Starter (5 mins approx)

Watch the video below of Mercutio and Benvolio. Discuss their feelings towards Romeo.

Main activity (25 mins approx)

Read through the provided Romeo and Friar Lawrence edit together and check for students’ understanding. Ask them the following guiding questions:

• What do we learn about the relationship between Friar Lawrence and Romeo? How close are they? What information does Friar Lawrence have about Romeo that other characters don’t have? What does this tell us? (Remind students that in the first scene of the play we learn that Romeo’s parents don’t know what is wrong with him – Romeo tells the Friar things he won’t tell his own parents)
• How does Friar Lawrence feel about Romeo’s declaration of love for Juliet? Does he believe him?
• Why does Friar Lawrence agree to marry Romeo, despite his misgivings? What do you think about this decision? How does Friar Lawrence’s quick change of heart echo the contradictory behaviour we have seen so far in this scene?

Now ask students to focus just on Romeo’s lines. Pair students up and ask them to take turns just saying Romeo’s lines to each other, ignoring Friar Lawrence’s. What do Romeo’s words reveal to them about his character and behaviour? Is he open to advice or not? What does he want from Friar Lawrence?

Plenary (15 mins approx.)

Introduce students to the concept of shared lines by explaining that Shakespeare uses iambic pentameter in his verse (ten syllables made up of five pairs of stressed and unstressed beats – da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM) and when a line of verse doesn’t contain ten syllables, this is for a specific reason.

Some lines are 11 or 9 syllables long, ending on an unstressed beat or ‘feminine’ ending, which leaves a note of uncertainty or incompleteness to a line. Other lines have fewer syllables, and the ‘leftover’ syllables in the shortened line are an indicator to the actor that there should be a pause – this could be providing time for the actor to move across the stage, to pick up a prop, or to simply pause and think. Sometimes though, lines with fewer syllables form shared lines with the line that follows, which is always spoken by another character. When a short line is followed by a short line spoken by a different character, and the syllables in both lines combined add up to 10, this is a shared line and indicates the lines being spoken with no gap between – the equivalent of an interruption or almost speaking over the other character, which is usually indicated in contemporary playtexts by the / symbol.

Ask students to look at the edit and identify the shared lines between Romeo and Friar Lawrence. What does this tell us about the pace and tone of their dialogue? How well are they actually listening to each other?

Pair students up and ask them to try out the edit with their new knowledge of shared lines. Feed back afterwards – what did trying the edit out reveal to them about the characters in this scene? How does their relationship echo the themes in the rest of the play? Do they think Friar Lawrence is a good or bad influence and Romeo?