Romeo And Juliet Close Reading Analysis

Close Reading Final Assessment Objectives:
· Analyze how words and phrases shape meaning and tone in texts.
· Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences and conclusions based on an author’s explicit assumptions and beliefs about a subject. Directions: Closely read two passages from Romeo and Juliet to demonstrate your understanding of Shakespeare’s intentional choices in crafting his play.
1. Choose two passages from two separate acts (make sure they are not the same passages that we practiced with in class). The passages should be about 10-20 lines in length. Type the passages (or copy and paste!) exactly as they appear in the text.
2. Annotate

This soliloquy was the climax of the story because once Romeo kills himself, there is no going back to the way things used to be. The meaning behind the passage is Romeo thinking that Juliet is having an affair with death because of how alive and well she looks even though she is “dead.” Therefore Romeo wants to do his now late cousin a favor and kill himself to basically avenge Tybalt’s death. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony in this passage to create the tone. All of the audience knows that Juliet is going to wake up and is most likely seconds away from waking up. However, Romeo does not know that and therefore is going to Juliet’s tomb to kill himself with her. This creates a very suspenseful tone because all of the audience still wants Romeo and Juliet to live, even though the audience was told from the beginning that they were not going to win. Therefore suspense is all around because nobody wants Romeo to kill himself and everyone is just waiting for Juliet to wake up. Shakespeare also uses this dramatic irony when Romeo is saying that Juliet is the “Paramour” of death, meaning she is having an affair with death. Romeo is only saying this because of how well he thinks death is treating her and her looks. He is also using personification in this by saying that death had an affair with Juliet even though death is not something that can do