NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
9.1.3
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 20
Lesson 20
Introduction
This lesson is the second in a series of two lessons that comprise the End-of-Unit Assessment for Unit 3.
In this lesson, students will craft a formal in-class essay exploring how Shakespeare unfolds character
throughout the play. This response requires students to draw upon their cumulative understanding of
Shakespeare’s language and structural choices in order to make a claim about character development
across all five acts of the play.
Students will use the textual details they collected throughout the unit as well as the connections they
established in their Lesson 19 tools to structure their end-of-unit written response. During the writing
process, students will independently select supporting evidence to strengthen the claim they produced
independently for their Lesson 19 homework. For homework, students will continue to read their
Accountable Independent Reading texts.
Standards
Assessed Standard(s)
RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations)
develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or
develop the theme.
W.9-10.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts,
and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and
analysis of content.
Addressed Standard(s)
RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
W.9-10.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and
research.
Assessment
Assessment(s)
In-class essay response to the following prompt: Choose either Romeo or Juliet, and write an essay that
explains how Shakespeare unfolds that character throughout the play. Reference Shakespeare’s
language and the events of the play as supporting evidence.
File: 9.1.3 Lesson 20 Date: 8/31/13 Classroom Use: Starting 9/2013
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1
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 20
High Performance Response(s)

See sample student essays for High Performance Responses.

Use NY Regents Text Analysis Rubric to assess student work.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary to provide directly (will not include extended instruction)

None.
Vocabulary to teach (may include direct word work and/or text-dependent questions)

None.
Student-Facing Agenda
Agenda Items
% of Lesson

Standards: R.9-10.1, R.9-10.3, W.9-10.2, W.9-10.9

Text: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Introduction of Lesson Agenda

Homework Accountability

Independent Writing: Essay due at end of class period.

Closing
Materials

None.
File: 9.1.3 Lesson 20 Date: 8/31/13 Classroom Use: Starting 9/2013
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5%
10%
80%
5%
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 20
Learning Sequence
Percentage Teacher Actions
of Lesson
5%
Introduction of Lesson Agenda
Begin by reviewing the agenda and sharing
the standards for this lesson: R.9-10.1, R.910.3, W.9-10.2, W.9-10.9.
10%
Student Actions
Students look at the agenda.
Homework Accountability
Ask students to volunteer the claims they
have written on the top of their Lesson 19
tool for homework accountability.
Students offer the claims they constructed
for homework.
Lead a quick debriefing session to ensure that
student claims reflect the requirements of the
assessment.
80%
Independent Writing
Transition students to independent writing Students write End-of-Unit Assessment
time.
essay.
Circulate around the room and offer support
as needed.
5%
Closing
Collect student essays as students leave the
class.
Hand in End-of-Unit Assessment.
File: 9.1.3 Lesson 20 Date: 8/31/13 Classroom Use: Starting 9/2013
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Instructional Notes (extensions,
supports, common
misunderstandings)
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
For homework, instruct students to continue
their Accountable Independent Reading
through the lens of their focus standard and
prepare for a 3-5 minute discussion of their
text based on that standard.
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 20
Students continue to read their
Accountable Independent Reading text for
homework.
Homework
Homework
Students should continue to read their Accountable Independent Reading through the lens of their focus standard and prepare for a 3-5 minute
discussion of their text based on that standard.
File: 9.1.3 Lesson 20 Date: 8/31/13 Classroom Use: Starting 9/2013
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 20
Model Student Response with Juliet as Focus Character
First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage:
Juliet’s Shifting Attitude Toward Love and Marriage in Romeo and Juliet
Claim: Juliet's attitude toward love and marriage changes throughout Romeo and Juliet.
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, Juliet's attitude toward love and marriage
changes dramatically. She begins the play ambivalent toward love and marriage, but after meeting
Romeo, she quickly shifts her attitude and falls in love. Ultimately, Juliet commits suicide because she
discovers Romeo is dead, and she cannot go on living without Romeo's love. Shakespeare provides
evidence for this change through Juliet's use of language, imagery, and dramatic irony in the play.
Juliet's first introduction in Act 1.3, establishes the fact that she does not think about marriage, and she
is reluctant to use the word love. Juliet's mother asks her what she thinks about marriage and Juliet
replies "it is an honour that I dream not of" (line 67). Later in the same scene, Juliet's mother asks her if
she can "like of Paris' love?" (line 97) Juliet replies that she will "look to like" (line 98) but does not use
the word love. In Act 1.5, Juliet meets Romeo for the first time and he kisses her. At first she tries to
avoid having him kiss her hand, playing with his imagery of the pilgrim and the saint, but she quickly
allows him to kiss her. Juliet's interest in Romeo is different from the indifference she shows in Act 1.3,
when she is talking to her mother. Juliet is beginning to consider love, or at least "like," because of her
interaction with Romeo.
Juliet's soliloquy on the balcony reveals her true feelings for Romeo. She only says so much because she
thinks she is alone, but the audience knows that Romeo is listening to her talk. Juliet dwells on Romeo's
name and expresses a desire for him to "be but sworn my love" (Act 2.2, line 35) and "be some other
name." (line 42) She argues that even with a new name Romeo would still have "dear perfection." (line
46) After Romeo reveals himself to Juliet, she worries about his safety and about the possibility that “thy
will murder” Romeo (line 70), while in the same passage Romeo uses lots of romantic language and
dwells on love and ignores Juliet's worries about his safety. When Romeo tries to give his vow of love to
Juliet she stops him, worrying that it will be like "th' inconstant moon" (line 109) and that Romeo will
"prove likewise variable" (line 111). She worries about how fast things are moving and tries to say
goodnight to Romeo before they exchange vows, in the hope of allowing "this bud of love" (line 121) to
become "a beauteous flower" (line 122) over time. However, Romeo makes one more request of Juliet,
and then she completely changes her mind and gives Romeo her vow of love. She seems to completely
forget about her previous worries and give herself over to love. The balcony scene is Juliet's turning
point in her opinion of love and marriage.
File: 9.1.3 Lesson 20 Date: 8/31/13 Classroom Use: Starting 9/2013
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 20
The next time Juliet has a soliloquy, it is while she is waiting for Romeo to come to her room in Act 3.2.
They are now married, and Juliet does not yet know that Romeo has killed her cousin Tybalt. Juliet uses
rich imagery, unlike anything she has used up to this point in the play, including the image of Romeo
scattered across the sky, "in little stars" (line 22) where "he will make the face of heaven so fine / that all
the world will be in love with night" (lines 23–24). Juliet's love for Romeo has made love something she
thinks about all the time, which is a clear change from her statement in Act 1.3, where she says marriage
is something she "dream[s] not of" (line 67).
In Act 4.1, Juliet now knows that Romeo has killed her cousin, and her parents are trying to force her to
marry Paris. She goes to see the Friar and gives a speech that combines her old worrying nature and
practicality, and her new concern with love and her marriage to Romeo. Juliet begs for the Friar's
"wisdom," "counsel," and "remedy" (lines 50–67), while simultaneously describing her desire to end her
life with a "bloody knife" (line 62) and repeating the word "long" (line 66) to indicate both her deep
desire and the speed with which she needs the Friar's help. After the Friar offers her a plan, Juliet goes
to great lengths to describe all the things she would be willing to do to avoid marrying Paris and get to
"live an unstained wife" to Romeo, her "sweet love" (lines 87–88). Love and marriage give Juliet the
strength and the reason to do things she would not have otherwise attempted.
When Juliet wakes up in the tomb in Act 5.3, she is faced with Romeo’s dead body. The Friar offers to
take her to a nunnery, but Juliet tells him to leave her alone, she “will not away” (line 160) from Romeo.
She doesn’t talk very much, and even says “I’ll be brief” (line 169). Once Juliet decides to end her life,
she doesn’t hesitate and even calls the poison that Romeo took “friendly” (line 163) and the knife that
