Act 1, Scene 5: Romeo falls in love with Juliet
How does Shakespeare use imagery and rhyme to show Romeo’s love for Juliet?
SCENE V. A hall in Capulet's house. [...] ROMEO [To a Servingman] What lady is that, which doth enrich the hand Of yonder knight? Servant I know not, sir. ROMEO O, 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 blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night. These tasks are designed to challenge you no matter how confident you are in this area of study. Work at your own pace and complete each task in as much detail as possible. 1) Knowledge Answer the questions in full sentences. 2) Comprehension Answer the questions using full sentences. Place all quotations in quotation
marks. 3) Analysis Answer each question with at least one paragraph. a)
b)
c)
d)
What is imagery? What is rhyme? Write your own piece of imagery. Write your own rhyming couplet. a) Who has Romeo fallen in love with? b) What piece of jewelry does Romeo compare Juliet
to? Copy out the quotation that tells you this. c) What animal does Romeo compare Juliet with? Copy out the quotation that tells you this. d) Read the quotation:‘The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand,/And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.’ What would Romeo like to
do to Juliet? e) Which rhyming couplet compares Juliet to a shining light in darkness? a) Find 2 quotations that tell us Juliet is precious. Why might Shakespeare have used this language to describe Juliet? b) Look at the final two lines of the extract. How might
this rhyming couplet tell us about Romeo’s feelings towards Juliet? Some useful tools…
Translation, glossary and useful phrases
Translation of Act 1, Scene 5
ROMEO Who is the lady on the arm of the knight over there? SERVINGMAN I don’t know, sir. ROMEO Oh, she shows the torches how to burn bright! She stands out against the darkness like a jeweled earring hanging against the cheek of an African. Her beauty is too good for this world; she’s too beautiful to die and be buried. She outshines the other women like a white dove in the middle of a flock of crows. When this dance is over, I’ll see where she stands, and then I’ll touch her hand with my rough and ugly one. Did my heart ever love anyone before this moment? My eyes were liars, then, because I never saw true beauty before tonight. Glossary of Terms
Useful Phrases
Yonder: in the distance. Ethiope’s ear: ear of a wealthy African. Trooping: hanging around with a group. Imagery: visually descriptive language. Rhyme: a word, syllable or line that ends with a
sound similar to another. Rhyming Couplet: two rhyming lines that appear one after the next. How many of these phrases could you use in your writing? This suggests to the reader… Therefore… For example… Shakespeare uses… The rhyming couplet… compares Juliet to a shining light in darkness. This makes Juliet seem… Romeo would like to … We can see this from the quotation… Shakespeare uses language to tell the audience
that Juliet is precious. For example...