Text title: Romeo and Juliet - Act 1 (Scene 1)
Text type: Play
Text creator: William Shakespeare
Critical Literacy Question: How are children, teenagers, young adults, and adults constructed in this text?
Date: 28th May 2021
Act 1 - Scene 1 Summary
In the first act of the play Romeo and Juliet, we've first seen the two servants of the house of Capulet, Sampson and Gregory. Sampson expresses his hatred of the house of Montague. The two chat, punning comments about physically conquering Montague men and sexually conquering Montague women. Gregory sees two Montague servants approaching, and discusses with Sampson the best way to provoke them into a fight without breaking the law.
Sampson bites his thumb at the Montagues - a highly contemptuous gesture. This verbal argument turns into a fight. Benvolio - kinsmen to the Montague, enters the scene and draws his sword to endeavour to stop the fight. On the other hand, Tybalt, a kinsmen to the Capulet, sees Benvolio with his sword out and takes his out. Benvolio explains that he wants to keep the peace, but Tybalt proclaims a hatred for peace as strong as his disgust for Montagues, and then strikes. A skirmish spreads. A group of citizens bearing clubs attempts to restore the peace by beating down the combatants. Montague and Capulet enter, and only their wives prevent them from attacking one another. Prince Escalus arrives and commands that the fighting stopped, on penalty of torture. The Capulets and Montagues throw down their weapons. The Prince declares the violence between the two families has gone on for too long and declares a death sentence upon anyone who disturbs the civil peace again. He says that he will speak to Capulet and Montague more directly on this matter; Capulet exits with him, the brawlers disperse, and Benvolio is left alone with his uncle and aunt, Montague and Lady Montague.
How are children, teenagers, young adults, and adults constructed in this text?
As we can see from this first part - Sampson and Gregory are servants of the Capulet, who, like their master, hate the Montagues. Shakespeare has also made them dirty, as seen, they've been talking about sexually conquering Montague women.
Benvolio is seen as a peacemaker, and he made a genuine effort to stop the fight from occuring.
Tybalt is aggressive, violent. A peace hatred. He has said that he hates peace as strong as his disgust as Montagues.
