Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Act I, scene ii

Read I.ii and choose three lines you find interesting, confusing, enjoyable, etc. Explain what you think is going on in each selection and why you chose it. Post ONE of your lines and explanations on this blog.

61 comments:

  1. This is not Romeo. He’s some other where.
    Is he trying to say that he feels like a different person than normal?

    Forget to think of her.
    I think Benvolio is saying don’t think about her.

    Alas that love, being so gentle in his view, should be so tyrannous in proof!
    What does this mean?

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    1. This is a good example of things not being what they seem. Love seems like it would be "gentle" but it turns out to be "tyrannous in proof."

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  2. Benvolio on line 46-47: Tut man, one fire burns out another’s burning; One pain is lessened by another’s anguish.
    I thought this was very interesting in relation to how you can use revenge can bring one person down to pick yourself up, and how revenge can feel good and satisfying.

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  3. Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so loves with all the admired beauties of Verona. Act 1 scene 2 line 90-91
    Seems as though Romeo wants to compare rosaline to the other women in Verona at the party.

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  4. I.ii. 48

    One pain is lessened by another’s anguish

    I wonder what benvolio meant by this. It seeems like a quite pessimistic thing to observe.

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    1. I think he’s saying that seeing someone else in pain lessens yours, mostly because that way, you’re both in the same place, and it’s comforting in a sense.

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    2. "Another" here refers to another pain. In other words, a toothache I have might feel less painful if I stubbed my toe.

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  5. Romeo uses a hyperbole to describe his need for love, saying that he is “Not mad, but bound more than a madman is” L.ii. 55

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  6. “But Montague is bound as well as I,
    In penalty alike. And ’tis not hard, I think,
    For men so old as we to keep the peace.”

    Iii 27

    Odd how one scene earlier both of them were ready to literally stab each other, and encouraging a brawl in the streets

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  7. I.ii.57-60. It seems that Romeo is being over dramatic again and Shakespeare users Romeo’s thought that he is bound more than a madman which I think means that Romeo thinks of himself as a presenter of love that can never get freedom or have hours live satisfied. Ge feels like love us a self constructed prison where he can’t escape and punishes himself.

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  8. I.ii. Lines 93-95 “Go thither, and with unattainted eye/Compare her face with some that I shall show/And I will make thee think thy swan a crow” This line where Benvolio tells Romeo that when he goes to the party, he will see attractive women and forget all about the girl he was all hung up on, shows how superficial that love is. If you can get over your love for someone and even start to find them ugly (“you swan a crow”), then that means that the love isn’t sincere. If you truly love someone, it shouldn’t all be about appearance, and getting over that love wouldn’t be so easy

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    1. I was also curious about this line, and I came to a similar understanding but the thing that I was more curious about with it was more what Benvolio's motive behind doing that is. It could be that he thinks doing this is in Romeo's best interest, and thinks it better he not be in love with Rosaline, or it is also possible this is being done less as a favor and more of Benvolio attempting to test whether Romeo is really in love as is mentioned above.

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  9. Line 90: In scene 1, Benvolio is essentially telling Romeo that his wish to go after the girl isn’t a good idea and attempts to give him advice on how to stop. Here, he is telling Romeo to go to the dinner so he can see her. Perhaps I interpreted this wrong, but it seems counterintuitive. (while Benvolio is intending to stop his love for her, Romeo certainly won’t fall out of love so simply, and it might just grow)

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    1. I also found Benvolios advice confusing during this act. His intentions are lost to me because he says he want to help Romeo her over his obsession however his actions say otherthings. I agree in thinking that Benvolios plans will backfire and Romeo will simply fall deeper into love. I was also wondering why Benvolio would recommend going to the party either way seeing as the Montagues are enemy’s with the Capulets.

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    2. Benvolio suggests that Romeo go to the party to:

      Compare her face with some that I shall show,
      And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.

      In other words, compare Rosaline to other people. They'll be able to go to the party because it is a masquerade ball (i.e., the attendants will wear masks).

