when Juliet, with the vial she accepted from Friar Lawrence, lost in her own thoughts before the final decision. Juliet started out with doubt that the poison might not work. "What if this mixture...this shall forbid it. Lie thou there." Placing her knife on her bed, the audience can observe Juliet's sturdy perseverance for death over marriage. Flowing with her stream of thoughts, the audiences could see more fear shaping in Juliet's mind, not marriage fear but ironically, the fear of being surrounded by death people in the tomb which she claimed as more endurable than marrying Paris before. In a short period of time ,here was a moment of unsure existed in Juliet's head; however, ultimately, she cried out to Romeo and drunk the potion, returned to her prior persistence. This changing and self recollecting of Juliet throughout Act 4 has definitely drawn a definite conclusion to the audience: Love, to Juliet is much more powerful and worthy than dead.
ReplyDeleteTo Juliet, marriage to Paris has long been a worse punishment than death. First appeared in her mind from Act 1, she reacted to marry anyone other than Romeo as "My grave is like to be my wedding bed." Later on, with Romeo banished and her wedding day approaching, unforgivingly pushed up to 2 days from the present, Juliet view remained unchanged and translated to something even more profound than just thought. "Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it,...with this knife I'll help it presently" (Act 4, Scene 1, line 52-55), Juliet presented Friar Lawrence with 2 solid options: either Friar could, by any measure, prevented her wedding tomorrow, or none of his advices and wisdom could sway her away from immediate suicide. The knife was brought in with her to solidified her determination to self sacrifice for love and put pressure on Friar. In addition, after Friar offered a remedy, Juliet had compared marriage with Paris as a lighter punishments than all of her most frightening fear. "O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,....Or bid me go into a new made grave And hide me with a dead men in his shroud (Things that to hear them told have made me tremble)". Advancing to Act 4, Scene 3, when Juliet, with the vial she accepted from Friar Lawrence, lost in her own thoughts before the final decision. Juliet started out with doubt that the poison might not work. "What if this mixture...this shall forbid it. Lie thou there." Placing her knife on her bed, the audience can observe Juliet's sturdy perseverance for death over marriage. Flowing with her stream of thoughts, the audiences could see more fear shaping in Juliet's mind, not marriage fear but ironically, the fear of being surrounded by death people in the tomb which she claimed as more endurable than marrying Paris before. In a short period of time ,here was a moment of unsure existed in Juliet's head; however, ultimately, she cried out to Romeo and drunk the potion, returned to her prior persistence. This changing and self recollecting of Juliet throughout Act 4 has definitely drawn a definite conclusion to the audience: Love, to Juliet is much more powerful and worthy than dead.
ReplyDeleteJuliet’s point of view on death and marriage has remained the same throughout the book. She constantly said that she would rather die and face her worse fears, than to marry someone she did not love, Paris. This is seen on page 183, “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower, or walk in thievish ways… I will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstained wife to my sweet love,” (Act 4, scene 1, line 78, Juliet). She begged Friar Lawrence to tell her how to prevent the marriage, by threatening to kill herself by showing Friar Lawrence a knife. “And with this knife I’ll help it presently,” (Act 4, scene 1, line 55, Juliet). Marriage and Death is the overall theme of this book. It has been foreshadowed earlier in the book when she compared her marriage to death. “My grave is like to be my wedding bed.” She is saying that she would rather die than marry anyone else. I agree with Sarah, after reading scenes 1-3 from Act 4, it seems like Juliet’s life comes down to choosing between marriage or death. Even though Juliet is alarmed with the possible outcomes that could happen after she drank from the vial Friar Lawrence gave her, she still decided to drink from it despite her fear. This shows that Juliet is willingly choosing death and fear over marrying someone she does not love. The audience is suppose to understand that Juliet vales true love.
ReplyDeleteSarah worded it very well that Juliet views death and marriage as "eternal contracts," and this is consistent throughout the plot. Obviously, death is one's permanent departure from the world, and at the time, for a woman marriage signified lifetime devotion to a man. When Juliet received the news that she is to marry Paris without question, she feels backed into a corner with two impossible decisions: to agree and marry the man she does not love, or to refuse and die. After speaking to Paris with Friar Lawrence about the marriage, Juliet implores of Friar Lawrence, "Come weep with me, past hope, past care, past help" (act 4, sc. 1, line 46). She is saying here that she is almost out of alternative options to marrying Paris; she is "past hope and help". Juliet expresses later in the scene that if the Friar does not have a solution for her, she would be willing to die to escape Paris; she states, "I long to die if what thou speak'st speak not of remedy" (act 4, sc. 1, line 67). When the time comes that Juliet must take the poison, Juliet is scared of both marriage and death, but would take death if it would mean not betraying Romeo. In Act 4, scene 3, line 25, Juliet's fear of death shows when she says, "What if it be a poison which the friar subtly hath ministered to have me dead, lest in this marriage he should be dishonored because he married me before to Romeo?" However, Juliet reassures herself that the poison can't be like that because the friar is a holy man, and surely even if it was it would bring her more solace to die than if she were married to Paris; earlier in scene 1, she listed off a multitude of dangerous actions she would undertake to remain pure and untouched for Romeo, and of course, as she already told the friar, she would be willing to die as well.
