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ROMEO AND JULIET: THEME
WORKBOOK
BY RYDER
Major Themes:
Romeo and Juliet
T
he idea the writer wishes to convey about the subject—the
writer’s view of the world
or a revelation about human nature.
Utilizing the table below:
1. Identify a pervading idea for each Act within
Romeo and Juliet
(i.e.
Provide a few short sentences to demonstrate what Shakespeare is saying
)
2. Include evidence to support your theme statement (Quotes from text)
3. Connect your theme to the adaptation discussed in class.
4. Theme statement that captures the duration of the play
Utilize the box below to guide your thinking
Common topics identifi ed within
Romeo and Juliet
The Nature of Free Will - Honour and Obligation - The Naivety of Youth - The Power of Love and Hate
Violence and Death - Gender Roles - Revenge - The Multiplicity of Identity
An example of evidence used from text and an appropriate citation
👇
JULIET:
“Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? …O, be
some other name! What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’s, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title.”
(Romeo and Juliet
, Act-II, Scene-
ii
, Lines 38-49)
Track Your Understanding:
ACT I
Explanation
Evidence from text
Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a
rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear, Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear. So shows a snowy dove
trooping with crows. As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. The measure done, I’ll watch her
place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessèdmy rude hand. Did my heart love till now?
Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene i, Lines 42-51
Proposed message of selection
These lines said by Romeo are the essence of Romeo’s character. In this initial glimpse of Juliet,
Romeo immediately forms feelings for the feuding family’s daughter. Although much like his
character, they weren’t just fleeting attractions, they were immediately love. This expresses the
possibility that the writer, Shakespeare, may have been providing the cliche of love at fi rst site,
and the power of attraction. Although, the writer touches on a little more than just love at fi rst site.
Through the text, Shakespeare portrays Romeo to be poetic in his wording using strong whole
hearted descriptions of this newfound tie, which leads the reader to foresee Romeo’s feelings to
be indescribable and what words do extrude, are said by the heart itself. In a way this love is silly
but I think all love is silly and un-factual at a glance. His impulsive change of feelings from his
previous love reveal the topic of The Naivety of Youth. I think as though all could be seen as a
cliche, each word said in his initial view of Juliet can be interpreted to show the blindness and
power of love. Overall I think the writer intended to use these lines to both show how Romeo
feels for Juliet as well as to convey Romeos dramatic and unprecedented feelings and thoughts.
Connection to Adaptation
The adaptation for this act was similar in every way except for some of the visual
representation. Like any Adaptation to the scripture, all the director has for a
backbone is scene descriptions and lines. Besides for some possible editorial or
creative choices, (which had no effect on the message) the Adaptation managed to
not only capture the emotional essence of the original script, but also the cultural
attributions of the time.
ACT II
Explanation
Evidence from text
Tis but thy name that is my enemy.
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. 40 What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What’s in a
name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name; And for that name, which is no part of thee, Take all
myself.
(Romeo and Juliet
, Act-II, Scene-
ii
, Lines 38-49)
Proposed message of selection
In this section of scene 2, Romeo has found Juliet reflecting on their acquaintance earlier that
night. Shakespeare once again brought to fruition the a cliche that has existed in society to this
day. The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” was the main message of this short sample of
monologue. This idea of hate through identity has followed humanity through history and can be
a root cause of much of the “bad” in past and present. Although he may not have intended this,
Shakespeare, through this play, was able to bring light to the unquestioned societal boarders
that are put into place and why they should be questioned. The lines “What’s Montague? It is
nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other
name! What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”
Cover the obscurity of a label and the nonexistent power they have. As Juliet states, a name is
not a real thing and if a roses name was changed, it would still smell the same. Although this
topic carry’s throughout the play, this scene was when they both realized the un importance of
the family’s rivalry.
Connection to Adaptation
In the adaptation for this act, the director decided to make a large
change from the original descriptions. I was interesting how all of
the major themes were able to stay the same while placing the
story in a modern setting. This was very successful and I though it
didn’t take anything away from the emotions and messages of the
original playwright. The Adaptation also managed to keep the
script the same with only adding small amounts of dialogue to
better fi t the modern characters. It was interesting to have such
ancient dialogue with such a modern setting, but if you put the
Elizabethan English aside, the ideas were well received even in the
modern setting.
ACT III
Explanation
Evidence from text
Murcutio
Help me into some house, Benvolio,
Or I shall faint. A plague o’ both your houses! c 100 They have made worms’ meat of me. I have
it,
And soundly too. Your houses!
[Exit, supported by Benvolio.]
Romeo
This gentleman, the Prince’s near ally, My very friend, hath got this mortal hurt
In my behalf—my reputation stained
With Tybalt’s slander—Tybalt, that an hour Hath been my kinsman, O sweet Juliet, Thy beauty
hath made me effeminate
And in my temper softened valor’s steel!
