1. Rivalry theme revision

2. RIVALRY SQI 4 ACT 5, SCENE 3 EXPLORE THE METHODS USED TO CONVEY ROMEO’S DESPAIR AND THE TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES OF RIVALRY
“SLAUGHTERED YOUTH;FOR HERE LIES JULIET” (ROMEO AFTER KILLING PARIS AND PLACING WITH JULIET’S BODY)
“DEATH’S PALE FLAG”
“ENGROSSING DEATH”
WORMS THAT ARE CHAMBERMAIDS”
THE DRUGS ARE QUICK”
THUS WITH kiss I die”
Personification/imagery/disturbing/grief/resolution/sorrow/audien ce response – modern and contemporary (AO3)

3. Act 5 Scene 3 – Paris has just been killed by Romeo in the denouement of this tragedy
Romeo says “O, give me thy hand,/ One writ with me in sour misfortune’s book. /I’ll bury thee in a triumphant grave” AO3 – Renaissance belief in astrology and that the trajectory of the stars determined human fate / that life was dictated by destiny mapped out by an external force A02 – adjective ‘sour’ fate is bitter, rancid, damaging /noun ‘book’ destiny written by an external force – they are characters / stagecraft – kinship ‘give me thy hand’ they are unified/joined by shared love for Juliet – no longer enemies / forgiveness in compassionate gesture of ‘lays Paris in the tomb’ next to Juliet – oxymoron ‘triumphant grave’ contradiction = joy in death / love transcends death

4. How is the idea of rivalry established in the prologue and denouement of this romance tragedy? Revision timed write (8 minutes)
Passionate violence
Masculinity
Chorus
Sonnet form and a story of forbidden love
Feud -first subject of the play
Paradox
Exposition (first act)
Denouement (last act)
‘their death-mark'd love, (prologue spoken by the chorus) ‘fatal loins [offspring] of these two foes’ (prologue) Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. (prologue) 5.3 ‘all are punished’ and the feud is over (spoken by the Prince) lovers are sacrificed and order is restord.
AO2 word wall
Prologue
Genre of romance tragedy
Inevitability
Tragic flaw
Foreshadowing / foreshadows
Forbidden love
Code of family honour

5. Act 3 Scene 1 – extra SQI practice to time (8 minutes)
Before killing Tybalt Romeo declares “fire-eyed fury be my conduct now”
A03 aggression/ violence/ action = masculine ideals
A02
abstract noun ‘fury’ is personified as a figure who now controls him / fire imagery connotes rage/ passion/ emotional response
Tragic flaw / Romeo’s hamartia is his……
Catalyst in the downfall of the tragic hero in this tragedy
Contrasts his earlier forgiveness of Tybalt’s combative greeting where he explains that his love for the Capulets ‘much excuse the appertaining rage /To such a greeting.’

6. Top Tips to ensure a ‘complete’ answer
Covers whole play (prologue / act 3 / act 5 possibly but question dependent of course)
Focuses on AO2 devices – language/ imagery/ structure/ genre (remember stage directions / tragedy) and what Shakespeare shows the audience through these devices…..
Shows understanding of contemporary context and modern audience
Discusses Shakespeare’s intentions (alternative interpretations welcome)
Covers 8-20 quotes that are fluently embedded

7. Alternative interpretations: One critic has suggested that in the play…
Shakespeare presents ‘Love as an ennobling (giving dignity) and dynamic (life changing)force’
‘Courtly loved prevailed in Renaissance England and involved the idealisation of the female subject’ we see this in the idolatrous love of R&J
Love in Romeo and Juliet (1595), becomes a strong might that encourages the lovers to thread their way through obstacles set up by middle aged vanity and impercipience (state of being imperceptive), and even to sacrifice their precious lives without wavering.
In Shakespeare's plays, love and romance are often treated in ambiguous ways. Romantic love frequently ends in death, as in the tragedies, but such love may be presented in an idealized manner, shown to be courageous and unconditional

8. Context reminder
The ‘ancient grudge’ between the Capulets and the Montagues endures because of a rigid code of honour within families. Tybalt feels that the ‘honour of his kin’ has been insulted by Romeo’s presence at the Capulet feast and so believes he must avenge this intrusion (‘this intrusion shall/Now seeming sweet, convert to bitt’rest gall’ Act ).
The young men of the families all adhere to this unwritten code, including Mercutio. They believe that following this code is all part of the way a man should behave. Mercutio feels shocked and humiliated when his friend, Romeo, refuses Tybalt’s challenge, calling this ‘dishonourable, vile submission!’
Arguably, it is Romeo’s refusal to fight which causes Mercutio’s death in the confusion which ensues: ‘Tybalt under Romeo’s arm thrusts Mercutio in’.
After Mercutio is hurt, Romeo worries that his love for Juliet has weakened his ability to fight ‘O sweet Juliet/ Thy beauty hath made me effeminate/ And in my temper softened valour’s steel!’