ReplyDeleteI also think that in Act 4 Juliet’s views on death and marriage are constant. Juliet makes it very clear that she would rather die then be married with Paris. When Juliet was talking with Friar Lawrence, “ If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, Do thou but call my resolution wise, And with this knife I’ll help it presently.” (Juliet, Act 4, Scene 1, Line 53). Juliet is telling Friar Lawrence that if he doesn’t help her come up with a solution for her to not marry Paris then she will kill herself. This shows us how serious she is, and desperate for help because she really does not want to marry Paris. Friar Lawrence comes up with a solution where Juliet essentially will play dead. When Juliet agrees to this I think its crazy because she is escaping marriage by tricking her whole family, and this isn’t a very funny trick it is very extreme. Before Juliet drinks the drink her first fear is “What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning?” (Juliet, Act 4, Scene 3, Line 22). I think its interesting that her first worry was that she won’t be temporarily “dead looking” and that she will have to get married, over a worry like “Maybe I won’t wake up at all”. I think it shows how she is more concerned with getting married than dying.
ReplyDeleteJuliet's view on marriage and death is very consistent through the plot. Before i get to prove it i wanted to say that Juliet is really brave for risking the reporcussions she is for a boy she barely knows. Like Robert said, Juliet would rather break the rules and be with Romeo, then marry Count Paris. Juliet receives news that she must marry Count Paris without question, and she instantly starts panicking. She could refuse to marry him and be disowned or she can marry him and be miserable for the rest of her life. At this point, she is out of options and made up her mind that she would rather try to escape then marry count Paris. She also told the Friar all the dangerous things she would do to remain "pure" for Romeo. She doesn't believe that the Friar has poison, so she eliminated that option from her head. She is in denial because she has decided that the only option is with Romeo
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the other comments in that Juliet’s views on the relationship between death and marriage have remained consistent. They have remained consistent throughout this act and throughout the book. Like Sarah said, I think she defines both marriage and death as permanent and unforgiving and for that reason, she relates them to one another. It has always been Juliet’s desire to die before she ever has to marry someone she doesn’t love and just as death is forever binding, so is marriage. However, marriage in misery is more painful than death which would be like falling asleep, perhaps with unfinished business, but much less painful than eternal misery. She talks about both subjects throughout the act as if they are linked, and to her, I believe they are. In scene I, Juliet expresses the utter disgust she feels about marrying Paris in line 78, “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower, or walk in in thievish ways, or bid me lurk where serpents are.” She expresses that she willing to do anything to remain an “unstained” wife for her love. I interpret this as she will go to any length to avoid sharing a marriage bed with Paris because even if that means death, at least death will preserve her and leave her untouched. While in scene III, she seems to have a few short lived doubts about the effectiveness of the potion, she remains constant in her stance on “death before Paris.” Juliet’s beliefs and actions, while extreme, always lead to the same conclusion. She will always choose no life at all, then a life spent without happiness or love.
ReplyDeleteFrom the first Act of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet has expressed her feelings on marrying Paris. She claims that her grave will be her wedding bed. The themes of death and marriage seem to always be connected. Some people made good points on how if Juliet would to marry, would it not be similar to death? Being controlled by a man the rest of her life. Traditionally, this would be her fate, but if she were to happily live with Romeo, I feel the power would be close to mutual. On the inside, Juliet would die if she married Paris, so why not just kill herself? In this example Juliet responds to Paris-talking about if she loves him or not: "If I do so, it will be of more price being spoke behind your back than to your face." (Act 4, Sc. 1, line 28) One of the more iconic moments in the beginning of this act is when Juliet is talking to Friar Lawrence in Scene 1. She basically tells them that if he doesn't find a way to put the ka-bash (spelling uncertain) on the marriage, then she's gonna kill herself with the knife in her hand. The way she speaks about marriage and death seems to remain the same. I really like the way Sarah ended her blog and I couldn't agree more. Juliet really doesn't want to die, remember, Romeo is the emo one, she isn't really "living" if she isn't with Romeo. Faking her own death seems like the only option to escape actually death...or worse...marriage with Paris!
