VIOLENCE
These lesson plans are designed for teaching the theme of violence in Romeo and Juliet. Follow along with them, or choose activities from them to supplement your teaching.
VIOLENCE IN THE OPENING SCENE (LESSON)
Learning Objective
To explore the theme of violence in the opening scene (Act I, scene 1) of Romeo and Juliet.
Downloadable Resources
Starter (5 mins approx.)
Explain to students that Act 1 Scene 1 takes place in the public square in Verona. You could show students some pictures of the main town square in Verona to give them an idea of the environment (all while reminding students that Shakespeare never went to Italy, as far as we know, so he is not basing it on the real geography of the city or on any direct knowledge of a specific space in Verona).
Main activity (15 mins approx.)
Look together at the first 33 lines of the play – the exchange between Sampson and Gregory up to the entrance of Abram and the other servingman. This first activity is all about establishing facts – which is a key technique of the rehearsal room – before trying to launch into interpretation and analysis.
See the downloadable lesson plan for the full activity, prompt questions and more.
Plenary (10 mins approx.)
Now move on to look at the second part of Act I, scene 1, which changes from a very public series of encounters, to private ones. It is probably most expedient at this point to just watch the scene being portrayed either in a film or filmed theatrical version rather than reading it through, as the focus here is on space and place rather than on analysing character or language. Ask students to think about the following questions as they watch the scene:
- How is the content of the conversations between the Montagues and Benvolio, and Benvolio and Romeo, different from the conversations we have already seen in this scene?
- How is the characters’ behaviour towards each other different to the behaviour we have seen earlier in the scene?
- How does the change from discussions of violence to discussions of love show a different side to life in Verona? Why do you think that Shakespeare has this abrupt tonal shift within the same scene?
- How does Romeo’s behaviour and conversation differ from what is shown to be usual masculine behaviour in Verona?
- How does Shakespeare use the same space and place to show very different ways of being?
After watching the scene, discuss these questions together. Ask students to make short notes to summarise the discussion and their learning today.
Owen Gawthorpe as The Cyclist and Liam King as Tybalt in Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: Romeo and Juliet in 2024.
ACT III, SCENE 1 (LESSON)
Learning Objective
To explore the theme of violence in Act III, scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet.
Starter (15 mins approx):
Show students a version of Act III, scene 1 – the Baz Luhrmann film adaptation is very good, or any filmed theatre performance you have access to.
Afterwards, discuss their first impressions – what roles did the individual characters play, who instigated and encouraged the violence, and who do they feel was to blame for the events? Did they agree with the punishment meted out to Romeo at the end?
Main activity (25 mins approx.)
Group students into threes and give them the Act III Scene 1 edit. Students should assign themselves either Romeo, Mercutio or Tybalt. Show students the three movements they are going to use in performing this scene together.
The first is ‘advance’ – stepping towards the person they are speaking to. The next is ‘retreat’ – stepping away from the person they are speaking to. The third is ‘manoeuvre’ – stepping around or to the side of the person they are speaking to.
When they speak their lines, they need to decide on each line whether they are advancing towards the other character(s) in an attempt to connect with them or appease them, retreating away from them in an attempt to get away or showing disagreement, or manoeuvring around them in an attempt to persuade or bend them to their will.
See the downloadable lesson plan for the full activity, prompt questions and more.
Plenary (15 mins approx.)
Watch the video below of the Director, Lucy Cuthbertson, discussing the theme of ‘Violence’ in Romeo and Juliet.
ACT IV, SCENE 1 (LESSON)
Learning Objective
To explore the theme of violence in Act IV, scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet.
Starter (10 mins approx)
Start reading Act IV Scene 1 from after Paris leaves. Read the scene out loud – you could involve the whole class by one side of the room being Friar Lawrence and the other Juliet, and each student taking it in turns to read an entire line (from punctuation to punctuation) in turn, or if you have two very strong readers, just nominating them to read while the others listen. While this reading is going on, ask students to highlight all references to death and violence in both speeches.
When the reading is finished, ask students to share their first impressions of this exchange, and what highlighting the references to death and violence has shown them. Does anything surprise them about the behaviour they see in this scene, from either character?
Main activity (30 mins approx)
Ask students to work in groups of 5 or 6 for this activity. Their first task is to decide on 4 key moments in the scene they are going to stage. They need to select a short edit for each of these 4 key moments. They then need to decide how they will stage each moment, thinking where characters will be in relation to each other, how they will move on the stage, and how they can effectively show the characters’ motivations and tactics.
They need to assign roles and rehearse, paying particular attention to how they move between each moment – they may like to devise a short movement sequence to ‘fill in’ the missing parts, or have a brief narration, to join each moment in the text.
If there is a student who really doesn’t feel comfortable performing, they can play the role of the director. Give everyone time to rehearse at least twice through.
Plenary (10 mins approx.)
Ask for one group to volunteer to show everyone their performance. Discuss their choices and how these compare with the choices others made in their groups. What does this reveal about the scene and the characters within it?
Revisit any questions written on the board at the beginning of the lesson – have answers been found? Can they answer any of the questions now they’ve staged their own performance?
Cast members on stage at the Globe Theatre in our 2009 production of Romeo and Juliet.