HONORS - R&J Act II Passage Analysis

This blog post will be graded as a 10-point quiz. 

Choose one of the following passages from Act II of Romeo and Juliet: 

II.ii.1-24

II.iii.1-22

II.v.1-17

Read the passage several times. On your blog, explain the use of contrasts or oxymorons in the speech. Focus especially on light/dark or day/night imagery. Be sure your post includes an explanation of why contrasts are important to the overall themes/messages of the play.

HONORS - Act II, Scene 3 - The Friar's Plan for the Feud

For this alliance may so happy prove

To turn your households' rancor to pure love.

~Friar Lawrence, Act II, Scene 5, lines 90-91

Friar Lawrence agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet in the hope that it will end the feud. Do you think his plan is wise or realistic? Please respond in the comments below. Please read your classmates' responses and build on what they have said earlier rather than repeating the same ideas many times.

Act II, Scene 2 - The Balcony Scene

Now that we have read and discussed the famous balcony scene, please view two version of the scene below. Then, in a post on your own blog, explain which you prefer and why.

Version 1: Royal Shakespeare Company, 2010, New York City

Version 2: Romeo and Juliet, dir. Franco Zeffirelli, 1968

Honors and CP - Act II Blog Posts

For each act of Romeo and Juliet, you will write 2-3 blog posts. Here are the topics for Act II:

1. After Scene 2: The Famous Balcony Scene


2. After Scene 3: The Friar's Plan

CP - Romeo and Juliet, Act I Blog Posts

For each act of Romeo and Juliet, you will write 3 blog posts. Here are the topics for Act I:

1. Pre-reading: Resistance to Change


2. After Scene 3: Elizabethan Marriage Customs


3. After Scene 5: Letter to Romeo or Juliet

Act I, Scene 5 - Letter to Romeo or Juliet

Now that they have fallen in love, Romeo and Juliet need advice! Pretend you are friends with either Romeo or Juliet. Write a brief letter offering suggestions on what they should do next. Write your letter in plain English – then, for an extra challenge, TRANSLATE IT to Shakespearean language.

Act I, Scene 3 - Elizabethan Marriage Customs

Please read about these Elizabethan marriage customs. In a blog entry of two paragraphs, please do the following:

• compare these customs to the Capulets' plans for Juliet to marry Paris
• explore your own views on the topic of marriage, as it relates to life today. How did the Elizabethans' attitudes toward marriage relate to the way we think about marriage today?

Act I, Prologue - CP - Resistance to Change

Describe something that you do simply because it has always been done that way. (In other words, there is no reason you can think of to explain your behavior.) Why have you not been motivated to change?

Should we read Shakespeare?

First, read this Washington Post blog piece, "On the Bard's birthday, is Shakespeare still relevant?"

Then, please write at least one paragraph answering the question from your own perspective. Do you think Shakespeare is still relevant? Should we read it in schools? Why/why not?