ReplyDelete-Sam
In the beginning of act 4 scene 1 Juliet pulls out a dagger when she meets Friar Lawrence that she is willing and wants to die in order to escape her wedding with Paris. Juliet thinks that there is no solution so she has to marry Paris "O, shut the door! And when thou hast done so, come weep with me, past hope, past cure, past help." (line 45). Juliet has expressed negative thoughts towards marriage since the beginning of the play. Saying her marriage will be her death. She comes to see Friar Lawrence to seek advice, and if he is not able to help her, she will kill herself in order to resolve the situation (line 60). In the beginning of Act 4 sc 3 Juliet is scared of marriage and death (as said by Robert) when she says, "There is a slight cold fear cutting through my veins. It almost freezes the heat of life" (line 16-17). In lines 19-55, the last moment before her "death", she seems to panicking about death. She wonders if the potion is going to work and perhaps kill her, but Friar Lawrence is a holy man and wouldn't do that. She worries about the other ways she might die when people think she's dead, such as suffocating in a tomb. Then things start to get even more weird when she starts think about
ReplyDeleteTybalt. In the end, Juliet chose a fake death over marriage, rather than fake marriage over death.
Juliet's position on death and marriage (as said by basically everyone) has remained fairly constant throughout the book. She believes that "marriage would be her deathbed" therefore, why end up "dead" and unhappy with Paris or "dead" and in love with Romeo? To Juliet, it seems that it may even be a logical choice to choose death over marriage with someone she does not want to be with. "O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, From off the battlements of any tower, Or walk in thievish ways, or bid me lurk Where serpents are." (Scene 3/Act 4/Lines 78-81) For some people, death is not a viable choice, but for Juliet it is an option of escape from a marriage she doesn't want to enter into, "And I will do it without fear or doubt, To live an unstained wife to my sweet love." (Act 4/Scene 3/Lines 89-90)She would rather die to keep from marrying a man she doesn't love because even in death she would still be waiting for Romeo as "unstained".
ReplyDelete-Eilidh Dunsmore
Juliet’s point of view on death and marriage has remained the same throughout the book. She constantly said that she would rather die and face her worse fears, than to marry someone she did not love, Paris. This is seen on page 183, “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower, or walk in thievish ways… I will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstained wife to my sweet love,” (Act 4, scene 1, line 78, Juliet). She begged Friar Lawrence to tell her how to prevent the marriage, by threatening to kill herself by showing Friar Lawrence a knife. “And with this knife I’ll help it presently,” (Act 4, scene 1, line 55, Juliet). Marriage and Death is the overall theme of this book. It has been foreshadowed earlier in the book when she compared her marriage to death. “My grave is like to be my wedding bed.” She is saying that she would rather die than marry anyone else. I agree with Sarah, after reading scenes 1-3 from Act 4, it seems like Juliet’s life comes down to choosing between marriage or death. Even though Juliet is alarmed with the possible outcomes that could happen after she drank from the vial Friar Lawrence gave her, she still decided to drink from it despite her fear. This shows that Juliet is willingly choosing death and fear over marrying someone she does not love. The audience is suppose to understand that Juliet vales true love.
ReplyDeleteI think that Juliet's view on both death and marriage have remained the same. Juliet believes that marriage should be a loving union and that if that is not an option, dying is a more desirable fate. Juliet when talking about Paris says, “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower, or walk in thievish ways… I will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstained wife to my sweet love,”. In saying this, Juliet is expressing that she would rather die than marry someone she does not love. Juliet seems to believe that because marriage is such a permanent and sacred institution, it should only be done if in a loving relationship. She also believes that if her relationship is not loving and meaningful, then a life with that relationship is not worth living. I think that Juliet if nothing else, is certain that she is destined to marry Romeo, and that is one permanent decision that she can make. Even after he killed her family member and close friend, she still was able to forgive Romeo and stand by her husband. I think that juliet thinks that if one is not able to live life the correct way, and marry those who you love, then death is a better fate.
ReplyDeleteI think that Juliet's perspective on death and marriage has remained the same throughout the whole play. Juliet often seems to connect marriage and death in the sense that these both are inevitable. One example is when Juliet says, "O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower, or walk in thievish ways… I will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstained wife to my sweet love," By saying this, Juliet is conveying that she rather be dead than to marry Paris. She thinks this way because she feels that unless she truly loves someone she should not get married and in this case she does not love Paris. I think that Juliet believes that she has to marry Romeo. After all, they are in love and death is as uncontrollable as love.
ReplyDelete