Hello everyone, it's lovely to see you here today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton.

I'm here to guide you through your learning journey today.

Today's lesson's called Exploring Benvolio and Mercutio as Romeo's counsellors in Act 1, Scene 4.

We're going to think about what their advice suggests, but how they see love as well as how their advice links the concept of fate.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever it is for this lesson and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to explain Benvolio and Mercutio's advice to Romeo in Act 1, Scene 4 and how it relates to the theme of love and fate.

So we have five words today we're going to be using as our key words.

They're identified in bold throughout the lesson, and I'll try to point that out to so you can see them being used in context.

So first, give us portentous, which means something that seems to be a sign related to a future event, generally an ominous sign.

This is something Lamonteque says.

We're going to think about how it relates to Benvolio and and the idea of fate.

Our second keyword is mercurial, which means changing suddenly and often, intelligent, enthusiastic, and quick.

We're going to be thinking about how the word mercurial links the name Mercutio and his character.

Our third keyword is fate, which means the development of events outside a person's control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power.

We're going to be thinking about what Act 1, Scene 4 might reveal to us about what Shakespeare says about the nature of fate.

Our fourth keyword is divination, which means the skill act of saying or discovering what will happen in the future.

We're going to be thinking about how Mercutio's name also links the idea of divination.

Our final keyword is innuendo, which means the remark or remarks that suggest something sexual or something unpleasant, but do not refer to it directly.

We're going to be thinking of what Mercutio uses as innuendos.

It's just about his views on love.

So I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and the definitions.

So pause the video, write them down now.

Fantastic, let's go start with the lesson.

So we have three learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to be thinking about how Mercutio and Benvolio are introduced to us and what they might suggest about their roles in the play.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to explore Mercutio and Benvolio's advice to Romeo about Rosaline and what it might suggest about their views on love more widely their ideas about Elizabethan men and love.

For our third learning cycle, we're going to be thinking about what Act 1, Scene 4 might reveal to us about the nature of dreams and fate.

So let's start by thinking about the character of Benvolio and how Shakespeare might indicate his role to us in the play through his name.

Names are incredibly important.

They carry power.

The meaning of a name can be linked to the nature of a character.

In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," Benvolio's Romeo's cousin and therefore part of the Montague family.

Benvolio's name comes from a combination of the Italian words, 'ben' meaning good and volere meaning 'will.

' So Benvolio means goodwill.

So what I'd like you to think about is what can you predict about Benvolio's character from his name? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone, some great ideas there.

Now, as Izzy says, "I think it suggests that he will be a friendly, helpful character and he'll put other people first because his name means good will." Therefore we think he's going to be a friendly, good natured person.

Now let's look at Benvolio's first line in the play.

I think looking at the character's first line is so important because it's just how Shakespeare wants the audience to see the character.

So Benvolio's first line is in Act 1, Scene 1 where a street fight is breaking out between the Montagues and the Capulets.

Benvolio's response to the fight is to say, "Part fools, put up your swords.

You know not what you do." Here, Benvolio's telling the men to put their weapons away.

So what I'd like you to think about is what does this line tell us about Benvolio? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Some fantastic ideas there.

Now as Jacob says, "Even though Benvolio is a Montague, his priority is breaking up the fight, which suggests cares more about peace than family honour." So now for a quick check for understanding by asking the Montagues and Capulets to put up their swords, Benvolio is doing which of the following? A, encouraging the fight to continue.

B, asking for the fight to stop.

Or C, joining in the fight himself.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, by asking the men to put up their swords, Benvolio is telling them to put their weapons away.

So he's asking for the fight to stop.

So very well done if you got that right.

So now let's think about how Shakespeare presents Mercutio to us.

In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," Mercutio is a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris and a close friend to Romeo.

Now Mercutio's name is related to the following, Mercury, the Roman God of communication, travellers, luck, trickery and commerce.

In Roman mythology, Mercury also guides souls to the underworld and is associated with divination.

Now, divination is one of our keywords, means the skill or act of saying or discovering what will happen in the future.

