Hello everyone.

It's lovely to see you here today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton and I'm here to guide you through your learning Journey today.

Today's lesson is called "Romeo and Juliet: exploring Juliet's Agency in Act 4, scene 3".

So we're going to focus on Juliet's speech before she takes the potion to fake her death and think about whether or not we can see Juliet as in control and exerting agency in this scene.

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 Juliet's agency in Act 4, Scene 3 of "Romeo and Juliet".

So we have four words there we're going to be using as our keywords.

They're 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 keyword is "agency", which means the capacity of an individual to act independently from others to make their own free choices.

We're going to be thinking about whether or not we can see Juliet displaying agency in this scene.

Our second keyword is "interrogative", which means a word or sentence used when asking a question.

Our third keyword is "resolve", which means to make a decision formally or with determination.

We're going to be thinking about how Juliet's use of interrogative language affects how we see her resolve in this scene.

Our final keyword's "iambic pentameter", which is a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.

We're going to be looking at the rhythm of Juliet's speech and that might relate to ideas for agency.

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 look at Juliet's language and how it might relate to ideas of agency.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to specifically focus on Juliet's use of iambic pentameter and how it relates to ideas of control and agency.

So, we're going to be focusing on Act 4, Scene 3 today so let's start with a quick summary.

Juliet sends the nurse away for the night and says goodbye to her mother.

After considering the consequences of what might happen, Juliet drinks the potion that Friar Lawrence has given her, that's going to help her fake her death to avoid marrying Paris.

So, now let's read through Juliet's speech together.

So, I'm gonna press play now.

So, let's read through Juliet's speech together.

"Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.

I have a faint cold fear thrilled through my veins that almost freezes up the heat of life".

So here we might see this is Juliet expressing fear of what's going to happen.

Because of this, she considers calling the nurse back to her.

"I'll call them back again to comfort me.

Nurse, what should she do here?" But she immediately decides against it because she knows the nurse cannot help her.

"My dismal scene I need must act alone.

Come vial.

What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning?" So here we see Juliet running through potential scenarios in her head of what might happen.

"No, no, this shall forbid it.

Lie thou there".

So she's saying that even if the potion doesn't work, she has the night to prevent the wedding tomorrow.

"What if it be a poison which the Friar subtly hath ministered to have me dead, lest in this marriage he should be dishonoured because he married me before to Romeo?" Now here Juliet's worrying that Friar Lawrence might want to poison her because he's the one who married her to Romeo and he knows he'd get in trouble for that.

"I fear it is.

And yet methinks it should not.

For he hath still been tried a holy man".

So she dismisses the idea that Friar Lawrence is trying to poison her because he's a religious man.

"How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo comes to redeem me? There's a fearful point".

So she's wondering what will happen if she wakes up before Romeo comes to get her? "Shall I not be then stifled in the vault, to whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in, And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes?" So she's worried she'd suffocate in the tomb if Romeo doesn't come to her in time.

"Or, if I live, is it not very like the horrible conceit of death and night, together with a terror of the place, As in a vault, an ancient receptacle, where, for this many hundred years the bones of all my buried ancestors are packed, where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth, lies festering in his shroud, where, as they say, at some hours in the night spirit's resort".

So she's thinking about the tomb itself and how all of her ancestors are buried there, including Tybalt.

"Alack, alack, Is it not like that I, so early waking, what with loathsome smells, and shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth, that living mortals, hearing them, run mad".

So here she's talking about the legend.

If you uproot a mandrake plant, then hearing it's scream will drive you mad and kill you.

So she's suggesting if she does wake up in the tomb, she might be driven mad just by being there.

"Or, if I wake, shall I not be distraught, environed with all these hideous fears, and madly play with my forefathers' joints? And pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud? And, in this rage, with some great kinsman's bone, as with a club, dash out my desperate brains?" Now this is really desperate, violent imagery here because it's suggesting in her madness she might take a bone from one of her ancestors and use it to kill herself.

"Oh look, methinks I see my cousin's ghost seeking out Romeo that did spit his body upon a rapier's point! Stay, Tybalt, stay!" So here she thinks she sees a vision of Tybalt's ghost seeking revenge on Romeo and asks him to stop.

"Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here's drink.

I drink to thee".

So she drinks the potion.

Now throughout the lesson we're going to look at some of the language in more detail, and the structure of Juliet's speech, and what it might reveal about her agency in this scene.

Welcome back everyone.

Now we're going to focus in on specific aspects of Juliet's speech.

Now they might relate to ideas of agency and control.

So let's think about Juliet's use of interrogative language.

Now remember, interrogative language is a word or sentence used when asking a question.

Within her speech, Juliet asks six questions.

So what I'd like you to think about is what might this use of interrogative language reveal about her resolve? What might it reveal about her determination? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now a typically associate questioning with someone who feels unsure or uncertain.

So as Lucas says, "I think it suggests she's questioning her decision.

It suggest's she's not fully resolved to take the potion".

Now, the majority of questions occur in the first part of her speech and they lessen as the speech continues.

So what I'd like you to think about is what might this suggest about her resolve? 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 her resolve is strengthening as she continues speaking.

She's becoming more sure of her decision".

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 resolve weakens as the scene progresses? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

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 think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said that Juliet uses less interrogative language as the scene progresses, which implies her resolve is strengthening.

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

So, what I'd like you to do now is think about the following words from Juliet's speech.

We have "strangled", "stifled", "buried", and what I'd like you to think about first is what are the connotations of these words? So what ideas or feelings do we associate with those words? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said they all have connotations of feeling trapped and constrained.

So what I'd like to think about now is what might the significance of those connotations be? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Now as Sophia says, "Maybe it's just that Juliet feels if she's trapped, she must take this potion because there's no other alternative for her".

So, what I'd like you to do now is think about the following lines from Juliet's speech.

"And madly play with my forefathers' joints, and pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud, and, in this rage, with some great kinsman's bone, as with a club, dash out my desperate brains".

So what I'd like you to think about first is how would you describe Julie's language here? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now as we said earlier, Juliet here is describing how she might take the bones of one of her ancestors and use it to kill herself.

So you might think her language is violent, mad, and desperate.

So what I'd like to think about now is how might we see this contradictory to the idea of her resolve strengthening? How might it give us the opposite impression? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back everyone, some great ideas there.

You might have said that mad desperate language is the opposite of certain and sure language.

It suggests that Juliet's feeling out of control rather than in control.

So, now have 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 language suggests desperation? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

The correct answer is true.

Now I'd like you 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 "Her use of words such as 'strangled' and 'stifled' suggests she she feels trapped and scared; furthermore, 'dash out my desperate brains' indicates a sense of violent desperation".

So very well done if you got those right.

Amazing work everyone.

Now the first task of the lesson.

So, I'd like to think about the following ideas.

Arguably, Juliet's result take the potion strengthens as the speech progresses.

However, arguably, how language is contradictory, because as her resolve appears to strengthen the desperation in her language increases.

I'd like to think about whether you think Juliet is demonstrating agency in this scene.

Why or why not? So pause the video, take a few minutes to discuss.

Welcome back everyone, some great discussions there.

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

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

The fact that her resolve strengthens even though she feels trapped, shows her demonstrating control over her actions".

And Alex said, "I don't think she is showing agency.

I think the fact she feels trapped and desperate demonstrates she feels if she has no other choice".

So, pause the video, think about whose ideas align most closely with your ideas.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now looking at the language of a character offers us one layer of meaning.

We're now gonna spend the next learning cycle looking at the rhythm of Juliet's speech, and how it too, contributes to ideas of her agency.

Amazing work everyone.

Now the second learning cycle.

We're going to think about iambic pentameter in Juliet's speech and how it relates to ideas of control and agency.

So, "We're going to focus on the rhythm of Juliet's speech".

Now this is something I know can seem intimidating, but we're going to break it down into steps and think about how we can relate it to ideas of Juliet's agency.

So, "The rhythm in our speech is the beat or flow of our speech.

It's created by stressed and unstressed syllables in a line.

For example, if you say the word 'belong' you stress the second syllable.

You pronounce it as louder and longer than the first".

So, we might then represent that as 'be long'.

where the X represents the unstressed syllable and the slash represents the stressed syllable.

Now each unit of stressed and unstressed syllables creates a 'foot'.

This foot is called an 'iamb' because it has an unstressed then a stressed syllable".

Now this is incredibly important in a play because the lines are meant to be read aloud.

We're meant to hear the beat and flow of the character speeches.

Now, Typically, Juliet speaks in iambic pentameter".

Traditionally Shakespearean characters of noble or high class speak in blank verse throughout his plays, which is unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Now, iambic pentameter is a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.

Now, the best way to work out the syllables in the line is to say them aloud.

So if we say, "My dis mal scene I needs must act a lone", we can see it has 10 syllables that follow the unstressed and stressed syllable pattern.

Now, "The rhythm of iambic pentameter is often said to be like a heartbeat: da dum da dum da dum da dum".

So if we can connect this rhythm to a heartbeat, how do you think it's being in iambic pentameter might relate to a character's emotions? Pause a video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

Now as Izzy says, "If a character speaking in regular iambic pentameter, it might suggest their heartbeat is steady, so they aren't feeling any spikes in emotion".

When we're feeling calm, our heartbeat stays the same.

So that suggests that we're feeling peaceful rather than feeling heightened emotions.

So what I'd like you to think about now is what might it then suggest if a character slips out of iambic pentameter and breaks the rhythm of their speech? How might it relate to ideas of emotion and control? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

Now as Aisha says, "I think it's just they're feeling out of control.

They're no longer able to keep their emotions in check because they've slipped outta the regular rhythm".

Now I know it can seem intimidating.

Try to work out the exact rhythm a character's speaking in, but you don't have to know to analyse it.

What I'd recommend you do is, count the syllables in each line and see whether there's same amount of syllables.

If there's the same amount of syllables, it's a regular rhythm.

If there's a different amount of syllables it's an irregular rhythm.

