Romeo and Juliet Scenes i-iii

Prompt A) At the beginning of scene 1, a fight begins on the street of Verona between people in the Montague household and people in the Capulet household, so Prince Escalus enters and stops the fight. He declares a death penalty on anyone who disturbs the civil peace again. Romeo has been feeling very sad lately and he tells Benvolio that he is in love with Rosaline, but that she does not love him back. In scene 2, Capulet walks with Paris and they discuss Paris marrying Capulet's daughter, Juliet, however, Juliet is young so Capulet tells Paris to wait 2 years. Capulet invites Paris to a masquerade feast that night so that Paris can begin to woo Juliet and Capulet tells a servant, Peter, to invite a list of people to the feast, but Peter cannot read the list. Benvolio and Romeo happen to be walking by, so Peter asks them if they can read the list. Peter invites Romeo and Benvolio assuming that they are not Montagues and Romeo agrees to go only because Rosaline will also be attending the feast. In scene 3, Lady Capulet asks Juliet what she thinks about being married and Juliet replies that it is, "an honor that I dream not of"(39). Lady Capulet tells Juliet that Paris will be at the feast and Juliet says that she will look at Paris during the feast to see if she likes him.
Prompt C)
Benvolio- Why is biting your thumb an insulting gesture to you?
Capulet- Why are you and Montague enemies?
Paris- Do you actually like Juliet?
Romeo- Isn't it dangerous to go to the feast since you are a Montague?
Juliet- Why do you not want to get married?

Scenes i-iii blogger notes(1 post with 2 entries)

1) I think that this picture shows of the fight and/or the relationship between the Capulet servingmen and the Montague servingmen during their pointless brawl in the streets of Verona in the Act 1, scene 1. I choose this because the siblings seems to be fighting over the hamburger. Is the hamburger really important to argue or to fight about? This relates of how both the servingmen of each side had to argue and actually fight over for no reason at all.
2)Sampson- Was it really necessary to bite your thumb?
Gregory-Why do you hate the Montagues so much?
Romeo-Why and how are you in love with Rosaline?
Paris-Do you actually love Juliet enough to marry her?
Capulet- Why do are you letting Paris marry Juliet in such a young age? Is it for your own interest?

Romeo and Juliet: Act 1 Scene 1-3; Squabble in the Streets

Prompt A:

 Sampson and Gregory, two members of the house of Capulet, start a fight with two servants from the house of Montague. This fight escalades, and other members from both houses join in. After the fight, Benvolio, a member of house Montague, speaks with Romeo, who is Montague's son. Romeo is heartbroken because he loves Rosaline, but she doesn't feel the same towards him. We also meet Juliet, and find out a kinsman of the prince named Paris wants to marry her. Paris is invited to a masquerade feast to try and win Juliet's heart. Benvolio and Romeo will also be attending the feast to try and forget Rosaline.

Prompt C:

Juliet: How do you feel about Paris and marriage at such a young age?
Romeo: What made you fall in love with Rosaline and why doesn't she feel the same about you?
Benvolio: Do you think that Romeo can get over Rosaline?
Lady Capulet: Why do you want your daughter to be married so early?
Paris: What made you attracted to Juliet?

Directions for Posts

Directions for Romeo and Juliet "Reading Notes" posts

Reading Notes: Romeo and Juliet

Showing your thinking and connections as you are reading the play.

For every reading assignment, create one post on our blog where you respond to 2 of the 7 possible prompts. Be sure to LABEL YOUR POST by clicking on "labels" to the right of the edit area WITH YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME.   Ex. Karen Smith

Clearly title each post with the Acts and Scenes you are responding to. Add a creative title as well. E.g. ACT 1, SCENE 1: ROMEO ON THE REBOUND  Make sure you hit the orange PUBLISH button in the upper right corner to publish your hw to the blog! 

Over the course of the play, respond to a variety of the prompts, so by the end, you will have answered each several times. In other words, do not choose the same three prompts over and over.

PROMPT A

Summarize the night’s reading in your own words (approximately 5-10 sentences).

PROMPT B

What is happening in the play that reminds you of something that is happening in your life, on TV, in the news, etc. Summarize the issue in the play and in your life in a minimum of 5 sentences.

Example:

Act I, Scene I Insults:   It seems like my brothers are constantly putting each other down. It reminds me of the way the Capulet and Montague servants are putting each other down in Act I, scene i. They are “biting their thumb” at each other and really just acting like little boys. My brothers do the same thing. It seems like they are always bragging about which one is better or how the other one isn’t as good as him at shooting baskets, or doing hw, or making friends. I get tired of hearing them fight all of the time, just like the prince gets tired of them fighting in the streets. Obviously, it’s a bigger deal in the play because people are dying, but what is it about guys that always seem to show off as to who has the most power, who is better, and so on? It’s tiring to hear boys/men fighting all of the time and when they get more power (think Kim Jong-un and nuclear weapons in North Korea) the results can be deadly.

PROMPT C

Ask 5 interesting questions about the reading OR address 5 questions to one or more of the characters from this section of the reading, as if you were interviewing him or her. Here is an example of a student responding to this prompt for Hamlet. Remember, just ask; you do not have to answer!

Example student response

Questions for Scene 2:

Polonius—what’s your problem with Hamlet?

Reynaldo—are you going to spread the bad word about Laertes?

Ophelia—how strongly do you feel about Hamlet?

Hey, Hamlet—what are your feelings about Ophelia? Do you care about her, or are you just using her as an excuse?

PROMPT D

Quote lines from the scene that you enjoyed and comment on them. Again, here is an example post from a student reading Hamlet.

Example student response

Scene 1.1—Horatio says, “Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder.” This line really explains to us what all three of the guards are feeling when they see this ghost. They are all frightened by it, yet they wonder why it came to them and why it is dressed the way it is. It really sets the mood for the whole scene, because it lets us know that they are anxious. The first few lines of this scene shocked me, because we didn’t know anything about these characters and yet they were all so nervous and jumpy.

PROMPT E

Find an image (photograph, painting, etc.) online that you think is a good symbolic representation of the scene as a whole. Insert the image and then discuss why you chose it and how it represents the scene. (1-3 sentences).

PROMPT F

Discuss the relationships between two or more characters. Assert an opinion about the relationship and back it up with some text evidence from the novel. (5-10 sentences).

PROMPT G
Pretend you are a character in the scene. Get inside that character’s mind. Tell how the character feels about himself or herself.  How does he or she feel about the other characters? About the situation? Remember, you are pretending to BE this character. Write a brief paragraph/monologue in the character’s voice. Think Reality TV Confessional. (5-10 sentences). If you’re feeling brave, record it and post the video.