I think it's so fascinating because as some of you may know, Mercutio curses the Montagues and Capulets later on the play and it does in fact come true.

Mercutio can also relate to mercurial.

It means changing suddenly and often; intelligent, enthusiastic, and quick.

Now, Mercutio's first line is in Act 1, Scene 4.

Romeo says he's heavy without Rosaline's love and Mercutio's responds, "Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance." So here he's encouraging Romeo to forget his heaviness and dance instead.

So what I'd like you to think about is what impression of Mercutio's character does this give you? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Now as Sam says, "I think it suggests that he is a light-hearted character who wants others to be entertained and be happy." So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

Is it true or false that Mercutio cushy appears sympathetic to Romeo's unrequited love for Rosaline? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Now the correct answer is false.

Now I'd like you to tell me why it's false.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now you might have said that by suggesting Romeo must dance, Mercutio is asking Romeo to be light-hearted and fun rather than heavy with love.

So very well done if you've got those right.

Fantastic work everyone.

We've now done the first task of the lesson.

So what I'd like you to do is think about the following information.

For Benvolio, we know his name means good will and his first line in the play calls for peace.

For Mercutio, we know his name suggests someone interchangeable and quick witted and his first line calls for Romeo to dance.

So what I'd like you to discuss is what do you think the significance of Benvolio and Mercutio will be throughout Romeo and Juliet? Pause the video, take a few minutes to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Some great discussions there.

So what I'd like you to do now is think about Laura and Sophia's ideas.

Think about how well they align with your ideas.

So Laura said, "I think Benvolio will likely serve as a peacekeeper within the play and try to guide others to make good choices." And Sophia said, I think Mercutio will have a complex role in the play.

He seems like a comic relief character but being associated with divination suggests he also might have a profound impact." So pause the video, take a few moments to think about how well their ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back everyone.

Now we're going to look at Act 1, Scene 4 specifically and explore what advice they give Romeo.

Fantastic work everyone.

Now the second learning cycle, we're going to think about what Mercutio and Benvolio's advice to Romeo is and what it might reveal about their views on love.

So let's just begin by giving a little bit of context to Act 1, Scene 4.

In Act 1, Scene 4, Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio are approaching Capulet's ball.

Attending Capulet's ball is part of Benvolio's plan to shake Romeo out his melancholy due to his unrequited love for Rosaline.

So his unreturned love for Rosaline.

Now Benvolio advises Romeo to, "Compare her face with some I shall show, and I'll make you think they swan a crow." So what I'd like you to think about here is what advice is Benvolio giving Romeo? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Well welcome back everyone.

Now Benvolio is saying that Romeo needs to find someone who makes Rosaline look like a crow in comparison.

So as Izzy says, "I think he's saying that Romeo needs to find someone more beautiful than Rosaline." Now, as well as telling Romeo to find someone who makes Rosaline look like a crow, Benvolio also advises Romeo to examine other beauties.

So what I'd like you to think about is what does this suggest about how Benvolio views love and Romeo's love for Rosaline? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Let's talk through some of the things you might have said.

Now, Benvolio here is only talking about women's appearances and that could suggest he sees love as something surface deep.

He's suggest that just finding someone who looks more beautiful than Rosaline will make Romeo forget about Rosaline, which suggests that Benvolio thinks Romeo only loves Rosaline for her looks.

We might then infer that Benvolio believes a woman's value is in her looks rather than who they actually are.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false that Benvolio's advice to Romeo suggests that he needs to get to know other women.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now the correct answer is false.

Now I'd like you to tell me why it's false.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

He might have said that by saying that Romeo should examine other beauties Benvolio is implying that Romeo merely has to look at other women to fall out of love with Rosaline.

He doesn't need to get to know them.

So very well done if you've got those right.

So now let's start thinking about Mercutio's views on love.

As Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio are approaching the ball, Romeo declares he's not for this ambling, that love is too rough.

In response, Mercutio says, "If love be rough for you, be rough with love." Here, Romeo is suggesting that love is being psychologically and emotionally rough with him.

