Tuesday, April 13, 2010

"Romeo and Juliet" Act I Socratic

What are your thoughts regarding Act I and the Socratic discussion that ensued?  Were you challenged to think?  Reflect?  Digest?  Please respond in class today.

29 comments:

Dani Scott said...

Romeo moved on really fast, it's like he could fall in love with anyone he thought was beautiful. He couldn't get over Rosaline until he saw Juliet and thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. But if Romeo happened to see someone he thought was prettier than Juliet would he have gone after her?

Emily R. said...

People should be able the choose who they want to marry and not have it chosen by others. i think that maybe since my mom and my answers to the perfect mate worksheet were all alike so i might be happy with who they choose. but in Juliet's case her and her mother do not see eye to eye so she will be one of the less fortunate people who does not get a perfect mate and someone who she can love. I was not really challenged to think. If there maybe was a main question or little questions that you through out so that we could always have something to talk about.

Hope173 said...

Act 1 in my opinion is one of the easiest acts to read in Romeo and Juliet. Not all of the characters lines are self-explanatory but they are pretty easy to figure out and understand. So, going off of what I just said I was somewhat challenged to think, but for the most part everything was pretty easy. (Granted that this is also my 3rd time reading Romeo and Juliet.) I reflected on many things that the nurse says in the play/book because she says some crude humor and also she adds into the discussion of Juliet and Lady Capulet. After reflecting on Act 1 I thought a little bit more deeply about how Juliet and Lady Capulets discussion came to be.

Anonymous said...

Act one was interesting, I thought that they would not kiss till the 2 act. I like the way it was written. I like the way that he make the feelings of the characters come to life.I would not like to have an arranged married because I want to have the say in who I marry. It's a control issue.

squintcrwoley said...

My thoughts regarding Act I and the Socratic discussion is that i still find it hard to understand completely. I challenged to think more about how two people fall in love. Thats all i really get from this so far. I feel there is more to the story but i just cant understand it. I feel i need to read the whole story to not get confused.

Erin C. said...

When reading the first act, and listening in class, I learned how different life must have been in the fourteenth century. I think it would be hard if your parents chose one person for your marriage and you fell in love with someone else. When Juliet finally meets her fate Romeo, she falls in love, but how will it ever work with her parents and Romeo. In the beginning of the book, it states that they are star crossed lovers, but the destiny of their love brings them together.

FlynneM said...

My thoughts are that 2 people were not supposed to fall in love and they just did. It helped me realize the seriousness of the separation of the two groups and that the love they share is not aloud but they still go for it. In our discussion we talked about how throughout the years the theme has been if u r rejected from one person then you can just move on to the next person. In romeos case he does just that, he thinks he is in love with Rosaline but when he saw Juliet he was in love before he even talked to him

Hannah F said...

Our class discussion helped me realize that it was fate that brought them together. Fate is defined as "something that unavoidably befalls a person; fortune" (Dictionary.com). Fate could have possibly had something to do with their meeting, in the prologue it stated, "a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life" (Romeo and Juliet). "Star-crossed" could refer to fate and the way the stars have to do with which direction your life goes.

Anna S said...

The fourteenth century is obviously different from the twenty first century and one way the two differ is marriage and love. Back then your family picked who you married and who you fell in love with. You also had people you were forbidden to fall in love with. These days, you have the freedom to date who you want and just maybe fall in love. There are some people your parents dislike; however, that doesn't mean you can't date them (unless your parents say you can't).

AmandaA said...

If I were to be in an arranged marriage I think that it may work out because my qualities regarding a guy compared to my parents characteristics was almost identical. I don't think that I would be completely in love but eventually i would fall in love because I would just want to be happy. Fate also plays a major role in this play because if Roseline hadn't been at the ball then Romeo wouldn't have gone and then Romeo and Juliet would not have met. In the 14th century to be in a marriage the woman had to give the man a gift that would last throughout the marriage.

Cassie M said...

Act I was very confusing to me. The marriage in the fourteenth century was way different then how marriages are today. People would get married very young, and like Romeo and Juliet, their parents disliked each other. Therefore their parents would never let them wed. Also they got married at very young ages. When Romeo first took one glance into Juliet's eyes, he fell madly in love. It was an instant connection between them. It could be possible that he fell for her at the first glance. But, it was almost an accident running into her. He was trying too get over Rosaline, by seeing other girls. This happens now as well. The difference between the love for Rosaline and the love for Juliet was that Romeo wasn't sure that he was in love with Rosaline. But that day he all the sudden runs into Juliet and falls in love. I don't think that could actually happen in a day or so. Act I was very confusing to read.