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  10. I.ii. 75: "My fair niece Rosaline and Livia"
    This states that Rosaline is Capulet's niece, and Romeo will later fall in love with Juliet, Capulet's daughter. I think this suggests that Romeo tends to want things he cannot have (maybe Shakespeare's commentary on human nature...). This is also illustrated in that Rosaline's rejection of Romeo leaves him even sadder, and he stays hung up on her, showing that now that he definitely can't have her, he wants her even more.

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  11. “Tut man, one fire burns out another’s burning;
    One pain is lessened by another’s anguish. I.ii. 47-48

    What does Benvolio mean? Does this relate to some kind of revenge?

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    1. I think he’s trying to tell Romeo that if he finds some new obsession(crush) he will forget his pain from the old obsession.

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    2. I think this could go along with the short term effects of revenge. It is satisfying at the beginning, but then most people feel guilty. This is also like what Miss Havisham wants out of Pip in Great Expectations.

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  12. “My master is the great rich capulet and, if you be not of the house of montagues, I pray come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry.” I.ii. 85-88

    This is an example of Irony because as we know the capulets and all employed by them hate the montagues so it’s clear that the servingman does not know who Romeo and Benvolio are because he wouldn’t talk to them kindly and say “rest you merry” so the irony of him basically saying come unless your montagues is very funny to me

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  13. I.ii 107 I wonder why Romeo just thinks that capulet will be fine with him showing up for dinner. He know that there family are in disagreement, also is that not rude.

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    1. I was wondering this too-would going to the feast endanger Romeo or will the peace between the families and the Prince suppress their hatred?

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  15. Of honorable reckoning are you both, And pity 'tis you lived at odds for so long I. ii. 4-5 Paris is describing Montague and Capulets relationship and how they both have honorable reputations, and its too bad that they have been enemies for so long

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    1. Paris seems to be able to see beyond their conflict, when no one else seems to be able to. I wonder what happened between them which caused them to be so separated. Since as Paris says that they have been at odds for a long time, is this a inter-generational dispute or was it something that happened between them in their lifetime.

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  16. Act 1, Scene 2, Line 108
    “I’ll go along, no such sight to be shown, But to rejoice in splendor of mine own.”
    In this line It seems like Romeo is easily blinded by his love, whether it be real or not, and even though Benvolio is trying to open his eyes to other women in Verona, Romeo seems to be the type of person who once he sets him mind on something will not change it no matter how anyone tries to shift his mindset for the better. So when Benvolio tells him to go to the dinner to meet other women, Romeo only agrees to go in order to see Rosaline once again, which is pretty much defeating the purpose of Benvolio’s whole argument.

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  17. I.ii.17-19
    "My will to her consent is but a part.
    And, she agreed, within her scope of choice
    Lies my consent and fair according voice."
    I think this quote shows us how much Lord Capulet cares for his daughter, Juliet. He's saying that his opinion on who she should get married to isn't the deciding factor. He'll consent to Juliet getting married to someone of her own choice. I wonder how this viewpoint of Lord Capulet's will change throughout the play, seeing as we know it ends in tragedy.

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  19. “Now I’ll tell you without asking. My
    master is the great rich Capulet, and, if you be not
    of the house of Montagues, I pray come and crush a
    cup of wine. Rest you merry.
    I.ii.85-88

    Why doesn’t the servingman not recognize that Romeo and Benvolio are Montagues?

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  20. Benvolio says to Romeo,
    "Take thou some new infection to thy eye,
    And the rank poison of the old will die."
    I.i.51-52

    I think this is Benvolio saying that Romeo's struggles are only temporary, meaning they aren't very significant, because he's saying that once something else comes up, this will be forgotten about.

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    1. I agree and I feel he is also telling him to move on and that it’s not a big deal. Benvolio is a character that provides comfort and advice for Romeo so it’s on,y fitting for him to say this.

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  21. Act I Scene II Lines 19 to 24
    Has a rhyming pattern of a b a b c c
    19 burning
    20 anguish
    21 turning
    22 languish
    23 eye
    24 die

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    1. Nicely observed! Benvolio's a poet, and he doesn't even know it.

