Question

romeo and juliet
acts i and ii writing assignment
name ______
choose one prompt and write a paragraph (6-8 sentences) responding to the prompt
act one

• explain the different attitudes and opinions about marriage–consider paris, capulet, juliet, and the nurse. consider their ideas about relationships and some of the decisions they make in act i. use quotes to support your answer.
• discuss how the emotions affect the actions in a scene from act i–choose a quote that characterizes the action and emotion of the whole scene. why is this quote important and how does it represent the scene?
• if you were a character in this act, what advice would you give romeo. include evidence from the play about what decisions or relationship problems you are addressing.

Explanation:

To answer this, we'll choose the first prompt about attitudes toward marriage (Paris, Capulet, Juliet, Nurse) and analyze their views:

Step 1: Identify Attitudes

• Paris: Seeks marriage to Juliet (sees it as social/status-driven, traditional).
• Capulet: Wants Juliet to marry Paris (values family honor, social standing; initially cautious, later insistent).
• Juliet: Resists (values love over duty; "It is an honor I dream not of" shows disinterest in arranged marriage).
• Nurse: Supports Juliet’s happiness but also traditional (encourages Juliet to consider Paris, then Romeo).

Step 2: Structure the Paragraph

Start with a topic sentence, then analyze each character with quotes/examples, and conclude how their attitudes reflect themes (love vs. duty, tradition vs. individual desire).

Example Paragraph:

In Romeo and Juliet Act I, attitudes toward marriage vary, revealing tensions between tradition and individual desire. Paris views marriage as a social obligation, pursuing Juliet to fulfill Capulet’s expectations (e.g., his formal proposal to Capulet). Capulet, while initially cautious ("She hath not seen the change of fourteen years"), later pushes Juliet to marry Paris to uphold family honor and status. Juliet, however, rejects the idea of an arranged marriage, declaring, "It is an honor I dream not of," prioritizing love over duty. The Nurse, meanwhile, balances tradition and affection: she teases Juliet about Paris’s appearance but later supports her love for Romeo, showing a more practical (yet conflicted) view. These differing attitudes foreshadow the play’s central conflict between societal expectations and personal passion.

Answer:

(The written paragraph as above, or a similar response addressing the prompt chosen.)