And what I'd like to think about is what is Mercutio's advice? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Let's talk through some of the things you might have said.

Now, by saying that Romeo should be rough with love we might think that Mercutio is telling Romeo to take control of his feelings rather than letting love control him.

Mercutio's language is also very physical with the idea of being rough with love.

So it might suggest that Mercutio's views love as more physical than emotional.

Mercutio then continues his advice by saying, "Prick love for pricking, you beat love down." Now arguably we might see Mercutio's advice as a sexual innuendo.

If love has pricked Romeo so sexually aroused him, he should prick love back, have sex which will beat love down, end his arousal.

Now innuendo is one of our key words, means a remark or remarks just something sexual or something unpleasant, but they don't refer to it directly.

Mercutio uses several other sexual innuendos throughout the scene.

So what I'd like to think about is what might Mercutio's use of sexual innuendos suggest about how he feels about love? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Some great ideas there.

As Jacob says, "I think it suggests he doesn't take love too seriously.

He sees it something physical and light-hearted rather than something emotional as Romeo does." So now for a quick check for understanding.

Which of the following interpretations of Mercutio's use of sexual innuendos do you think is the most effective? Is it A, the use of sexual innuendos implies that Mercutio sees love as surface level.

Women's values only in their looks.

Or B, the use of sexual innuendos implies Mercutio sees love as something light-hearted not to be taken seriously.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

The correct answer is B.

The use of sexual innuendos implies that Mercutio sees love as something light-hearted not to be taken seriously.

So now I'd like you to tell me why B is so effective.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

You might have said that while Mercutio's innuendos imply a physicality, they don't necessarily suggest women's values in their looks, however they are intended to be humorous.

So very well done if you've got those right.

Fantastic work everyone.

We're now at the second task of the lesson.

What I'd like you to do is think about the following ideas about Benvolio and Mercutio's advice.

So Benvolio seems to only focus on finding a woman who makes Rosaline seem less beautiful.

And Mercutio's advice is full of sexual innuendos.

I'd like you to answer the following questions.

So what might Benvolio and Mercutio's advice suggest about the stereotypical masculine views on love? And how might Romeo's sadness over his unrequited love imply that he views love differently.

To a stereotypical masculine view? So pause the video, answer the questions now.

Welcome back everyone.

Some amazing work there.

What I'd like you to do now is think about Alex's answers.

Think about how well they align with your ideas.

So question one, what might Benvolio and Mercutio's advice suggest about stereotypical masculine views on love? And Alex said, "Both Benvolio and Mercutio's advice implies a stereotypical masculine view on love is to see it as something purely physical with no deep emotion attached.

Question two, how met Romeo's sadness over his unrequited love imply he views love differently to stereotypically masculine views? Alex said, "Romeo's melancholia implies he does attach deep emotions to the idea of love and therefore perhaps he sees love differently to the stereotypical Elizabethan man." So pause the video, think about how well Alex's ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back everyone.

Now I think this idea of Romeo feeling emotions and love differently to the stereotypical Elizabethan man is so important because it then leads to the question of what Shakespeare's trying to say about men and emotion.

Is he criticising Romeo for being too emotional or celebrating him? That's something you can take away and think about.

Amazing work everyone.

Now for the third learning cycle, where we're going to think about what Act 1, Scene 4 might reveal to us about dreams and fate.

Now, as well as his sadness and heaviness, Romeo also says his reluctance to attend Capulet's ball comes from a dream he had.

Historically, dreams have long been linked to fate and premonitions of the future.

In response to this, Mercutio says, "Oh, with then I see Queen Mab hath been with you." Mercutio then delivers his queen Mab speech, where he considers the nature of dreams. Now the Queen Mab speech is probably one of the most complex within "Romeo and Juliet." We're gonna spend a little bit of time unpicking what Mercutio is saying about dreams. So when talking of dreams, Mercutio suggests dreams are empty and therefore arguably inconsequential because they have no substance.