Rae.A said...

The whole love thing is total crap, theres no way romeo can fall deeply in love with juliet as soon as he sees her... Total Crap :) he went from being in love with rosaline and then madly in love with juliet as soon as she comes in the picture.

Erin K said...

To be honest I don't really get the language of Romeo and Juliet. I need the read the whole act all together in quiet so I can think about it. Watching the play really helped me to understand it because I could see what was happening. In the discussion people were only saying things that we have talked about in class or the things that are obvious to me. The Socratic discussion was not very useful because either no one wanted to say something or they don't fully understand it like me.

Kristen said...

Marriage in the fourteenth century was so different then how it is now. Having my parents arrange a marriage for me would not be terrible because we have almost the same qualities we want for a mate, but I would not be as happy. Romeos feelings for Juliet is so much different then his feelings for Rosaline. His love for Rosaline was not as deep nor as strong as it is for Juliet. He would die for Juiet and that strange act ended up bringing his and Juliet's family together. At this point the the play Juliet has fallen in love with Romeo and just found out that he is a Montague, but she cant stop her love. Romeo seems more in love with Juliet then Juliet is in love with him, but later they both love each other to the fullest extent.

Molly L said...

I thought the donation for two to be married during the 14th century was interesting. Personally, i don't know what i believe, Romeo seems like he would fall in love with anyone that he thinks is beautiful. He replaced Rosaline right after he saw Juliet.

Anonymous said...

You can say one is cute but u never know how they will act. It's stupid

Caitlin N said...

Romeo and Juliet may have had a destiny to be together. When Romeo helped out the servant that couldn't read he found out Rosaline would be there and he could possibly win her over. Though he found Juliet and was stunned by her beauty. They have already moved there relationship very fast so you wonder how it could be possible to last. In this day and age, now, relationships are meant to last forever as they were to be then. Now it's like 2 years at the most depending on how strong their love is, and how much they can stand each other. Fate also could have something to do with it. If you think it's meant to last you can make it that way.
Now we are talking about destiny of Romeo and Juliet and if Romeo is just playing people. Whether he falls in love with every girl he sees from first look or what is really going on inside his head.

LexieC said...

Fourteenth Century Marriages were not ideal. The parents of the one to get married chose to whom they are betrothed. Romeos love for Rosaline was secretive and was just a crush, but his love for Juliet seems more out in the open and truthful. Fate had brought the two lovers together. If romeos had not found out about the masque and gone to this dance, he would never had met Juliet. I think that Romeo and Juliet's love was love at first sight. I think love was different during the fourteenth century. Love at first sight can be something different, you could just be friends with someone and not love them, and then one day it could hit you that you do love them, there is that type of love at first sight.I think that Romeo and Juliet grow and mature together, and that makes them fall in love with each other.

Clare B. said...

In marriage during the fourteenth century it basically says that your parent will decided who you marry. Filling out that survey with my parents I found that we have some what of a similar idea but at some points we disagree so if they were to put me in an arranged marriage I might not be all too happy. The servant that could read would be a good sign of fate that brought Romeo and Juliet together. If he hadn't gone that way and if they didn't help him then Romeo and Juliet probably would have never crossed paths. "Examine other beauties." (Benvolio, page 25) is used even to day. Look at other girls is what Benvolio says to Romeo thinking it will get his mind off Rosaline which actually works when he sees Juliet.But I really think that Romeo really isn't truly in love with Juliet. You can't truly be in love with someone if you have only know them for like five minutes. Like twenty minutes before he wa sin love with Rosaline. I don't think he can truly and whole heartly love her and care for her in a matter of a few minutes.

Ellen B said...

The first question we discussed throughout our seminar regarded the evidence of fate throughout the story. Before the tragedy even begins, the prologue states, "A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life...". This quote shows that Romeo and Juliet are already destined to meet and fall in love. Another question we discussed compared the love Romeo feels for Juliet vs. the love he felt for Rosaline. We came to the conclusion that the love Romeo feels for Juliet is more true and honest than that of Rosaline. He experiences "Love at First Sight" and knows that Juliet is more caring and considerate than Rosaline. Romeo says, "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!"

Danielle Z said...

We went over the whole love of Romeo and Juliet and some people thought it wasnt that realistic. Which really it isnt but i think that the reason why the story was so great was because of the love at first sight. It might not follow reality but it makes people have hope that maybe that could happen to him too. Romeo might have moved on fast but he knew what he wanted and he went for it. The whole forbidden love is what makes the story so popular. No one would like it as much if they took a while to fall in love.

