Hello, everyone.

It's lovely to see you here today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton, and I'm going to guide you through learning journey today.

So today's lesson's called "Romeo and Juliet": exploring ideas of sex and forgiveness in Act 3, Scene 2.

So we're going to start off by looking at the start of Act 3, Scene 2, where Juliet's waiting for Romeo to come to her after their wedding, and she's looking forward to consummating their relationship.

And then we're going to look at her reaction to finding out that Romeo's kill Tybalt and what this scene might reveal about female agency.

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

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to explain how Juliet's language around sex and forgiveness relates to ideas of female agency.

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

They've identified in bold throughout the learning material, and I'll try to pull that as well so you can see them being used in context.

Our first go where is female agency, which means the ability of female characters to take action and make their own decisions that affect their lives.

We're going to be think about whether or not we see Juliet as having agency in this scene.

Our second keyword is consummated, which means to make a marriage or relationship complete by having sexual intercourse.

We're going to be thinking about Juliet's language around sex and what it might suggest about her agency.

Our third code is transactional, which means relating to the conducting of business, especially buying or selling.

Now, Juliet used transactional language in the scene.

We're going to be thinking about how it might relate to ideas of agency.

Our fourth word is infantalisation, which means to treat someone as a child or in a way which denies their maturity and age or experience.

Now arguably, Juliet's infantalised in this scene, we're going to be thinking about whether or not that undermines her agency.

And our final keyword is submissive, which means ready to conform to the authority or will of others, meekly obedient or passive.

Now stereotypically, women in a patriarchal society would've been expected to be submissive.

So we're again to think about whether or not we see Juliet as being submissive in this scene.

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

So pause the video, write them down now.

Fantastic.

Let's get started with the lesson.

So we have two learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to think about Juliet's language surrounded the consummation of her marriage with Romeo, and now it might relate to female agency.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to look at Juliet's reaction to finding out about Tybalt's death and consider how a forgiveness of Romeo might relate to ideas of agency.

So at the start of Act 3, Scene 2, Juliet's waiting for Romeo to come to her after their wedding.

She's anticipating losing her virginity.

So let's just think about some contextual information.

Now at the time, sex was supposed to be confined to marriage.

This was partly because men wanted to be sure that any children their wife had with their own children because of issues of inheritance succession and how they're particularly fraught at the time.

The purpose of sex for women was seen to be reproduction.

So sex was supposed to be for the purpose of having children rather than pleasure.

Many people believed that women were tainted by Eve's original sin, therefore, female desire was frowned upon.

Now hold this in your mind as we go through the lesson and think about the implications of what Juliet's saying about female desire.

So now we're going to read through Juliet's speech from Act 3, Scene 2 together.

So I'm gonna press play now.

So let's read through Juliet's speech at the start of Act 3, Scene 2 together.

"Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, towards Phoebe's lodging.

Such a waggon as Phaeton would whip you to the west and bring in the cloudy night immediately." So here, Juliet can't wait for the sun to set and night to begin so that Romeo can come to her.

So she's asking the sun god Phoebus to drive his chariot faster.

She even wishes that Phoebus' son Phaeton was driving the chariot since he's more reckless in his driving.

We might even see this in an element of ominous foreshadowing since mythology tells that Phaeton once drove the chariot so fast, he set the Earth on fire.

"Spread like closed curtain, love-performing night, that runaways eyes may wink, and Romeo leaped to these arms, untalked of an unseen." So here she's personifying night and asking it to exit the curtain around them, to hide them from the world.

"Lovers can see to do their amorous rites," so their lovemaking, "by their own beauties, or, if love be blind, it best agrees with night.

Come, civil night, thou sober-suited matron all in black, and learn me how to lose a winning match played for a pair of stainless maidenhoods." Now, we're going to zoom in as quotation in more detail during the lesson, but essentially, Juliet's asking a matron, so a married woman, to teach her how to make love.

"Hood my unmanned blood, baiting in my cheeks, with a black mantle till strange, love grow bold, think true love acted simple modesty." So here, Juliet's referring to ideas of falconry.

A falcon that's not yet custom to being around humans is referred to as being unmanned.

To calm its nerves and keep it from beating its wings, a black hood is placed over it.

Juliet describes being unmanned in the sense that she's never spent the night with a man.

She's calling on night to cover her nervousness with darkness and hide the beating in her cheeks, so her blushing, until she grows accustomed to the act of lovemaking.

"Come night, come, Romeo.

Come, thou day and night, for thou lie upon the wings of night, whiter the new snow upon a raven's back.

Come, gentle night, come, loving black-brown night, give me my Romeo, and when I shall die." Now we're gonna zoom in as quotation in more detail during the lesson, but here Juliet's using common slang for an orgasm in the word die.

"Take him and cut him out in little stars, and he'll make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night." Now we can see foreshadowing again here because star imagery associates fate.

