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Lesson 6

We will read Act 4, Scenes 4 and 5 of Romeo and Juliet. We will examine the character development of Lord Capulet, Lady Capulet, and the Nurse. We will also read Act 5, Scene 1 and examine the character development of Romeo and how a theme is further developed in the play.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I recognize and interpret language and sentence structures to deepen my understanding of Romeo and Juliet?

  • Can I recognize and interpret important relationships among characters within Romeo and Juliet?

  • Can I evaluate the effects of figurative language and imagery in Romeo and Juliet?

  • Can I summarize the main events of Act 4, Scenes 4 and 5 and Act 5, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet?

  • Can I determine and explain how a theme is being developed in Act 5, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, Folger Shakespeare Library, Simon and Schuster, 2004
  • Multimedia
    • Romeo and Juliet: The Fully Dramatized Audio Edition, William Shakespeare, Folger Shakespeare Library, Simon and Schuster, 2014

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read

We will read a brief summary of Act 4, Scene 4 of Romeo and Juliet.

Read the following summary of Act 4, Scene 4 of Romeo and Juliet:

It is the morning of the planned wedding for Paris and Juliet, and the servants are busy with wedding preparations. Lord Capulet directs the Nurse to wake Juliet up.

Activity 2: Read – Discuss – Write

We will read Act 4, Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet and examine the characters of lord capulet and lady capulet.

Read and annotate Lines 1-101 of Act 4, Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet. As you read, pay attention to the reactions of Lord Capulet and Lady Capulet.

In groups, discuss the following questions about Act 4, Scene 5:

  1. What dramatic irony is present in this scene?

  2. How do Lord Capulet and Lady Capulet react to the discovery? What effect does the use of repetition have on the scene?

  3. Based on previous scenes, what is predictable about their reactions?

  4. What lines from previous scenes support this?

  5. What is surprising about their reactions?

  6. What lines from previous scenes support this?

Capture the discussion in your Character Note-Taking Tool for Lord Capulet.

Activity 3: Read – Write

We will gain a deeper understanding of the figurative language Shakespeare uses in this scene by rereading and analyzing specific lines from Act 4, Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet.

Reread the following lines from Act 4, Scene 5 and pay attention to Shakespeare’s use of similes, metaphors, and personification.

LORD CAPULET: Death lies on her like an untimely frost

Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. (4.5.33-34)

LORD CAPULET: Death is my son-in-law; Death is my heir;

My daughter he hath wedded. I will die

And leave him all. Life, living, all is Death's. (4.5.44-46)

Respond to the following questions about Act 4, Scene 5 in your Learning Log:

  1. What is being compared in each line?

  2. How does the use of similes, metaphors, and personification affect the mood of this scene?

Discuss your answers with a partner.

Activity 4: Read – Write

We will read lines 1–37 of Act 5, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet and examine the character of Romeo and a theme being further developed in this scene.

Read and annotate Lines 1-37 of Act 5, Scene 1 and pay attention to Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony and Romeo’s thoughts and actions.

Respond to the following questions about Act 5, Scene 1 in your Learning Log:

  1. What dramatic irony is present in this scene?

  2. What effect does it have on the mood of the scene?

  3. What is Romeo’s emotional state in this scene? What lines support this?

  4. What do you predict he will do with this news?

Transfer applicable notes from this scene to your Character Note-Taking Tool for Romeo.

Activity 5: Read – Write

We will gain a deeper understanding of a theme in the play by rereading and analyzing specific lines from Act 5, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet.

Reread the following lines from Act 5, Scene 1 more closely. As you read, pay attention to how the lines develop a theme in the play. Use the guiding questions to complete your Text-Theme Note-Taking Tool for the scene.

ROMEO: I dreamt my lady came and found me dead

(Strange dream that gives a dead man leave to think!)

And breathed such life with kisses in my lips

That I revived and was an emperor. (5.1.6-10)

ROMEO: Is it e’en so?—Then I deny you, stars! (5.1.25)

Respond to the following questions about Act 5, Scene 1 in your Learning Log:

  1. How do Lines 6-10 foreshadow the final events of the play?

  2. How does Line 25 develop a theme in the play?

Activity 6: Read – Write

For homework, we will read summaries of the remaining lines in Act 5, Scene 1 and of Act 5, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet. We will add information to our text-theme Note-Taking Tool.

For homework, read the following summaries and use the guiding questions to complete your Text-Theme Note-Taking Tool for Act 5, Scenes 1 and 2.

Act 5, Scene 1, Lines 38-91: Romeo visits an apothecary where he obtains a vial of poison. He then travels to the Capulet tomb to take the poison at Juliet’s grave.

Act 5, Scene 2: Friar John informs Friar Laurence that he was unable to deliver the letter to Romeo because the city gates of Mantua were closed due to “infectious pestilence” (i.e., a plague). Friar Laurence realizes that Romeo has no knowledge of the plan for Juliet to fake her death. Friar Laurence rushes to the tomb to be with Juliet as she awakens from her deep sleep. He plans to write Romeo a new letter explaining the situation once he has brought Juliet back to his chambers.

Respond to the following questions about the summary of Act 5, Scenes 1 and 2:

  1. In what other scene did we read about a “plague”?

  2. What theme is being developed in Act 5, Scene 2?