The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, ​
Act V, ​by William Shakespeare Literary Analysis: Mood Mood​, or atmosphere, is the feeling created in the reader by a literary work. In a work of prose, the author can create the mood through descriptive detail. A playwright can do the same through the words spoken by the characters as well as the settings in which the action occurs. The mood of a scene often relates directly to the kind of play, whether it is a comedy or a tragedy. ​Romeo and Juliet ​
is a tragedy, and the mood of many scenes is filled with impending violence and death. However, there also are instances in which the mood is much lighter, as when Romeo and Juliet first meet at the party. DIRECTIONS: ​Explore the different moods created in Shakespeare’s tragic play. Read each passage from Act V below. Identify the mood created by the passage and then identify details that contribute to this mood. The first one has been done for you. 1. ROMEO. If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep, My dreams presage some joyful news at hand. My bosom’s lord sits lightly in his throne, And all this day as unaccustomed spirit Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts. Mood​: j​ oyful, hopeful
Details That Set Mood: ​joyful news, spirit lifts me, cheerful
2. PARIS​. Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal bed I strew (O woe! thy canopy is dust and stones) Which with sweet water nightly I will dew; Or, wanting that, with tears distilled by moans. Mood: Details That Set Mood: 3. ROMEO​. Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death, Gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth, Thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open, And in despite I’ll cram thee with more food. [Romeo opens the tomb.] Mood: Details That Set Mood: