Romeo And Juliet Mood Analysis

Change of Mood in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Act 2 scene 6 is a very short scene in which Romeo and Juliet get married and the mood is a happy one where the crowd would be cheerful, and in stark contrast Act 3 scene 1 is full of taunting, upset and death where the crowd would be angry and possibly jeering and shouting at the dastardly Tybalt.

The settings for both of these scenes are very different; the wedding scene is set around midday and in a church, whereas Act 3 scene 1 is in the afternoon in a public place on the streets of Verona in Italy.

The way Juliet runs into the church is almost comical, she rushes into the church, I think this is also saying she has rushed into the

In Shakespeare's day this would have been considered rude and disrespectful as they where very serious about their religion in these times. I think this is because she is only 13 and not as mature as say a 17 which is the age at which females would usually get married in Shakespeare's day. The audience would be calm and peaceful at the romantic things going on, on the stage.

At the start of this scene Romeo is telling Friar Lawrence of his love for Juliet, but it is obvious that Romeo's heart rules his head, we can see this because one minute he is saying he is obsessed with Rosaline then he goes to the party and is now obsessed with Juiliet and that he is a very emotional man. Romeo does not think about the Friar too much because he fails to recognize the risk that he is taking, he could be put to death if it was found out that he married Romeo and Juliet because of the fact that they are from rival family's (Capulet and Montague.)

If we look at what he is saying we can see that he is very anxious saying things like

"These violent delights have violent ends" (Act 2 scene 6 line 9)

Meaning that lovers passions can be short lived, he is worried

At the start of Act 3 scene 1 Benvolio is being his usual self trying to stay away from a confrontation with the Capulet's and says

"I pray thee good Mercutio, let's retire. The day is hot, the Capulet's are abroad"

And as usual Mercutio does not take much notice even when Tybalt arrives he still would rather fight than run away

Benvolio:"By my head here come the Capulet's"

Mercutio:"By my heel I care not"

This is telling us that he will not run from anyone. When Tybalt is arguing with Mercutio his comic nature comes through by making jokes at Tybalts expense. Even when he is dying he is still joking

"Ask for me tomorrow, and you will find me a grave man"

And

"Ay, Ay, a scratch, a scratch"

This tells us a lot about him and that it would be possibly hard for other characters to take him serious.

Around the middle of Act 3 scene 1 there is a conversation between Romeo and Tybalt that is very emotional, Romeo tells Tybalt that he