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.

So today's session is called "Romeo and Juliet: Exploring the Perception of Sin and Societal Expectations." So we're going to focus on how Juliet perceives sin in Act four, Scene one, and how we can arguably see a judgement on sin being influenced by societal expectations of religion and gender.

Then we're going to have a look at a model response.

Think about how we can express those ideas about sin in our writing.

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

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to explore the perception of sin in "Romeo and Juliet" and how it relates to societal expectations.

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

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

So first keyword is sin, which means the offence of breaking, or the breaking of, a religious or moral law.

Our second key word is religious sin, which means the transgression against divine law that results in lasting punishment from God.

We're going to be thinking about Juliet's perception of sin and religious sin, and how perceptions might relate to societal expectations.

Our third keyword is sanctified, which means to make something or someone holy.

We're going to be thinking about how Shakespeare arguably presents Romeo and Juliet's marriage as sanctified, and how that might relate the concept of religious sin.

Our fourth keyword is societal expectations, which means the beliefs and norms society holds about how individuals should behave and act.

We're going to be thinking about how societal expectations of religion and gender might influence Juliet's decision making and her perception of sin.

Our final keyword is bigamy, which means the act of entering into a marriage with one person still legally married to another.

If Juliet had married Count Paris, she would've been committing bigamy.

We're going to think about her perception of the sinful nature of bigamy.

So I'll just give you a moment to write down those key words 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 in Act four, Scene one, and think about what conclusions we can draw about how she perceives sin, and how the perception might be being influenced by societal expectations.

For our second learning cycle, we're gonna deconstruct a model paragraph on the question of Juliet's perception of sin and think about why it's an effective response.

So let's just begin with a little bit of contextual information, as that will help us understand some of the ideas around sin in "Romeo and Juliet." So religion was an integral part of Elizabethan England.

Therefore religious sin was an important consideration in society.

Now, religious sin is one of our keywords, means the transgression against divine law that results in lasting punishment from God.

Now arguably, the concept of religious sin can be seen throughout "Romeo and Juliet" because Romeo and Juliet commit a religious sin by taking their own lives.

Juliet fakes their own death to avoid the sin of bigamy.

Now, sin and bigamy are two of our keywords.

So sin means the offensive of breaking, or the breaking of, a religious or moral law, and bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another.

So Juliet would've been broken moral or religious law by marrying Count Paris while she was already married to Romeo.

Now, in this lesson, we're gonna specifically focus on Juliet and this perception of sin.

Now, we might think of Juliet as having to make a judgement about sin in "Romeo and Juliet," because arguably she must choose between the sin of taking her own life.

Now, suicide sins are religious sin in Elizabethan period.

Those who committed suicide could not be buried on consecrated ground, or she must choose a sin of committing bigamy.

Now, this was definitely considered a moral sin in the Elizabethan period, and some religious sects also consider it a sin against God.

So what I'd like to think about is, what might the significance of Juliet's choice be? What might it reveal? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back everyone, some great ideas there.

Now as our Oak People, Izzy, says, "By making a judgement on which sin to commit, Juliet's choice might reveal ideas about societal expectations and the perception of sin." So it reveals is the beliefs and norms that society held around how individuals should behave.

Now in Act four, Scene one, Juliet declared she'd rather take her own life than marry Count Paris.

So what I'd like to think about is what's the significance of this line in terms of religious sin? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone, some fantastic ideas there.

Now as Oak People, Sofia, says, "I think it signifies that Juliet sees bigamy as the greatest sin.

She'd rather commit the sin of taking her own life than sin against Romeo, her husband." 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 refused to commit religious sin within "Romeo and Juliet?" Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

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.

We might have said that Juliet states a desire to take her own life, a religious sin.

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

So now let's think about how Juliet perceives the concept of bigamy by thinking about her language in Act four, Scene one.

So speaking of her marriage to Romeo, Juliet says, "God joined my heart and Romeos." So what I'd like you to think about is what is the significance of this line in terms of how she sees her marriage? Think about the phrase, "God joined." What might it suggest? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back everyone, some great ideas there.

