Starter (15 mins approx.)

Show students a picture of a Catholic Priest and ask them what they would expect a Priest to believe and how they would expect them to behave, and what they would definitely expect them not to believe and how they would not expect them to behave, based on what they know of Christianity. Ensure this conversation is handled sensitively to respect the beliefs of all students in the classroom.

Now ask students to look at the Friar’s opening lines in Act 2 Scene 3, up to line 31. Ask students what they notice about space and place in this scene; Romeo has come to Friar Lawrence’s private outdoor space, where he is alone – and Friar Lawrence doesn’t notice Romeo until he speaks, so he thinks he is by himself the whole time.

This therefore means the Friar thinks no one can hear or see him – and might suggest that what he is saying is more representative of his true personal beliefs than those he is ‘supposed’ to hold as a man of religion.

Take it in turns to read each line around the classroom, and ask students to clap when they hear a word that has a religious or specifically Christian connotation. There should be no, or very few claps (depending on students’ interpretations). What does this tell them about Friar Lawrence and the importance of his faith to him when he is in private?

Now read the lines around the classroom again, the opposite way around, so students have the chance to say a different line – ask them to stand up when they hear a word associated with nature and the natural world.

What does this tell them about what Friar Lawrence considers to be important? Ask them what people in Shakespeare’s time might have thought about people who picked herbs and used them to make natural remedies, and who thought of Mother Nature being in control of Earth? How might these beliefs be in conflict with Friar Lawrence’s religious beliefs? If Romeo is going to Friar Lawrence for religious advice, what concerns might we have after meeting Friar Lawrence for the first time?

Main Activity (20 mins approx):

Ask students about how the space they are in affects how they behave. Start with the classroom environment.

How does a classroom environment dictate behaviour? What can they do and not do in a classroom? How is it like and not like, for example, their own house?

Share ideas. Then introduce the concept of the teacher being present in the classroom as opposed to the teacher not being present – how does this impact how they might use the space and how they might feel in the space? And what about if two teachers are in a classroom without their students – how might this impact on how the teachers feel, and what they might say and do, compared to what they might say and do when a student was in the room with them?

Now ask students to, if they can, explain the difference between space and place – space being general and place being specific – and what the differences between space and place might be in a school environment. An example might be the space is a school, but the place within the school is the girls’ toilets. Are the rules different in the girls’ toilets as opposed to the space of the school in general? Can things be said or done in the girls’ toilets that couldn’t be said or done in, say, a corridor in the school? If the example of girls’ toilets might be too inflammatory for your class, use a corridor or dining hall instead.

Introduce the idea of private v. public space. How does our behaviour differ in spaces where we know we can’t be observed? Are there any spaces like that in schools? What might that tell us about the world of a school and its hierarchies?

Bring the discussion to a close and ask students to summarise in their notes the difference between place and space, and private space and public space.

Ask students to write a short analysis of Romeo and Juliet’s characterisation to summarise their learning.

Plenary (15 mins approx.)

Ask the students to think about what Act III, scene 1 Edit (PDF) shows us about violence in the world of Romeo and Juliet. It is common to hear male violence and toxic masculinity discussed in reference to the play, but in this scene, while we see plenty of men committing acts of senseless violence, we also see men trying to prevent this violence.

What makes Tybalt and Mercutio so keen to fight? What drives Romeo to try and prevent this violence? And what motivates Romeo to then go on and attack Tybalt?

Ask students to write down the motivations for each character’s behaviour and share them with a partner. What do they think this reveals in terms of what Shakespeare is using this moment in the text to convey to the audience?

Ask students to summarise their thoughts in writing, using evidence from the text.