Discussion Starters (from Motherboard)

The following topics, as listed below, will be helpful for you as you practise writing extended responses to the text. As you work your way through topics (you do not have to complete them in the order they are listed), you should aim to make direct reference to the play. My expectation is that you complete two per week as we lead into your exam.

 
• Love vs. Lust: Romeo and Juliet are obsessed, infatuated, out of control, and irrational. Sounds like lust to me.

 
• Prejudice: The feuding families create tension and conflict, not unlike feuding cultures in today's society.

 
• The Role of Fate: Shakespeare calls the two lovers "star-crossed." Does fate, however, play a greater role than the numerous stupid choices made by Romeo and Juliet.

 
• Book Smarts vs. Street Smarts: Friar Lawrence knew a lot. Most of it was useless. After all, he had no real world experience. He just walked around all day collecting herbs.

 
• Suicide: It's the gigantic green elephant in the room. You might as well talk about it.

 
• The Role of Women: Verona society did not hold much for women, which makes Juliet's strength stand out even more.

 
• The Role of a Husband: Romeo's weakness dooms the relationship from the start.

 
• Friendship: Romeo's friend, Mercutio, causes his banishment. His other friend, Friar Lawrence, causes his death. Juliet's friend, the Nurse, abandons her in her time of need.

 
• Communication: Juliet and her father need to sit down and have a nice long talk.

Given that the discussion starters are written as statements, it may be useful for you to turn them into questions. Alternatively, you may be comfortable simply adapting them so that they read as clear topic sentences or thesis statements.

When writing your responses, please keep the following things in mind:

1. You need to plan your response before you start writing

2. You should follow the accepted structure for paragraphs and essays

3. You need to ensure that you are analysing the text, not simply describing what happens

4. When analysing you need to ensure that you are identifying the various positioning techniques that Shakespeare is using and evaluating how these techniques help to position the audience

5. When analysing you should be making reference to what messages are being presented, i.e. what is important, etc.

6. You need to make sure that you integrate your evidence - remember, we want to try and avoid simply throwing quotations into the sentence or introducing every quotation with , "For example..."

7. Make sure you reference your quotations e.g. (Act 3, Scene 5, 22-23)

8. Avoid using large quotations - shorter examples are often more effective

9. Make sure you proof-read and edit very carefully! If you are having trouble proof-reading and editing your own work, ask someone to read it aloud to you (for this to work effectively they need to read exactly what is on the screen - spelling and punctuation too!)

10. Once you have finished a response, make sure you remember to publish it.