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  22. I.ii 14 and 15
    “Earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she;
    She’s the hopeful lady of my earth.”
    Capulet is saying that Juliet is the only hope he has, but what happened to Capulet’s “hopes”?

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    1. This is also an example of a hyperbole that Shakespeare uses in the play. Shakespeare uses many of these literary devices to dramatize Romeo and Juliet. When we learned about how he adapted the play from the poem Romeus and Juliet we learned that he took the short piece and made it so much more dramatic. This is a clear example of that.

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    2. Hopes here probably refer to Capulet's other children whom the "earth hath swallowed."

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  23. I.ii.85-89 The servingman says come if you aren’t montegues, but aren’t the Montegues and Capulets sort of famous for their rivalry? How does the serving man not know Romeo is a Montague?

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  24. I.ii.14 Hyperbole is being used by Capulet to describe Juliet and his hopes saying "Earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she;"

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    1. Yes, I saw this too. But I wonder what had to have happened for him to lose all of his hope except for Juliet? I wonder if he had other children that maybe died because of the blood feud.

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  26. I. ii. 95-108 is a sonnet passing between Romeo and Benvolio. During this sonnet, I was confused about Romeo’s feelings because while it is obvious that he is in love with Juliet, he seems to also favor Rosaline in a romantic way, saying “But to rejoice in the splendor of my own (I.ii.108)”. He is referring to Rosaline as his own woman and says that he will be going to the ball because Rosaline is also going to be there. Not only that, but he seems to be planning to compare Juliet to Rosaline to get over his unrequited love.

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    1. Oh oops I just realized he was talking about Rosaline

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  27. When Capulet gives the serving man a list of people to invite to dinner, the serving man is unable to read the list because he is illiterate. One line that demonstrates his confusion is when he says, "... the fisher with his pencil and the painter with his nets"(I.ii.41-42). The serving man means that the list could say that a fisherman was using a painter's tools, and a painter was using fishing tools for all he knew because he couldn't read the list. I found this part enjoyable to read because Shakespeare was being humorous in these lines to portray the serving man's level of confusion.

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  28. Where Romeo describes the cause of his madness, "Not mad, but bound more than a madman is, Shut up in prison, kept without food, Whipped and tormented, and" (I.ii.57-59), the reader can see his personality shines through his words. We can see the drama that Romeo uses, and his very much "woe is me" mentality during this point of the play. It calls into question how much we can trust Romeo as a guide, whether we can take his word as truth, or if we should take away some of the added drama. I am interested to see how he will change over the course of the play, how will he grow as a person?

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  29. On 105, I'm confused about when Juliet says, "I'll look to like, if looking liking move. But no deep will I endart mine eye Than your consent gives strength to make it fly." I think it means that she doesn't feel anything for Paris because she hasn't met him yet. On line 55, Mercutio and Romeo rhyme together. Also, Mercutio doesn't believe in dreams and Romeo does, what happened in Mercutio life that make him not believe in dreams? Also, Mercutio talks a lot about Queen Mab, in fact page 47 is all about Queen Mab. I'm confused about who she is and why she is so important.

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  30. On I.ii. lines 47-52, why does Benvolio essentially tell Romeo that misery loves company? Also, on line 52, Benvolio says, “And the rank poison of the old will die.” Is that foreshadowing for either the grudge between the two families dying, or one of the parents (Montague or Capulets) dying? The grudge would be a “rank poison”.

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  31. At I.ii.4 and I.ii.5, Paris tells Montague that “of honorable reckoning are you both and pity ‘‘tis you lived at odds so long.” This is an interesting look at the rivalry from someone outside it, and I also find Paris’s willingness to call Montague’s rival honorable to his face and say that it is pitiful the conflict is still ongoing interesting.

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  32. In the list that Romeo reads for the servingman, one of the people invited is Capulet’s, “fair niece Rosaline” (I.ii.75). Rosaline is the girl Romeo is in love with, but she is a Capulet. Does he not care about the conflicts between his family and the Capulets? Does he just not see what the consequences could be for loving someone in the other family and going to their dinner?