BrittneeA said...

Marriage during the fourteenth century:
marriage is set up by family this is truly unfair. Should we be able to choose who we want to spend the rest of our life with. Marriage should be about love and you should be able to choose who you want to love. When i filled out the perfect mate summery i realized that my parents and i had the same opinions on who would be the perfect mate would be for me. However not every one is as lucky as me take for instance Juliet. Her patents have picked out someone who she truly does not love.

Fate brought to lovers together:
Romeo goes to the ball and find Juliet and instantly falls in love with her. Fate i think does exists we all have someone who we are ment to be with. Sometimes we meet them in the most strangest times. Such as Romeo going to the ball to find Rosaline but instead falls in love with Juliet. I believe in God and He says that he plans our life form the very day we are born. He has planned every step of our life and that includes who we are going to marry. Its kinda ironic that Benvolio tells Romeo to go and look at other girls at the ball and he ends up forgetting Rosaline and finding Juliet. The prologue states that star-crossed lovers take there life and that explains and tells the fate of these to lovers.

Romeos love for Rosaline compared to his love for Juliet:
his love for Juliet was a lot stonger then his love for Rosaline. His love for Juliet was a lot more true and understanding. Was his love true though because he almost seems like he falls in love with every girl he sees. So how can he truly love someone. You can just judge a person on looks. Someone might look nice but when you get to meet them they turn out to be someone totally different.

Idea vs. Reality:
Romeo was in love with Rosaline and yet she was not in love with him. Romeo had ideas about Rosaline and who she was but it turns out that he mets Juliet.

Carly I said...

what i started to think about during this discussion is how marriage is so different in their time period then it is now and how arranged marriages were very common then. fate had a huge impact in this story, and how they were almost always meant to be together. it was fate that he helped that man that couldn't read in the streets and that he red to him the list of names going to this party, otherwise Romeo probably wouldn't have gone. we are still connected to then and how we still thought mostly the same about love and especially how to get over someone and what to do in that nature. this conversation made me think a lot about idea of being with someone and the reality of being with that one person. the idea could be much better because you don't really know how things could be if you were to really try.

KelseyM. said...

Romeo and Juliet should be allowed to choose who they want to marry because love at first sight may be something that is true but if they don't even know the person they won't know for sure if it is truly true because loving someone isn't just based on looks its based on personality too.

AbbyJH said...

Marriage in the fourteenth century was not about love as much as it was about money and family heritage. Many people were married to people they had nothing in common with. Fate was really what brought Romeo and Juliet together. Fate is "something that unavoidably befalls upon a person." Was it fate that Romeo ran into the Capulet servant and heard of their party? Romeo loved Juliet almost immediately after laying eyes on her, we don't know but did he feel that way about Rosaline? Romeo changed his mind about girls so quickly it is hard to believe that it is true love. But what is true love and is it realistic. I don't believe in love at first sight, but it may be something entirely different when you are the person experiencing it.

AbbyH said...

I think reading the first act was interesting. It starts out with the introduction about two families that are still feuding. Then the story goes on with how bummed Romeo is with his love for Rosaline. To me, I think the fate for Romeo and Juliet to meet was when the servant came to ask Romeo to read the invitation about the mask party. Romeo and Juliet went into relationship too fast. He couldn't get over Rosaline and now all the sudden he is obssessed with Juliet.

Kristi S. said...

I think that act 1 wasn't very good. I didn't really like it. The discussion really didn't do much for me, or my thoughts either.

MadisonW said...

Romeo and Juliet’s love blossomed quickly throughout Act 1, even though they only met each other once before. Since their love is so intense and it moves so quickly it’s hard to understand what is going on. In class we discussed how some people believe that their "love" is fake and not realistic. When you really think about it, when ever you see someone you are attracted to you automatically think oh I like that person and that is exactly what Romeo thought when he saw Juliet. People may believe that fate and love at first sight is nonrealistic but if Shakespeare made "Romeo and Juliet" the same cookie cutter love story then no one would be as interested and it wouldn’t be as famous and popular as it is today.

AmeliaS said...

readers log thoughts;
All of act one has been to introduce the problems within Verona. Starting with the feud between the two families: Capulets and Montagues. Romeo the son of Montague, who is in love with the chaste Rosaline. And Juliet daughter of Capulet, who is soon to be married at the age of fourteen to Paris. The first spark that changed these two youths fate is a masque ball. Romeo went with Benvolio, to find Rosaline. Romeo soon changed his mind to be in love with Juliet instead. It was love at first sight.