And the image of Rome being cut out and made into stars arguably foreshadows his tragic end.

"And pay no worship to the garish Sun.

Oh, I have bought the mansion of a love but not possessed it, and, though I am sold, not yet enjoyed.

So tedious is this day as the night before some festival to an impatient child that hath new robes but may not wear them." Now we're gonna zoom in on these two images of buying a mansion and being an impatient child in the lesson.

But essentially, Juliet showing a desire for Romeo to come to her so they can be together as husband and wife.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now we're going to zoom in on some of Juliet's language from the speech together for the rest of the learning cycle.

So let's start with the lines, "And learn me how to lose a winning match played for a pair of stainless maidenhoods." So here, Juliette's searching for a figure to teach her how to win at lovemaking while losing her virginity.

If remember from her speech, she's specifically looking for a married woman teach her how to make love.

So what I'd like you to think about is how do you think Juliet wanted to learn how to make love might relate to ideas of agency.

Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Fantastic ideas there.

We might have thought the fact she's trying to seek someone out to teach her how to make love shows they're taking control of the situation.

She's taking an active role rather than a passive role because she wants to find out how to do it rather than just waiting for it to happen.

Now what I think is really interesting is how she frames it as competitive.

For me, it's just she sees it as more than simply an act to make children.

It's something she wants to do well at.

We might see that as for her own pleasure or for her desire to please Romeo.

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 arguably Juliet appears to want to take a passive role in her lovemaking with Romeo? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Correct answer is false.

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

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

We might have said that Juliet's asking for someone to teach her how to win at lovemaking, which implies she wants to take an active role.

So very well done if you got those right.

So now let's focus on the line, "Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die." Now, to die was commonly used in Shakespeare's time to refer to an orgasm.

Therefore, Juliet's anticipating pleasure.

She's saying she will orgasm when Romeo comes to her.

So what I'd like to think about is how might the certainty of when, not if, subvert Elizabethan attitudes towards women and sex? Pause the video, think a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Now as Sam says, "While society may not have considered female pleasure important, Juliet's certainty implies it is important to her." Now if we think about female agency, I think this is one of the most important lines in the play for Shakespeare suggests that female character is looking forward to sexual pleasure.

Perhaps he's acknowledging that sex should be more than just an act of reproduction.

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? The fact that Juliet used the word die, which commonly referred to an orgasm, is important.

Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Correct answer is true.

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

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said that Juliet's use of when in conjunction with die implies she's anticipating pleasure from her encounter with Romeo.

So very well done if you got those right.

So now let's think about the lines, "Oh, I have bought the mansion of a love but not yet possessed it, and though I am sold, not yet enjoyed." So here, Juliet's saying that she and Romeo have not yet consummated their relationship.

Now I think the word enjoyed is also so vital here.

She's saying she hasn't been able to enjoy sex with Romeo and therefore, again, adds anticipation of female pleasure.

However, she's using transactional language, so bought, possessed, sold.

So languages are later conducting a business, especially buying and selling.

Now, typically, we might think of men using transactional language within a patriarchal society because we associate men with having ownership over women.

So what I'd like you to think about is how might Juliet's use of transactional language relate to female agency? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Now as Lucas says, "I think it's just that Juliette is subverting the traditional use of transactional agency and suggesting she has an element of control in her relationship.

She's the one who's bought the mansion rather than the one being bought." She also talks about possessing it, which implies ownership.

Now again, this is language we normally associate with men in a patriarchal society, typically, the men using possessive language towards the women.

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 Juliet's use of transactional language is stereotypical for patriarchal society? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Correct answer is false.

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

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said, "By saying she has bought the mansion of her love with Romeo, Juliet subverting the stereotypical transactional language since it implies she has an element of control." So very well done if you got those right.

Amazing work, everyone.

Well, now the first task of the lesson.

Now throughout Juliet's speech about waiting for Romeo, Shakespeare arguably leads us to believe she's exerting agency over sex.

However, at the end of the exchange, Juliet compares herself to an impatient child.

So what I'd like you to think about is do you think this final image of Juliet as an impatient child undermines the concept of Juliet's agency? Why or why not? You might consider how being compared to a child infantalised Juliet, so make her seem like a child, and how much control children have.

So pause the video, take a few minutes to discuss.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great discussions there.

Now what I'd like you to do is think about Aisha and Izzy's ideas, how well they align with your ideas? So Aisha said, "I think it does undermine it.

It applies that, while she may think she has elements of control, she's in fact still seen this infantalised woman in a patriarchal society." And Izzy said, "I don't think it does undermine it because she's the one making the comparison, she's in control." So pause the video, think about how well their ideas align with your ideas? Welcome back, everyone.

Now for me, I think Juliet's speech at the start of Act 3, Scene 2 is one of the most interesting when it comes to thinking about female agency and how Shakespeare's presenting women.

Do we think that Shakespeare's suggesting that Juliet met a tragic end because she's averted female stereotypes and desired sexual pleasure? Or is he criticising society that controls women and essentially treats 'em like children who have no control over their lives? That's something you might like to take away and think about.

Fantastic work, everyone.

Now the second learning cycle.

We're going to think about Juliet's forgiveness of Romeo and how it might relate to ideas of female agency.

So after Juliet's speech about Romeo, the nurse arrive with news that Romeo's killed Tybalt and he's been banished from Verona.

Now, after hearing the news, Juliet initially declares, "O serpent heart hid with a flowering face! Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave." So here, Juliet's suggesting that Romeo's beauty hides evil within.

So what I'd like you to think about is what does this suggest how Juliet feels about Romeo here? Pause a video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have thought that Juliet's used an exclamation mark, and how that might show she feels angry towards Romeo and his actions.

You also might have thought about the word hid, and thought that suggests she feels deceived.

She thought he was a good man, but he was hiding evil in his heart.

So now for quick check for understanding.

So which interpretation of saying that Romeo has a serpent heart is the most relevant? Is A, it applies he has evil in his heart, or B, it applies that Romeo is going to live forever? So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Now the correct answer is A, it applies he has evil in his heart.

Now I'd like to tell me why that's the most relevant.

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said that while snakes can symbolise rebirth and healing, Juliet, in this context, is just that Romeo has been hiding his evil nature.

So very well done if you got those right.

So Juliet's response leads to think she's angry at Romeo.

However, when the nurse declares, "Shame come to Romeo!" Juliet responds, "Blistered be thy tongue for such a wish! He was not born to shame." So here, Juliet's wishing harm upon the nurse's tongue, suggesting that Romeo should be ashamed.

So what I'd like you to think about is what is Juliet doing here? How is she acting towards Romeo? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now as Jacob says, "By wishing harm on the nurse for saying something bad about Romeo, Juliet's defending him and his honour." Now we might think this is odd, she's just expressed her anger towards him and how she felt deceived by him.

Now, following the nurse's surprise at Juliet's words, Juliet responds, "Shall I speak ill of him, that is my husband?" Now, prior to this, Juliet refers to Romeo by his name rather than calling him husband.

So the entire time she's talking about consummating their marriage, she calls him Romeo.

So it's a pivotal shift that she now calls him my husband.

So what I'd like you to think about is how a woman supposed to act towards their husbands? How might it relate to Juliet here? Pause a video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

You might have said that women were supposed to be obedient to their husbands, submissive.

They're supposed to conform to the will of their husbands.

Now this relates to Juliet 'cause Juliet's defending a husband, despite the fact he's killed her cousin.

She's obedient to him, will not let others talk badly of him.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

So which of the following statements about women in marriage were true of Elizabethan England? Was it A, women were encouraged to challenge their husbands and to hold them to account, B, women were expect to be obedient and submissive to their husbands, or C, women were expected to be obedient and submissive to their wives? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now Elizabethan England was a patriarchal society.

So women were expected to be obedient and submissive to their husbands.

So very well done if you got that right.

Fantastic work, everyone.

Now the final task of the lesson.

So I'd like to think about the following two options.

Juliet exerts agency in deciding to forgive Romeo.

She's acting independently of others in her decision to forgive him, or, Juliet feel societal pressure to forgive Romeo because he is a husband.

Which option do you think is the most likely? Why? I'd like to write a short answer to explain your ideas.

So pause the video, write your answer now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great work there.

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

Whose idea is align most closely with your ideas? So Laura said, "I think she is exerting agency.

The nurse react and suggests that Juliet should feel anger, yet she forgives Romeo, which shows she's acting independently." And Izzy said, "I think she feels societal pressure.

She starts referring Romeo as her husband when she shows forgiveness, which shows that she feels she must forgive him because they're married." So pause the video, think about whose ideas align most closely with your ideas.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now I think this question is so important for Juliet's character.

We might see Juliet's actions as incredibly subversive.

She fakes her own death and then kills herself rather be married to another man.

But do those actions stem from societal pressure to be obedient to her husband? Is she doing everything she can to be respectful to Romeo and their marriage? If so, can we truly see her actions as showing agency and being subversive? That's something to keep in mind as you explore female agency in the play.

You add did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

Female sexual desire was frowned upon in Elizabethan England.

Juliet's language around sex implies she anticipates pleasure and wants to take an active role.

However, Juliet's comparison to a child at the end of her speech about sex may undermine her agency.

After finding out Romeo killed Tybalt, Juliet's initial reaction is one of anger.

We may see her forgiveness as exerting agency or bowing societal pressure to forgive her husband.

I really hope you enjoy the lesson, everyone.

I hope see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.