Then you can start to connect those ideas of regularity and irregularity to the character's emotions.

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 regularity of the rhythm in a character's speech relates their emotional state.

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

The correct answer is true.

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

Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back everyone.

You might have said: "When a character is speaking in a regular rhythm that suggests their emotions are steady.

If they drop out of a regular rhythm, that suggests they aren't able to keep their emotions under control".

So very well done if you got those right.

So, let's look at the following section of Juliet's speech.

"Oh, if I wake, shall I not be distraught, environed with all these hideous fears, and madly play with my forefathers' joints and pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud, and, in this rage, with some great kinsman's bone, as with a club, dash out my desperate brains?" Now here, Juliet's using desperate violent imagery to talk about killing herself, but she's speaking in iambic pentamter.

So what I'd like to think about is why might this be significant? How might it relate to ideas of Juliet's agency? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

Now, as Sophia says, "I think it's significant because it suggests that Juliet feels in control of her emotions when talking about her hypothetical death.

Perhaps it suggests she's exerting agency in this moment because Shakespeare implies she's in control through the regular iambic pentameter".

So, now have a quick check for understanding.

So "What does Juliet speaking in iambic pentamter regarding her death arguably reveal?" Is it A, she feels scared of the thought of dying? B, she doesn't feel in control of her emotions? Or C, she feels in control of her emotions? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now speaking in iambic pentameter implies a steady heartbeat and rhythm.

So it suggests she feels in control of her emotions.

So very well done if you got that right.

However, there are moments where Juliet drops out of iambic pentameter.

For example, "Seeking out Romeo that did spit his body upon a rapier's point! Stay, Tybalt, stay!" Here, if we say the lines aloud, we can see that, "seeking out Romeo that did spit his body", has 12 syllables, and, "Upon a rapier's point, stay, Tybalt, stay", has 11 syllables.

So not the 10 syllables that iambic pentamter should have.

Now, here Juliet's talking about Tybalt's ghost seeking revenge on Romeo.

So what I'd like you to think about is what might the significance of this be? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

Now, speaking out of iambic pentameter suggests that Juliet's feeling heightened emotion here because of the rhythm of her speech.

The heartbeat of the speech is faster than normal.

That might suggest she feels more emotional about Romeo's death than her own hypothetical death.

Now the final line of Juliet's speech is, "Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here's drink.

I drink to thee." So here, Juliet's saying she's drinking the potion for Romeo.

Now, this line has 16 syllables which means it's the most far removed iambic pentameter in the speech.

So what I'd like you to think about is what might the significance of this be? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

You might have said because it's the most far removed from iambic pentameter, that suggest it indicates that Juliet feels the most out of control here.

Now this is really significant because it's the moment she takes the potion.

So perhaps it's suggest she's not exerting agency.

She's taken the potion for Romeo.

So, now for a quick check for understanding.

So 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 final line indicates she feels in control? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

The 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 that "Juliet's final line is not written in iambic pentameter which suggests she does not feel in control at this point.

So very well done if you got those right.

Amazing work everyone.

We now have the final task of the lesson.

So what I'd like you to do is complete the following sentences to summarise Shakespeare's use of rhythm in Juliet's speech.

So, "Juliet speaks in regular iambic pentameter when speaking of her own death.

Arguably, this indicates Juliet slips out of iambic pentameter when talking about Romeo's potential death.

Arguably, this indicates Juliet's final line is the most far removed from iambic pentameter and sees Juliet suggesting that drinking the potent is for Romeo.

Potentially, Shakespeare's intention through this might've been to.

." So pause the video, complete the sentences now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some fantastic work there.

You might have said, "Juliet speaks in regular iambic pentameter when speaking of her own death.

Arguably, this indicates she feels emotionally stable when talking of her death and that may show exerting agency.

Juliet slips out of iambic pentameter when talking about Romeo's potential death.

Arguably, this indicates she feels more emotional about Romeo's potential death than her own and may undermine her agency.

Juliet's final line is the most far removed from iambic pentameter and sees Juliet suggesting that drinking the potion is for Romeo.

Potentially, Shakespeare's intention through this might have been to suggest that Juliet's not acting independently in her decision to take the potion.

She's acting for Romeo more than she's acting for herself.

Since it's the final line of the speech, maybe Shakespeare wants to think that actually Juliet doesn't have agency in this moment because that's our final impression of her speech.

Now, I'd really encourage you to take these ideas about rhythm and use them in your analysis of plays going forward.

Say the words aloud, see how they sound to you.

Do they create a steady calm rhythm or do they create an erratic rhythm? How might that relate to the character's emotional state? You all did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

"Potentially, we might see Juliet's resolve as strengthening as her speech progresses.

However, the increasingly desperate language might seem contradictory to this and could undermine her agency.

Speaking in regular iambic pentameter arguably indicates calm emotions since it reflects a steady heartbeat.

Juliet speaks in iambic pentameter when talking about her death which suggests she feels in control.

However, her final line is the most removed from iambic pentameter and could undermine her agency.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson everyone.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.