The Importance of Stage Directions

As Act III opens up, the boys of Verona are out in the public square, and once again, tempers are out of control and things literally heat up. Last we heard about Tybalt, he had "sent a letter" to the house of Montague, and we all know what that means: a challenge to a duel! Last we saw Romeo, he just married, and he is floating on the wings of love, and we all know what that means: he loves everyone! This makes for a lot of confusion amongst Romeo's friends since they know nothing about his love for Juliet, a Capulet. Since he won't seem to fight, Mercutio takes up the cause.

What comes next requires a bit of stage direction, close reading, and interpretation. Is it an accident that Tybalt wounds Mercutio when his sword slips under Romeo's arm as he is stepping between the two? Is it an intentional "cheap shot" when his sword finds a home in Mercutio's gut as Romeo steps between the two?

Meanwhile, Juliet is innocently waiting for the nurse to return with the rope ladder, and it makes the scene even more poignant when she soloquizes about her desire for night to come so that she can have her honeymoon! We, the audience, feel sorry for her because we know what horrible news she'll soon hear about her beloved Romeo and her cousin Tybalt. When the nurse finally does arrive, it is so frustrating to see how her ranting drives poor Juliet crazy as she tries to piece together the story.

At this part of the play, it almost seems like anything that can go wrong will go wrong. See how the Friar's good intentions - just like the marriage- go wrong. See what Lord Capulet's good intentions do for the situation. See what Lady Capulet and the nurse do to add to Juliet's feelings of abondonment and isolation.

As we break into teams today, you'll be collaborating on your scenes. It will take some study to determine stage directions, character motivation, and tone of the scene. Your artistic interpretation and group presentation will make for an enjoyable look at Mr. Shakespeare's third act of this play. So....break a leg...have fun with this....the show must go on!

Many of your poems are uploaded on the blog, and many of you still want to post yours, too. Computers will be available for posting at the beginning of class today. Katie's been commenting. I hope all of you will, too. It's so nice to get validation in our literature discussions on the web log. Please be sure no one is left out!