You might have thought the idea of God joining them together shows that Juliet sees their marriage as religiously sanctified.

Now, sanctified is one of our key words, it's to make something or someone holy.

So Juliet perceives her marriage as holy.

Therefore, to commit bigamy would be a religious sin.

So we have the idea of religious influence affecting a perception of sin.

Now let's think about the influence of gendered stereotypes.

So Juliet also says she would, "Die without fear or doubt to live an unstained wife to my sweet love." Now, in this context, to be unstained means that Julia wished to be a pure and honourable wife to Romeo.

So what I'd like you to think about is how much Julie's desire to be unstained linked to societal expectations for women in Elizabethan England.

Remember that Elizabethan England was a patriarchal society.

Men were in control and women were expected to be obedient and submissive.

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

Welcome back everyone, some great ideas there.

Now, our Oak People, Sam, said, "Juliet specifically used the term 'unstained wife.

' So I think the idea of being unstained links the idea that women are supposed to be faithful to their husbands.

The word stained arguably has connotations of sexual shame, which could link how women were specifically expected to be sexually pure and faithful to the husbands." So what I'd like you to think about is whether or not you agree with Sam's ideas.

Why or why not? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, I think this word unstained is so important to the understanding of Juliet.

We often see her as a progressive character by marrying according to her heart, rather than her father's wishes.

However, I think we can see in her language, she very much sees and understands the importance of conforming to societal expectations of how wife should behave.

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 perception of sin, arguably links to societal expectations for women? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

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, "By saying she wishes to remain unstained, Juliet's arguably linking sin to the societal expectation that women should be loyal and faithful to their husbands." So very well done if you got those right.

Amazing work everyone.

And now the first task of the lesson.

Now, we might interpret Juliet's perception of sin in the following two ways.

She thinks that bigamy is the greater sin because she sees her marriage to Romeo as sanctified by God.

She thinks that bigamy is the greater sin because of the idea that women should be loyal and faithful to their husbands.

So what I'd like you to think about is how might we see both interpretations as connecting the concept of sin with societal expectations? So pause the video, take a few minutes to discuss.

Welcome back everyone, some fantastic discussions there.

Now what I'd like you to do is think about Lucas' ideas, whether or not you agree, why or why not? So Lucas said, "I think both interpretations connect the concept of sin to societal expectations, because Juliet's perception of bigamy as the greater sin, due to the religious sanctification of her marriage, could be seen as coming from religious doctrine and teachings.

Furthermore, her wish to remain unstained for Romeo could beal expectations of a patriarchal society." So pause the video, think about whether or not you agree with Lucas' ideas.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, as I said earlier, I think these ideas are so important for how we view Juliet as a character, and Shakespeare's intentions.

By showing this track between these societal expectations, perhaps Shakespeare's demonstrating the pressures societal expectations placed on women.

Amazing work everyone.

And now the second learning cycle.

We're going to deconstruct a model response to see how we might turn our ideas from the first learning cycle into an analytical paragraph and what makes an effective response.

So before we read through the model response, let's remind ourselves what an effective response should include.

So it should include a topic sentence that explains the focus of the paragraph.

It should include tentative language.

Remember, there's no one right definitive answer about a text.

We want to make sure we're offering our ideas, rather than saying something concrete and absolute.

It should include analysis of methods.

Now, methods might include analysis of the language, form, or structure.

When you're talking about methods, you want to make sure you explain the effect of the method on the reader, rather than simply pointing out what method is being used.

It should also include a concluding sentence that summarises the paragraph and considers the writer's intentions.

Now it also might include alternative interpretations in order to create a convincing argument.

Now this can be incredibly effective, because you are showing your understanding of the text by how it might be interpreted in different ways.

We are also showing how there's multiple interpretations all linked to your argument, and that makes your argument seem very convincing to the reader.

So let's read through the model response together.

Now I'm gonna read the model response to you, and you can follow along with me, or you can read it through by yourself.

There's a copy of the model response in the additional materials if you'd like to read it through yourself.

So I'm gonna press play now.