He compares dreams to moonshine wat'ry beams, which may imply they don't reveal anything to us because a watery light is a weak light.

He says dreams are merely wish fulfilment and he ends of speech by declaring that dreams are simply a vain fantasy.

Now I think this speech is so fascinating because so much of Romeo and Juliet speaks the inevitable nature of fate and dreams. So why does Shakespeare include this moment of doubt? That's something you might like to take away and think about.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false? Mercutio's Queen MAB speech implies that Romeo should take the idea of dreams and fate seriously.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Now the correct answer is false.

Now I'd like you to tell me why it's false.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

You might have said that Mercutio's Queen Mab speech implies that dreams are inconsequential, mainly a form of wish fulfilment rather than showing as our fate.

So, very well done if you've got those right.

Now, after Mercutio's Queen Mab speech, Romeo then reveals his dream.

"I fear too early, for my mind misgives.

Some consequence hanging in the stars.

Shall bitterly begin his fearful date.

With this night's revels, and expire the term for despise life closed in my breast by some vile forfeit of untimely death.

But he that hath the steerage of my course direct my sail on lusty gentleman." So here, Romeo is suggesting there's something waiting for him in the stars that will lead him to an early death.

He's having a premonition of his fated death.

So let's look at the references to fate in Romeo's dream.

So we have hanging in the stars, steerage of my course and direct my sale.

What I'd like you to think about is how might these phrases connect to fate? So how do they connect the idea that our lives are out of our own control? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Let's talk through some of the things you might have said.

So the image of stars connects to fate because people believe we can tell the futures of our lives based on the positioning of the stars.

I think the idea of something hanging in the stars is so interesting as well because just something's waiting to happen.

The idea of something else steering him, which is someone or something else directing his life.

It's taking him towards Juliet.

So fate is directing him towards Juliet.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

By saying that someone else has steerage of my course, Romeo implies which of the following? He doesn't like the direction his life is going.

He feels in control of his life and destiny.

He feels someone else is in control of his life.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, the idea of something else steering you it's just that someone else is directing you and therefore Romeo feels that someone else is in control of his life.

So very well done if you got that right.

Fantastic work everyone.

And now to the final task of the lesson.

Now, before we meet Romeo Lord Montague tells Benvolio, his love for Rosaline may be black and portentous, unless good counsel may the cause remove.

Now portentous, one of our keywords means something that is a sign of a future event, generally an ominous sign.

So something ominous is going to happen due to Romeo's love for Rosaline.

Therefore, Benvolio's desire for Romeo to attend the Capulet ball can be seen as a way of trying to save Romeo from a deathly fate.

However, Romeo's attendance at the ball leads him to meet Juliet.

So what do you think Shakespeare might be saying about fate? Through this use of irony and presentation of Romeo's dream, I'd like you to write a few sentences to explain your ideas.

So pause the video, answer the question now.

Welcome back everyone, some great work there.

What I'd like you to do now is think about Izzy's ideas.

Think about how well they align with your ideas.

So Izzy said, "I think that Shakespeare's using irony to suggest no matter how hard you tried to outrun fate, ultimately you cannot change your fate.

Benvolio's attempt to change Romeo's black feature actually leads him to his tragic death since it drives him to Juliet.

Therefore, Shakespeare could be implying that you cannot change your destiny.

So pause the video, think about how well Izzy's ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, some of you may have thought back to Mercutio's Queen Mab speech, or thought about the idea that maybe Shakespeare specifically places Romeo's dream directly after Mercutio's speech, to reinforce it even though you may doubt fate, you still cannot change your destiny.

You all did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

Our first impression of Benvolio implies he'll play the role of peacemaker in the play.

Our first impressions of Mercutio suggest that he will be a character that provides comic relief.

Benvolio and Mercutio's advice to Romeo suggests they don't see love as emotional, whereas Romeo does.

Mercutio's Queen Mab speech says that dreams a merely wish fulfilment.

Romeo's prophetic dream suggest we cannot escape our fate.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson everyone.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon, goodbye.