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  33. In when in the book it says, "...my master is the rich Capulet, and, if you not be of the house of the Montagues, I pray come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry."(Shakespeare 1. ii 85). It is funny and crazy that this servingman invites Romeo(a Montegue) to a CAPULET party, despite directly stating that Montegues cannot come. In when in the book it says, "...my master is the rich Capulet, and, if you not be of the house of the Montagues, I pray come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry."(Shakespeare 1. ii 85). It is funny and crazy that this servingman invites Romeo(a Montague) to a CAPULET party, despite directly stating that Montagues cannot come.

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  34. “But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart; My will to her consent is but a part” (I.ii.16)
    Capulet is telling Paris he has his consent to be with his daughter (even though he still thinks she is too young to be married) he is saying that Paris needs to earn Juliet’s love too if he wants to marry her.

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  35. 57-58
    Not mad, but bound more than a madman is
    Shut up in prison, kept without my food
    This is an example of hyperbole, to describe Romeos need for love

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  36. Around line 85, how is it that the servant does not recognize Romeo as a Montague? The families and there servants are established as enemies and recognize each other in the first scene.

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  37. I.ii. 47-52
    It seems as if Benvolio is saying that if Romeo can cause someone else pain then he will be in less pain, but this seems very out of character for him. What does he really mean by this?

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  38. Take thou some new infection to thy eye,
    And the rank poison of the old will die. (51 - 52)
    In this situation is Benvolio tying to express the fact that a new distraction can relive Romeo of his grief? If so Benvolio is trying to help Romeo move forward and forget the past.

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  39. Why is Paris introduced as the pick for Juliet’s husband if they can not get married for 2 more years?

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  40. In line 95 Romeo is talking about how he’d never had a love as great as the woman he is in love with which is interesting because later we know he will fall in love with Juliet. Also his constant praise of her beauty is a little shallow.

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  41. Capulet says “and ‘tis not hard I think, For men so old as we to keep the peace” (L.ii. 2-3). Here he thinks it’s not hard to end this long squabble but I think it’ll prove to be more difficult than he thought because of how aggressive all his staff are to the Montagues (ie. his servingmen initiating the fight i. the first act or Tybalt trying to steer Benvolio away).

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  42. Act 1, scene 2, 8-10.
    My child is not a stranger in the world
    She hath not seen the change of fourteen years
    Let two more summers wither in their pride

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  43. I thought Romeo would be well known in the town but the servant did not know who he was.

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  44. Within “Romeo and Juliet” in act 1 scene 2 Romeo states something that intrigued me and confused me at the same time. Romeo states “Not mad, but bound more then a madman is, shut up in prison, kept w/ out my food, whipped and tormented”. This intrigued and confused me because Romeo is comparing his situation of rejection to being imprisoned and tormented. One way you could interpret is that Romeo is over exaggerating his feels as people at his age do at times. The reason why I don’t fully believe this perspective is because we’ve seen everything he’s described about his mental and emotional state play out. We see scenes were he’s crying in his spare time. His own parents described him as out of the house all day and when he’s home he’s in room overtaken by darkness and closing all physical moon and night time light. All of this seems like real symptoms of a form of depression of some sorts. Yet, my question is why is he so tormented by something at which at least in this day and age I can say is common and often expected. Maybe it’s because people in his time of his wealth and status don’t receive that kind of rejection or almost none at all. Maybe Romeos situation is symptom of his ego and expectations society has fed him. Yet, maybe it’s his age that’s causing all this emotional reaction. People need time to grow and to mature and often times once that happens and they look back at there reactions and descions and cringe. Maybe, Romeo is experiencing a symptom being youthful. Maybe is youth makes him naive to the fact that maybe there is always another women more beautiful out there.

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  45. I think that I can infer that Juliet's choices are made by her parents, as I believe that Lady Capulet already has it in her mind that Paris will marry Juliet.

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