Act 5, Scene 3: Ending the Feud

Prompt A
In this scene, the Capulets and the Montagues finally decide to end their everlasting feud. The way that this happened can be compared to a few children who used to be in the dance class I taught. They would get upset at each other, and disrupt the rest of the class. Finally, the other teacher and I had to intervene, and tell them why they were being disruptive to the class, like the Prince told the families that their feud was harmful in this scene. Only then did they decide to stop being angry at each other. If not for the other teacher and I in this situation, and if not for the Prince in the book, the anger would have not gone away.

Act 3, Scene 5: Everything Escalates

Prompt D

The story of the Montagues and the Capulets is like a bomb fuse. The fuse was lit back when the feud between the families started. It has continued to build up in events like Romeo crashing the ball, and the slaying of Mercurio and Tybalt. Then, the bomb explodes when Romeo and Juliet, the two stars of the play, are forced into separation and each must go down their own horrible paths. Just like the explosion of a bomb would have traumatic consequences on those impacted, Romeo and Juliet deal with aftermath. They both have horrible conditions upon their separation. Juliet receives awful treatment from her parents and is forced into marrying another, and Romeo must live in isolation.

Act 2, Scene 5: Anxiously Awaiting

Prompt C

In Act 2, Scene 5, Juliet says the lines: "But old folks, many feign as they were dead, unwieldy, slow, heavy, and pale as lead." These lines depict Juliet's mood very well and the effect they have on her character. They show the result of her desperate impatience, which is rude remarks regarding the nurse's speed and tying it to her age. It shows irony, because Juliet feels she is mature and ready to be married, yet she mocks the nurse behind her back about her age in a childish way. As a reader, it brings me to doubt everything going on with Juliet's love for Romeo, because she still seems impulsive and foolish and not ready for everything that she thinks she is.

Act 2, Scene 3: Begging for Matrimony

Prompt B

1. How does the Friar know Romeo so well?

2. How does the Friar react upon hearing Romeo's plea to marry him and Juliet? Is his emotion more of anger or of lighthearted joking?

3. What would be the dangers if the Friar completely listened to Romeo and his desperation for haste and inability to think before his actions?

4. Why does Romeo need the wedding to happen so quickly?

5. What would happen if the Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet, and the two households found out? Would any of their anger be directed at the Friar? (What kind of relationship do they have with him?)

Act 2, Scene 1: Hiding in the Orchard

Prompt F (from Romeo's point of view)
As I hear Mercutio and Benvolio mocking me and my obsession with love, I am not fazed. Their continuous stream of jokes is frustrating, yet I am too consumed with thinking about her. I am risking a lot for her, by hiding in the garden of my mortal enemies' home. I ignore Mercutio and Benvolio because I need to focus on finding a way to talk to Juliet. I cannot leave the home without seeing her. My heart is racing and I know I cannot stay here forever.

Act 1, Scene 1: Servingmen of the Capulets

Prompt E
The relationship between that of Gregory and Sampson at the very beginning of the book is one of a close friendship. They are both servingmen of the house of Capulet, so they are tied together in their hatred for the Montagues. Based off of their comfortability and jokes with each other in their conversation, I can assume that they have a lot of history together in order to have built up this friendship. They taunt each other, with jokes that only close friends would find funny: "'Tis true, and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore I will push Montague's men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall" (9). This is something that many people would be offended by or disturbed by, so the fact that they can laugh about it together shows their history as friends.

Where I'd Rather Be

Where I’d Rather Be

My heart lies

in the impossible truth

of freedom and curiosity.

Where ocean waves encompass my bare feet,

trying to pull me back with them, into the water and

into unknowns and the horizon,

which seems like it is always just out of the reach of my hand.

My heart dreams

of finding the unblazed trail

which I can travel for days and days.

Where my fears and my worries

won’t be able to keep up with me,

because I’ll finally feel unstoppable

in a place which I can call my own.

But sadly, that life is an impossible truth.

Because as the waves try to pull my feet in,

they turn and walk the other way instead

Since my parents say it’s getting late and we have to leave,

and I can’t find a trail to blaze since my entire day is possessed by school,

and I don’t question the way things are because I’ve never known another way.

So I guess my heart has to wait.
And wait.