Romeo and Juliet, Act
3
, Scene i, Lines
65
-
79
Proposed message of selection
This text represents many different topics that were expressed throughout the Shakespeare
play. Although there was visible evidence from Honour and Obligation, The Naivety of Youth,
The Power of Love and Hate, Violence and Death, and Revenge, I think the main topic of the
selected text was honour and obligation. There was violence and death in the passing of
Mercutio and revenge after his death because of the role Romeo thought he played in the
stabbing, but I think with the loss of his friend and his thought that Juliet made him soft, he felt
obligated to restore his honour by fi ghting and revenging his friend. Through Romeo’s words of
self hate and frustration, I believe that Shakespeare was conveying the message that emotions
can over power self ethics and knowledge when sudden confusion and fear are met. This goes
along with the idea that love is blind due to the fact that an emotion or feeling takes control and
suffocates any previous learning or ethical views on choices. This ads to Romeo’s passionate
and idealistic character as well as his un presented impulsivity.
Connection to Adaptation
Adaptation for Act 3 was the west side story. In this adaptation it is
evident that keeping true to the original Romeo and Juliet was not
the idea. The Adaptation was almost polar in the fact that it was
not only in a modern setting, but the language used was also a
modern style. In this movie no poetic wording was used. Although,
it is fair to say that this movie was rooted by the play for a number
of reasons. The division between the two gangs as well as the
forbidden love that the lovers share can relate to the two houses
and Romeo and Juliet’s forbidden relationship. In the scene that I
highlighted above, the events that take place are almost identical
to the ones in the original play. “Romeo”’s best friend is stabbed
and out of anger and obligation, he repays his friend by killing the
leader of the warring gang. Like the original, this leads him feeling
deep regret as well as sadness from his loss of his friend. In both,
“Romeo” immediately feels he is not worthy for Juliet and goes into
a depression. Reflecting on the fact that he is able to depart from
that deep regret and sadness, it makes me wonder if Shakespeare
meant to show the power of love in that respect as well. Love can
be blind, but love can also be your eyes to see brighter side of life.
ACT IV
Explanation
Evidence from text
Juliet.
O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, From off the battlements of yonder tower,
Or walk in thievish ways, or bid me lurk
Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears, Or shut me nightly in a charnel house,
O’ercovered quite with dead men’s rattling bones, With reeky shanks and yellow chapless
skulls;
Or bid me go into a new-made grave
And hide me with a dead man in his shroud—
Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble— And I will do it without fear or doubt,
To live an unstained wife to my sweet love.
Romeo and Juliet, Act
4
, Scene i, Lines
50-67
Proposed message of selection
This section of the Shakespeare play is when the idea of faking a death to escape to love
becomes prevalent. This was the distinguishing act of Romeo and Juliet. Today, the common
belief of the absurdity of poisoning oneself to act as dead is the main thought readers of this
play have, but what the root cause of one to make a choice like this could be, can actually be
very fathomable. Connecting to the idea of the the power of love as well as the idea of Death,
strikes many questions that’s answers will dig deeper into the importance of this foolish act. As
we know, Juliet and Romeo’s love is something that is stronger than the gravity around them,
and anything that would stand in the way of their romance would tear their souls to shreds.
When Juliet hears of Paris’s spontaneous plans of marriage, Juliet describes that she would
rather die than be with anyone else but Romeo. This aspect links to the topic of Death. Many
times we hear of someone taking their life on the news or hear a story from a friend, but all it
does is leave you pondering what can make someone do something like that. When I hear of
these losses, I wonder what is a life worth. I don't think there is any simple answer to that
question although, when living seems un liveable, it can make you question the value of the life
your living. In this scene when Juliet talks of taking her life, it links to this value of life. I believe
that life’s value is what you believe it to be, and in Juliet’s eyes, being without Romeo left her life
with no value. I feel this scene is often times overlooked as silly or close minded, but without
help (which the frier clearly did not give) different experiences or thoughts can make you
question the value of your life. A lesson I can take away from this section is that every life is
valuable, but the thoughts we have do not have value in determining ones life.
Connection to Adaptation
As seen in the West Side Story, it is still possible to keep true
to the meanings and and morals of the original text with a
completely different take on the story. This adaptation not only
took place in a 21st century setting, but the story was based
around live garden gnomes. Besides for the obvious adaptations
such as the setting, language, and timeline, the creator also made
more subtle changes as well. In act 4 of the original play, Juliet
decides that being with Paris would be worse than living, causing
her to make the decision to fake her death to get out of the
marriage. One of these more subtle yet impactful changes was
when Gnomeo fakes his death instead of Juliet to escape exile.
Although not purposeful, a smashed tea pot that looks like
Gnomeo, leads both sides of the garden to believe that he died.
Much like the poison in the original, the death is only meant to
mislead the parents, but ends up misleading the other lover as
well. Although, unlike the the play, the loss of Gnomeo does not
lead to a tragic ending of the other lover’s death.