she kills herself with “happy” (line 169). Juliet does not explicitly give a reason for committing suicide,
but her final actions indicate that she is dying because Romeo is dead. She calls him her “true love” (line
161) and kisses him before she dies.
Romeo changed Juliet and gave her a reason to care about something she didn't care about before. Her
love for Romeo changed the way she spoke and the things she was concerned with. When Romeo
convinces Juliet to give him her vow of love she changes both the things she spends time talking about,
and the way she talks. She uses more complex imagery and is less concerned with practical matters, like
the family feud or the possibility her parents will find out about Romeo. Romeo's banishment and her
parents making her marry Paris made her desperate and gave her the fearlessness to take the potion
and pretend to be dead. Her love for Romeo changed her character to allow her to attempt things she
would not have otherwise. Juliet's suicide is ultimately the final confirmation of her shift to being a
romantic. She rejects the practical option, and without Romeo, without their marriage, and without
love, ends her life.
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 20
Model Student Response with Romeo as Focus Character
Love and Honor in Romeo and Juliet
Claim: Romeo struggles between his dedication to love and his dedication to honor throughout
Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet is considered by many to be the greatest romance ever told, and Romeo is often
idealized as the perfect romantic partner. Yet a closer examination of the play reveals Romeo to be a
man with complex motivations and equally complex relationships. Throughout Shakespeare’s play,
Romeo struggles between his dedication to love and his dedication to honor.
In Act 1.1, Shakespeare introduces Romeo as a shallow and overly romantic young man. When Romeo
swooningly describes his crush Rosaline to his cousin Benvolio, he uses the word “fair” six times, and the
word “beauty” four times (lines 206–236). The repetition of these words highlights that Rosaline’s
beauty is what Romeo values most about her; she is the “precious treasure of his eyesight” (line 231).
Benvolio’s dismissive response to his lovesick cousin indicates that he thinks Romeo is shallow and
inconsistent. He advises Romeo, “be ruled by me, forget to think of her… examine other beauties” (lines
223–226). According to Benvolio, Romeo will forget about Rosaline as soon as he sees another pretty
girl. Romeo’s refusal to accept Benvolio’s advice and his declaration that “thou canst not teach me to
forget” (line 235) suggests that Romeo takes himself and his love for Rosaline a lot more seriously than
Benvolio does.
Benvolio’s doubtful opinion of Romeo’s devotion is quickly proven correct. Romeo spies Juliet at the
Capulet ball and immediately forgets all about Rosaline. Romeo’s quick swap of Juliet for Rosaline once
again suggests a young man who is more in love with being in love than he is with any individual woman.
Yet Romeo’s first conversation with Juliet at the ball seems to begin a slight shift in his attitude towards
love. As Romeo waits outside Juliet’s balcony in the hopes of seeing her again, his declarations of love
take on a slightly different hue. Although his speech is still centered upon descriptions of her beauty, he
does not describe this beauty in general terms as he did with Rosaline. Instead, Romeo repeatedly
compares Juliet’s beauty to light in Act 2.2; she is “the fair sun” whose “light through yonder window
breaks,” (lines 2–4) a “bright angel glorious to this night” (lines 26–27). For Romeo, Juliet’s beauty is
something more powerful and dynamic than a pretty face. She lights up the darkness that surrounds
them, and illuminates Romeo with her radiance. Made brighter by Juliet’s own brilliance, Romeo doesn’t
want Juliet to remain just the “treasure of his eyesight.” When he begs her “O speak again” (line 26), he
is opening up a conversation and giving Juliet the chance to be more than just a pretty face. Romeo’s
relationship with Juliet has deepened his understanding of love.
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 3 • Lesson 20
But Romeo and Juliet’s relationship cannot stay in the space of Juliet’s balcony for long. The young
lovers must deal with the bloody feud that pits their families and friends against each other. After
witnessing his best friend Mercutio’s death at the hands of Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, Romeo begins to
question his previous dedication to beauty and love. He says “my very friend, hath got this mortal hurt
on my behalf; my reputation stained With Tybalt’s slander...O sweet Juliet, Thy beauty hath made me
effeminate And in my temper softened valour’s steel!” (Act 3.1, lines 112–117.) Here, Romeo blames
Juliet’s beauty, the very beauty that he once saw as lighting up the world, for his best friend’s death.
Romeo believes his love for Juliet and her beauty is making him less of a man. He now finds his earlier
desire for peace between the Montagues and Capulets shameful and dishonorable. Romeo’s decision to
be guided by anger rather than forgiveness when he says “away to heaven, respective lenity, and fireeyed fury be my conduct now” (lines 125–126) suggests that he is questioning everything he once
believed in. When Romeo decides to kill Tybalt, he chooses violence over peace and his family’s honor
over his love for Juliet. This is the true tragedy of Shakespeare’s play.
As the events of the play reach their disastrous conclusion, Romeo makes the ultimate choice in his
struggle between love and honor. As Romeo enters the Capulet tomb and finds Juliet’s body lying next
to that of Tybalt, he is once again struck by the brilliance of her beauty and his love for her; “her beauty
makes this vault a feasting presence full of light” (Act 5.3, lines 85–86). For Romeo, Juliet’s beauty is
more powerful even than death “Oh my love, my wife, Death that sucked the honey of the breath hath
had no power yet upon thy beauty” (lines 91–93). Faced with the consequences of his decisions, Romeo
feels regret for killing Tybalt, “Forgive me, cousin!” he pleads (line 101) before he takes his own life.
After questioning his dedication to the peace that his love for Juliet has brought him, Romeo makes the
final decision to stay with Juliet in the light, rather than return to the darkness of violence and family
feuds.
Romeo’s suicide is a tragedy, but it is just one death among many. Romeo’s conflicting motivations
expose the true tragedy of Shakespeare’s play – the ongoing violence between the Montagues and the
Capulets. The Romeo who takes his own life is a very different man from the lovesick young boy who
only cared about a pretty face. His final choice indicates a complex understanding of the value of real
love and the sacrifices it requires.
File: 9.1.3 Lesson 20 Date: 8/31/13 Classroom Use: Starting 9/2013
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