Romeo and Juliet from Multiple Critical Perspectives™
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Multiple Critical Perspectives™ Teaching William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet from Multiple Critical Perspectives™ by Eva Richardson Multiple Critical Perspectives Romeo and Juliet Other titles in the Multiple Critical Perspective™ series include: 1984 Hamlet Our Town Animal Farm Heart of Darkness Picture of Dorian Gray, The Anthem House on Mango Street, The Pride and Prejudice Antigone I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Raisin in the Sun, A Awakening, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Richard III Brave New World Invisible Man (Ellison) Romeo and Juliet Catcher in the Rye, The Jane Eyre Scarlet Letter, The Comedy of Errors, The King Lear Separate Peace, A Crucible, The Life of Pi Siddhartha Cry, the Beloved Country Lord of the Flies Slaughterhouse-Five Death of a Salesman Macbeth Tale of Two Cities, A Doll’s House, A Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, The Ethan Frome Metamorphosis, The Tempest, The Fahrenhiet 451 Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Things Fall Apart Frankenstein Much Ado About Nothing Things They Carried, The Grapes of Wrath, The Oedipus Rex To Kill a Mockingbird Great Expectations Of Mice and Men Twelfth Night Great Gatsby, The Old Man and the Sea, The Wuthering Heights P.O. Box 658, Clayton, DE 19938 www.prestwickhouse.com • 800.932.4593 ISBN 978-1-60389-441-8 Item No. 302929 Copyright 2008 Prestwick House, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced without permission in writing from the publisher. 2 P RESTWICK HOUSE , INC . Multiple Critical Romeo and Juliet Perspectives A Message to the Teacher of Literature P EN YOUR STUDENTS ’ EYES AND MINDS with this new, ex- Ociting approach to teaching literature. In this guide, you will find reproducible activities, as well as clear and concise explanations of three contemporary critical perspectives—feel free to reproduce as much, or as little, of the material for your students’ notebooks. You will also find specific suggestions to help you examine this familiar title in new and exciting ways. Your students will seize the opportunity to discuss, present orally, and write about their new insights. What you will not find is an answer key. To the femi- nist, the feminist approach is the correct approach, just as the Freudian will hold to the Freudian. Truly, the point of this guide is to examine, question, and consider, not merely arrive at “right” answers. You will also find this to be a versatile guide. Use it in concert with our Teaching Unit or our Advanced Place- ment Teaching Unit. Use it along with our Response Jour- nal, or use it as your entire study of this title. However you choose to use it, we are confident you’ll be thrilled with the new life you find in an old title, as well as in your students. P RESTWICK HOUSE , INC . 3 Multiple Critical Perspectives Romeo and Juliet Table of Contents General Introduction To The Work ..................................................................6 Introduction to Romeo and Juliet .............................................................................6 List of Characters ....................................................................................................7 Synopsis ...................................................................................................................9 List of Potential Themes........................................................................................12 Theories to be Applied ..........................................................................................12 Feminist Criticism Applied to Romeo and Juliet .....................................13 Notes on the Feminist Approach ..........................................................................13 Essential Questions for A Feminist Reading .........................................................16 Activity One: Examining Juliet's Roles as Wife and Daughter in A Patriarchal Society .................................................................................................17 Activity Two: Examining the Equation of Marriage and Death for A Woman ...............................................................................................................18 Activity Three: Studying the Language of Love in the Relationship Between Romeo and Juliet ...................................................................................................20 Discussion Questions ............................................................................................22 Essays Or Writing Assignments ............................................................................22 4 P RESTWICK HOUSE , INC . Multiple Critical Romeo and Juliet Perspectives Psychoanalytical/Freudian Criticism Applied to Romeo and Juliet ..................................................................................................23 Notes on the Psychoanalytic Theory ....................................................................23 Essential Questions for A Psychoanalytic Reading ...............................................26 Activity One: Comparing and Contrasting Romeo's Love for Rosaline With His Love for Juliet .................................................................................................28 Activity Two: Examining the Connection Between Love and Hate in the Play .............................................................................................................30 Activity Three: Examining and Evaluating the Relationship Between Romeo and Juliet in Light of A Modern Teenage Romance ..............................................32 Discussion Questions ............................................................................................33 Essays Or Writing Assignments ............................................................................33 Mythological/Archetypal Approach Applied to Romeo and Juliet ..................................................................................................35 Notes on the Mythological/Archetypal Approach .................................................35 Essential Questions for A Mythological/Archetypal Reading ...............................38 Activity One: Examining Romeo and Juliet as Archetypal Heroes .......................39 Activity Two: Examining the Text for Archetypal Images and Situations ............43 Discussion Questions ............................................................................................46 Essays Or Writing Assignments ............................................................................46 P RESTWICK HOUSE , INC . 5 Multiple Critical Perspectives Romeo and Juliet General Introduction to the Work Introduction to Romeo and Juliet OMEO AND JULIET is a play, or, more specifically, a tragedy, yet, in some ways, it complicates the defi- Rnition of Shakespearean tragedy. A Shakespearean tragedy generally involves a tragic hero (Romeo and Juliet contains a hero, Romeo, as well as a heroine, Juliet. However, Romeo figures as the central heroic character and most successfully fits the definition of the tragic hero). The tragic hero occupies an elevated position in his society (Romeo is the only son of the socially prominent Montague family of Verona. He is a also close friend of the Prince’s kinsman Mercutio). The hero is marked by a key character trait, often a tragic flaw (Romeo displays several characteristics that can be considered tragic flaws: his youthful rashness and uncontrolled passion, as well as his immaturity, play a core role in determining the outcome of the play). This tragic flaw motivates the hero to perform a particular action or set in motion a series of actions (Romeo encounters Juliet’s kinsman Tybalt in the streets of Verona. Fueled by the long-standing feud between the Capulets and the Montagues, a fight ensues between Tybalt, on the one side, and Romeo and Mercutio on the other. When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo avenges Mercutio’s death and kills Tybalt. The tragic encounter and Tybalt’s death lead to Romeo’s banishment). Often, the hero’s inability or failure to make the right decision functions as a catalyst to the action or series of actions (Romeo makes a mistake when he hastily kills Tybalt and provokes his own banishment; he makes yet another mistake when he slays Paris and poisons himself in a moment of desperation. Romeo and Juliet’s decision to marry secretly without the consent of their parents can likewise be viewed as an irresponsible act of disobedience). Sometimes, outside forces (a villain or intruder, supernatural intervention, fate) likewise contribute to the hero’s deeds and subsequent downfall (Friar Lawrence offers some very bad advice about Romeo and Juliet’s secret marriage. Romeo never receives the letter from Friar Lawrence informing him of Juliet’s faked death.) The series of actions set in motion by the tragic hero and/or outside forces creates intense suffering and desolation both for the hero and for the society at large (Romeo is banished from Verona; there- fore, he cannot see Juliet, his new wife. When Juliet’s parents attempt to force their daughter to marry Paris, she decides to seek the help of Friar Lawrence to escape her family in Verona and find Romeo. Friar Lawrence’s plan to fake Juliet’s death and subsequently enable Romeo to take her out of the city fails when Romeo learns about the plan too late and believes his beloved to be deceased. Heartbroken, Romeo seeks out Juliet’s tomb, slays Paris, and subsequently poisons himself. When Juliet awakens from her drug-induced sleep, she sees the dead Romeo at her side