Common Core Standards: RL.9-10.1, RL 9-10.3, RL 9-10.5, Wednesday, March 20th, 2019 Aim: How can we analyze the significance of the characters’ choices in Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5 of Romeo and Juliet? Objective: Students will be able to analyze the text to further their comprehension of the themes, plot, and characters in Romeo and Juliet. Do Now: Answer one of the following questions. 1.) What are your thoughts on dreams? What purpose do they serve, if any? OR 2.) During Shakespeare’s time (and even in certain parts of the world today) arranged marriages were pretty common. What are the benefits and drawbacks of an arranged marriage?

Common Core Standards: RL.9-10.1, RL 9-10.3, RL 9-10.5, Wednesday, March 20th, 2019 Aim: How can we analyze the significance of the characters’ choices and literary devices in Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5 of Romeo and Juliet? Objective: Students will be able to analyze the text to further their comprehension of the themes, plot, and characters in Romeo and Juliet. Agenda 1.) Do Now: Answer one or both questions, turn and talk with your tablemates. Captains will share with the class. 2.) Mini-Lesson: Together we will read more of Act 1, stopping occasionally to decipher important passages, character choices, and events that take place in order to get a better understanding of the complex text. 4.) Reflection: We stopped reading right before Tybalt states: “This, by his voice, should be a Montague. / Fetch me my rapier, boy.” Make a prediction about what will happen in the rest of the scene. Why do you think that?

Getting Party Ready What mood is generally associated with attending a party? When the scene starts how does Romeo feel? Romeo is still feeling pretty down about the whole unrequited love situation. Benvolio suggests that Romeo dance, but Romeo insists he cannot because of his great unhappiness. Mercutio is on the guestlist since he isn’t a Montague however he still feels the need to wear a mask anyway. Why is that? While he isn’t a Montague, he like most citizens would be aware of the conflict between the families and probably shouldn’t be seen hanging around Montagues at a Capulet party. We meet Mercutio for the first time. What can we see being revealed about his character? Mercutio tells Romeo what to do when “love pricks like a thorn.” He tells him that “If love be rough with you, be rough with love.” He must hurt love right back. In other words: The solution is to go out and have sex. He is funny, witty, and direct while trying to help Romeo out.

Benvolio, Romeo, and Mercutio How can we compare and contrast Mercutio to Benvolio? Think of what they say and what they do. Both of them provide Romeo with words of wisdom and it is clear the two care about Romeo’s emotional state as they want him to move on from his feelings for Rosaline. The differences can be seen in how they act and speak. Mercutio is a more playful treating Romeo's heartache as more of a joking matter while Benvolio is more serious about it. Romeo says that attending this party is a bad idea. Why? Romeo says that he had a dream and that is why he thinks it is not smart of them to head to the masquerade.

Queen Mab and Dreams Upon hearing that Romeo had a dream advising him not to go Mercutio begins to talk about Queen Mab. Who is she and what does she do? Queen Mab is a tiny fairy that rides around in a coach visiting those who are asleep and filling their heads with these dreams. (Giving lovers dreams of love, soldiers of slitting throats, and lawyers of winning lawsuits) How does Queen Mab act when she is in a foul mood? When Queen Mab is angry she gives women who dream of kisses nasty sores instead and the innocent very inappropriate dreams.

What purpose does the Queen Mab speech serve? What does Romeo think of Mercutio’s rambling about Queen Mab? Romeo thinks that Mercutio is speaking nonsense and Mercutio agrees. He says that dreams are the the result of an “idle brain” and are nothing but fantasy, which is exactly why Romeo shouldn’t care about the dream that he had telling him the party was a bad idea. Romeo again insists that the party is a bad idea. Why does he think its a bad idea and despite knowing this why does he continue to go? Romeo feels that in going to this party will be the begin a chain of events that will end with his death. However, whoever (or whatever) is in charge of his fate can lead him wherever they choose. What is this an example of? Foreshadowing!

The Day of the Party! Capulet welcomes Romeo and his friends to the party, obviously he doesn’t know who he is. He begins the celebration asking the musicians to play but how does he encourage the people to dance? He states that if any girl turns down a dance he'll tell everyone that she "hath corns" on her feet. Yikes... ! This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Romeo and Juliet finally together in the same place. What happens? As soon as Romeo lays eyes on Juliet he thinks she is the most beautiful thing his eyes have ever laid eyes on. Rosaline who? “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! / For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”

Reflections We stopped reading right before Tybalt states: “This, by his voice, should be a Montague. / Fetch me my rapier, boy.” Make a prediction about what will happen in the rest of the scene? Why do you think that?