Thursday, November 12, 2015
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The scene starts with Romeo and Juliet performing a double monologue. There is not a double monologue in the play, but to highlight the similarities between Romeo and Juliet, I chose to stage Romeo’s first monologue from Act II Scene II, and Juliet’s monologue from the beginning of Act III Scene II simultaneously. While delivering the monologues, Romeo and Juliet sit back to back center stage facing the sides of the stage. The characters are represented back to back to visually show a mirror effect. While Romeo and Juliet are saying different words, they are similarly comparing each other to the stars, heaven, the moon, and the sun. When speaking an important part of the monologue, the actor shifts to face outward towards the audience. In addition, the actor’s voice crescendos drawing the audience’s attention towards their important dialogue. During the double monologue, I drew attention to “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,/As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven/Would through the airy region stream so bright/That birds would sing and think it were not night” (2.2 19-23). Romeo is saying that Juliet is so bright she can turn night time into daytime. A mirrors image is similar, but not exactly the same. It is the inverse of what is seen. Juliet makes an inverse point in her monologue. She says “Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,/Take him and cut him out in little stars,/And he will make the face of heaven so fine/That all the world will be in love with night/And pay no worship to the garish sun” (3.2 23-27). Juliet is saying that Romeo is so beautiful he should be turned into the best part of nighttime, the stars. During these sections of each character’s monologue, they both refer to brightness. This is a metaphor for how stunning they are to one another. By referring to each other in the same way, the audience can see that Romeo and Juliet have the same amount of deep love for one another. The monologues are significant because they portray the genuine love Romeo and Juliet possess for one another. Each character is sharing his or her emotions without the intent of getting a response. The audience is the witness to these feelings. In the written play, these monologues occur in different acts. By staging the monologues as a simultaneous double monologue, the audience is forced to see this mirrored relationship. This staging decision reinforces Romeo and Juliet’s bond with one another.
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