How Does Romeo And Juliet Create Tension In Act 1

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(Timothy) Act 1 scene 1 summary: Romeo and Juliet's Act 1, Scene 1 begins with a fight between servants from the wealthy Montague and Capulet households in Verona's streets. Escalus, the Prince of Verona, arrives and issues a death threat to the Montagues and Capulets if they participate in further fighting. Romeo arrives on the scene, feeling depressed. The scene establishes the conflict between the two families and introduces Romeo as an introverted person who is cut off from the rest of his family and lost in his own feelings. The play's essential subject of love and violence is also introduced in this scene. (Timothy) What feelings did this scene raise? Why? How? Romeo and Juliet's Act 1, Scene 1 inspires a variety of intense …show more content…

Prince Escalus steps in to stop the fighting after warning the families that they will die if they carry on fighting. The scenario closes with the possibility of further violence, leaving the spectator with a feeling of anxiety and tension. Romeo is also introduced in this scene, and it is made clear that he is depressed by his unfulfilled love for Rosaline. The audience empathizes with him as he experiences love and loss, but they also feel anxious because it is obvious that his feelings could fuel more hostilities between the …show more content…

The dialogue between Tybalt and Romeo, for instance, is full of hidden warnings and insults, which gradually escalate the situation until the fighting breaks out. Hidden warnings are phrases or words that contain or concealed meaning that the listener or reader are not aware of. Tybalt’s comment to Romeo in the comment said, “thou art a villain” and “turn and draw” can be seen as a hidden warning that lead to the battle between the two characters. Similar to this, Mercutio and Tybalt's conversation is full of dry humor and wordplay that raises the level and shows the characters' deep anger towards one another. Dry humor, on the other hand, is defined by a deadpan delivery, sarcasm and irony. Mercutio and Tybalt's conversation in the scene is filled with dry humor and wordplay, like when Mercutio says, "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man." This sentence is a play on the term "grave," which can indicate both grave and a site of burial. The use of dramatic irony is another method that stands out in this situation. Romeo and Juliet are in love and have recently been married, although the characters on stage like Romeo, Juliet and the helpers of Romeo are unaware of this information throughout the action. As the spectator sees the people unintentionally harm each other and begin an act of sad incidents, there is a sense of