If you've enjoyed this video, please consider making a small donation. Thank you.<br />https://www.patreon.com/literature_walkthrough<br /><br />Breakdown of Romeo and Juliet Act 4 Scene 1<br /><br />Nutshell Summary:<br />- At Friar Laurence’s cell, Paris and Laurence discuss his upcoming hasty marriage with Juliet.<br />- Juliet enters distraught and wishes to speak alone with Friar Laurence; she is, as usual, clever and equivocating with the clueless Paris.<br />- Juliet says she’ll kill herself before marrying Paris.<br />- Laurence says he has a desperate plan: Juliet will feign death by drinking a “distilling liquor.” Once she is in the crypt, Romeo will come wake her up and they can escape Verona together.<br />- Because Romeo is in Mantua, Laurence will send a messenger to tell him of the plan. <br /><br />Themes Discussed:<br />(For more detailed discussion of THEME in Romeo and Juliet see https://dai.ly/x80qt0r)<br /><br />- T1 Wasteland<br />- T3 Self vs Society<br />- T7 Sacred Marriage: eyes are the conduit to the true, receptive heart<br />- T11 Fate: cosmic / bad luck vs fate of personality<br /><br />Characters Discussed:<br />(For more detailed discussion of CHARACTER in Romeo and Juliet see https://dai.ly/x80pud8)<br /><br />- C5 Friar Laurence: wise old man or meddling fool?<br />- C6 Juliet: worthy hero; adolescent, all-or-nothing thinking<br />- C6 Juliet: clever, equivocating, courageous, presence of mind<br />- C11 Paris: unworthy suitor, dorky foil, unaware of Juliet’s needs (unfair?)<br /><br />This video on Shakespeare’s LANGUAGE might also help: https://dai.ly/x80qtdh<br /><br /><br />All commentary in this series is designed to help students:<br />— Prepare for GCSE, A-Level, IB, and AP evaluation<br />— Prepare for general high school and college quizzes, exams, and essays<br />— Generate ideas for analysis essays<br />— Participate knowledgeably in class discussions