The Adaptation not only uses the story of Romeo and Juliet
but also included an ironic addition of a Shakespeare character to
change the course of the plot. In the movie, after faking his death,
Gnomeo ends up on the top of a memorial of Shakespeare in a
park. Using the creative choice of making inanimate objects lively,
the statue of Shakespeare is able to speak to Gnomeo and
converse about his struggles. Shakespeare ironically tells Gnomeo
that his story sounds a lot like a story he had written in the past,
warning him of the tragic ending. Suddenly the once destined fate
is possible to change and without waiting any longer, Gnomeo
goes to stop the events that could take place.
Having this warning all of the sudden changed the
predisposed ending giving a curios sense of excitement and
interest that I felt the other adaptations did not provide. This
warning also struck other question that relates to the original story
and to life. In the original story, Juliet does not tell Romeo the plan
for her to fake her death which left him oblivious of her plan when
he hears she had passed. If he had gotten any sort of warning, the
tragedy of the ending would not have happened. In life, we often
will encounter events or news which we don’t understand. As
humans, we always want an answer to the unknown and in times
when things are unexpected or out of place, our minds
immediately search for understanding. Other life experiences also
pose questions that we don’t have answers to. When the un
expected events occur, most of our immediate responses are that
the experience was some sort of sign or warning. This is an easy
way of thinking which provides us with the comfortability of
understanding. Although, when we encounter coincidences or hear
news that with no doubt connects with your life and isn’t an
answer to a question you have, you can only feel grateful for its
correspondence. In this story I believe Shakespeare is not only
telling the story of two enchanted lovers, but also the story of a
missed opportunity and the tragedy of it’s outcome. It was the sign
that just never came. The fact hat both outcomes of exile and
tragedy were avoided makes me wonder if that was made possible
through the advance t in humanity through learning our history’s
mistakes
ACT V
Explanation
Evidence from text
This letter doth make good the friar’s words, Their course of love, the tidings of her death;
And here he writes that he did buy a poison
Of a poor ’pothecary, and therewithal
Came to this vault to die and lie with Juliet.
Where be these enemies? Capulet, Montague,
See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven fi nds means to kill your joys with love! And I, for winking at your discords too,
Have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished.
Romeo and Juliet, Act
4
, Scene i, Lines
286-295
Proposed message of selection
This text best represents the topic of the power of love and hate due to the message that
Shakespeare shares through this passage. In this scene the prince determined that the tragedy
was caused by the family’s feuding hate toward each other. It was interesting how it took death
to realize the uselessness of hate. I believe this story had many morals to offer, although, this
fi nal scene gives a lesson that makes this story prevalent today. I believe strong divide at any
scale results only in negative outcome and even if opinions do not align, division in people will
lead humanity down the worst path possible. We can see this in the play and and we can see
this in the US with the division our recent leader had created. As we saw throughout the play,
the love Romeo and Juliet shared was pretty much unstoppable and its power seemed to
override any other barriers. In life passions will usually always fi nd a way around barriers, but
when pursuing passion becomes forbidden and you do not question the issue, only bad can
come in its return. We saw the power of the divide in these last lines and as well as the
acknowledgment of the hate that stemmed from the division. Until these lines, the power of the
two family’s hatred had not bee acknowledged or even question by anyone but the two lovers. I
think Shakespeare was trying to communicate how silly something so big can seem when an
event happens to put it in perspective. I believe the tragedy wasn’t the loss of the characters,
but the regret of the feud the two family’s shared and what it caused.
Connection to Adaptation
This adaptation only held true to deepest core of the original play. There was no Benvolio, no
lady or lord Montague, and there was defi nitely no Elizabethan tongue being spoken. Most of
the original’s traits such as love at fi rst sight or a marriage planned by the frier were missing and
the the topics that were carried over were mostly changed to be one sided. For example,
Romeo or in this case “R” immediately was attracted to Juliet (Julie) but Julie was strait up
horrifi ed by R. After watching some of the movie, it was made clear that topics such as the
power of love and hate, violence and Death, and multiplicity of identity were made prevalent
throughout the entire movie. I think that the most valuable observation was one that was
discovered in the translated Act 5 or fi nal scene of the movie. It was clear that the power of love
was a driving theme to this adaptation and the idea that love conquers all such as being able to
understand zombie’s perspectives. This Adaptation brought me to the realization of the true
power of love and passion. Relating to the cliche, “don’t judge a book by its cover” love can can
override labels or imaginary boarders, because when people both share a value that is so
important to them, they can fi nd a common ground and a connection deeper than any label or
physical difference. In the fi nal scene of Act Five of the original and adaptation, I learned that
being able to realize the untruth of the fear towards the other can actually heal the larger
conflicts to progress together.
Overall Theme Statement:
The only way to overcome division and
hate is by using the power of love.
