Does one feel more poetic, or more easily visualized?.

Does one passage feel easier to follow or understand?.

As a group, ask them to reflect on the effect that this language variance has on their sense of the characters represented in the scene.

They should take notes on their observations. Invite them to take a careful look at both passages individually, noticing any repeated phrases, repeated themes, favored sentence structures, or breaks from iambic pentameter.

Finally, ask students to reflect on repetition and sentence structure.

Next, ask students to put a box around any figurative language that they notice in either passage.

Ask them to begin by circling any words or phrases that are repeated in the passage between Romeo and Juliet that do not appear in the exchange between the Nurse and Peter.

Instruct students to set the passages side-by-side on their tables.

Who are the major characters in the passage and what do we know about them so far?.

What is being discussed between the characters in the scenes?.

Encourage students to begin by coming to a consensus on the action of the passage.

Ask groups to carefully read both passages, designating one group member who will read the passages out loud so that the group can hear the dialogue spoken.

Act 2, Scene lines 124-141 Nurse addresses Peter.

Act 2, Scene 2 lines 1-36 Balcony scene.

Provide each group with a printed copy of two passages:

Divide students into groups of three to four.

Does the Nurse belong to a similar class? A different one?.

How would you describe Romeo and Juliet’s class?.

Remind students of these distinctions by encouraging them to consider:

To begin, ask students to reflect on what they already understand about the class distinctions between characters (as developed in the “Drawing Language Into a Scene” lesson above).

Now that students have considered the language variances across characters of different classes, they will contrast these speech and language patterns more deeply through a close read.

They should also be encouraged to notice that the content addressed by upper class characters is different than the content addressed by working class characters (for example: courtly love versus dirty jokes).

Encourage students to discuss their findings as a class.įinal objective: Students should begin to consider that the language preferred by upper class characters incorporates more complex diction and syntax than the language preferred by the working class characters.

Is the language that the Nurse and Peter use different from the language Romeo and Juliet use when addressing each other?.

Are the settings similar? If yes, how? If not, how are they different?.

What immediately catches your eye in the images?.

As students observe the images, they should consider and/or write down comments addressing the following:.

Once each group has finished, create a gallery walk, hanging the images around the classroom.

Give students time to complete the tasks assigned to their chosen role, with all members of the group working on the same piece of paper.

Invite students to take a moment to choose roles.

Explain to students that one student in each group will draw the action of the passage, one student in each group will draw the setting of the passage, and one student in each group will add a line of text that they believe best exemplifies the scene.

Act 2, Scene 5 lines 33-70 Juliet asks the nurse about Romeo’s message.

Act 2, Scene 4 lines 150-175 The nurse talks to Peter, the servant.

Act 2, Scene 2 lines 171-213 Romeo and Juliet say goodbye.

Act 2, Scene 2 lines 27-55 Romeo arrives at Juliet’s home.

Give each group one of the following passages (if needed, more than one group can be assigned the same passage):.

Each group should have one blank piece of paper and colored pencils or markers. Learning objective: Through scene illustration and close reading, students will examine the relationship between class and language alive within Shakespeare’s plays and the wider context of Early Modern England.

Dahmer 2002 filmic representation