How does Shakespeare create tension in Act 3 scene 1 Essay Example For Students

How does Shakespeare create tension in Act 3 scene 1? Essay Romeo and Juliet; an Elizabethan play and quite possibly Shakespeares most renowned; a tale of love and a catastrophic tale of tragedy. Even the title itself when mentioned sets off an image of romance, but what exactly is it that makes this so special? The dramatic devices used by Shakespeare himself are particularly interesting. Act III scene I itself is considered to be the main turning point of the play. Mood is an important aspect in a play like this, especially considering the genre of the play (a tragedy). A tragedy is a type of play characterized by the representation and dramatic management of misfortune, disasters, and/or the death of the main characters. It will normally achieve such with an unexpected twist or similar. The mood of a play relates mainly to the way it plays with the emotions of an audience, and with this being a tragedy there will be an expected negative outcome and certain techniques to achieve this. For example, dramatic irony; this is when the audience know something that the characters in a particular scene dont. This occurs on a few occasions, like when the audience know how Romeo and Juliet are wedded together from a previous scene and when Romeo says to Tybalt and so, good Capulet, which name I tender as dearly as my own saying that he loves the Capulets as much as his own house/family. This is a surprise and evidently (has its effects on Tybalt) because Romeos family (the Montagues) and the Capulets have been at the point of shear rivalry for years. There include other examples throughout this scene portraying this technique, however there is something else involves which relates alongside irony; pathetic fallacy, like personification it gives inanimate nouns an attribute of human feelings so that it reacts along with the mood of the play; my example being a quote from Benvolio these hot days, is mad blood stirring. This relates to the weather (which is a common example in pathetic fallacies), relating the hot weather to the tempers of the men. In this he is saying that the hot weather is making everyone cross and irritable, using it as an early warning to the events that will turn out. From this, tension is created as the audience knows something bad is coming, but dont know when or in what form. Another technique present is Peripateia, which can only be described as a plot reversal where a characters situation changes dramatically from secure to vulnerable (especially in this example.) Structure is ideal in Romeo and Juliet. This is a very eventful part of the play, with the fact that is features many events and that it is where everything seems to go wrong and the play take a turn for the worse. Its also ironic in a way how this does directly follow Act 2 Scene 6, which shows the wedding between Romeo and Juliet. This impacts the audience as from a happy scene (the wedding) to complete shock at two deaths and the banishment of Romeo. The scene can be split into 5 shock points which gradually add to the tension, starting with when Mercutio and Benvolio wait for the Capulets to arrive, and Mercutio trades insults with Tybalt when they do; language comes into play a lot in this part and I will cover this later. Secondly there is when Romeo is challenged by Tybalt yet refuses, this however only appears to wind him up all the more. Next is when Mercutio fights Tybalt and is fatally wounded when Romeo intervenes; this literally peaks the anxiety levels, leaving thoughts racing through the audiences minds as to what will happen next etc. and finally when Benvolio gives an account of events to the Prince, who banishes Romeo from the city of Verona. Pre-20th Century Drama Coursework 'Hamlet' By William Shakespeare EssayNow to end with a conclusion to the original question; how does Shakespeare create tension in Act 3 scene 1? The dramatic techniques are certainly presentadding to the tension of the scene. Act 3 scene 1 harvests maybe some of the most important events of the play, which have been executed to the highest degree by Shakespeare in this re-write of the story in Arthur Brookes poem. The feel and ambience of the play, fools around with the audiences minds with suspense, pure anticipation as to what will occur next. The play itself and especially this scene seem to portray a series of unfortunate events, one thing leading to another and the mistakes mounting up.