1. Act I, Scene ii Blank Verse and the Nobility
Romeo and Juliet
Act I, Scene ii
Blank Verse and the Nobility

2. Parents should have some say in whom their children marry.
Sponge: Do you agree or disagree the following statement? Explain your reasoning in 1-2 sentences and record your response on your Week 20 Sponge page.
Parents should have some say in whom their children marry.

3. Parents should have some say in whom their children marry.

4. Definition: Non Rhyming Iambic Pentameter
Blank Verse
Definition: Non Rhyming Iambic Pentameter

5. Definition: One line containing ten syllables
Iambic Pentameter
Definition: One line containing ten syllables

6. But Montague is bound as well as I,
Example: Scene ii, line 1
But Montague is bound as well as I,
Diagram this line on the board. Show students how to distinguish the iambic feet (sets of two syllables) and then the pentameter (five feet).

7. Select five different lines to count syllables.
Read: Lines 1-37
Select five different lines to count syllables.
Write the line number and syllable count on your paper.
Allow students to read and then notate their selected lines.

8. Do these lines follow Blank Verse?
Read: Lines 1-37
Do these lines follow Blank Verse?
Most of these lines follow the Blank Verse format.

9. Question: Lines 1-37
What are Lord Capulet and Paris discussing in these lines? How do you know?
Paris is interested in Juliet. Lord Capulet does not want to let go of his daughter at the moment, but will make Paris a deal: Attend the Capulet feast and win Juliet’s heart.

10. Select a line from Romeo, Benvolio, and Servant to count
Read: Lines 38-81
Select a line from Romeo, Benvolio, and Servant to count

11. Blank Verse: Lines 38-81 Romeo: Benvolio: Servant:
Romeo and Benvolio typically speak in verse while the servant’s lines are very plain.

12. Lines 38-81 Do Romeo and Benvolio follow the blank verse pattern?
Does the servant follow the blank verse pattern?

13. Blank Verse and the Nobility
What does the difference in line verse tell the audience of Romeo and Juliet?
Options:
Commentary on Shakespeare’s opinion of nobility (trite and contrived/ overly pompous)... Lines could be mocking OR respecting the nobility depending on the delivery of the lines
Commentary on Shakespeare’s opinion of lower class (uneducated but realistic) Could be positive or negative depending on audience.