So let's read through the model response on Juliet's perception of sin in Act four, Scene one.

"Shakespeare arguably considers the nature of sin and societal expectations through Juliet's perception of sin in Act four, Scene one.

When speaking of her marriage, Juliet declares that God joined her and Romeo together.

Arguably this bestows religious sanctification onto their marriage, since it implies that God both intended and facilitated their union.

Because she sees her marriage as religiously sanctified, we might interpret Juliet's perception of bigamy as a religious sin.

Alternatively, we might also see Juliet's perception of bigamy as stemming from societal expectations of how a wife should behave.

Juliet suggests that she would willingly take her own life in order to remain an unstained wife.

Unstained has connotations of being pure, and Juliet specifically connects his image of being pure with being a wife.

In Elizabethan England, women we're expected to be loyal and faithful to their husbands.

Therefore, we might see Julie's desire to be unstained as adhering to societal expectations of how wife should behave and act.

In both interpretations, we can see the concept of sin being connected to societal expectations where those expectations come from religion or the patriarchy.

Perhaps by connecting the concept of sin to societal expectations, Shakespeare suggests that sin is a social construct.

It is society that decides what is sinful rather than sin being universally innate and understood." Now we're going to spend the rest of the learning cycle deconstructing this model response and thinking about how it's an effective response.

Welcome back everyone.

Now what I'd like you to think about is whether or not you think it's an effective analytical paragraph.

Why or why not? So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back everyone.

Now we're going to spend the rest of the learning cycle deconstructing the elements of the response and seeing how it meets the criteria of effective analytical paragraph.

So let's deconstruct the elements of the model response.

So we want to open every analytical paragraph with a topic sentence that explains the focus of the paragraph.

So the model says, "Shakespeare arguably considers the nature of sin and societal expectations through Juliet's perception of sin in Act four, Scene one." So what I'd like you to think about is why is this an effective topic sentence? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back everyone.

You might have said it informs the reader of the specific theme and the focal scene.

So we know we're focusing on the perception of sin, and we know the paragraph's going to focus on Act four, Scene one.

It also offers a clear indication of the focus of the paragraph.

We know it's going to focus on Juliet's perception of sin in relation to societal expectations.

So now let's deconstruct the body of the analytical paragraph.

So it says, "When speaking of her marriage, Juliet declares that God joined her and Romeo together.

Now arguably, this bestows religious sanctification onto their marriage, since it implies that God both intended and facilitated their union.

Because she sees their marriage religiously sanctified, we might interpret Julia's perception of bigamy as a religious sin." So by using the word arguably implies a might.

The model is using tentative language, which is important, 'cause there's no one correct interpretation of a text.

We want to show we're offering our ideas about the text rather than definitive idea of what it's about.

Now the model focuses on the phrase "God joined," and says this bestows religious sanctification on their marriage since it implies that God both intended and facilitated their union.

So here the model has analysed the methods.

Now what's really important here is the analysis doesn't say what method is being used, but it rather explains the effect of the method to the reader.

Then by using the sentence, "Because she sees her marriage as religiously sanctified, we might interpret Julia's perception of bigamy as a religious sin," the model's linking the analysis to the argument.

Now this is such an important part of creating a cohesive, convincing argument.

You always want to make sure everything you say is building up your argument and solidifying it in the reader's mind.

Now, let's deconstruct the second half of the paragraph.

So it says, "Alternatively, we might also see Juliet's perception of bigamy as stemming from societal expectations of how a wife should behave.

Julie suggested she would willingly take her own life in order to remain an unstained wife.

Unstained has connotations of being pure, and Juliet specifically connects this image of being pure with being a wife.

In Elizabethan England, women were expected to be loyal and faithful to their husbands.

Therefore, we might see Julie's desire to be unstained as adhering to societal expectations of how wife should behave and act." So here the model opens with alternatively, which is a discourse marker that's usually presenting alternative interpretation.

Now, these can be incredibly effective, 'cause they can show how a text can be interpreted in different ways, and every interpretation links to your argument about the text.

We can again see the use of tentative language through the use of might.

We can also see in this half of the paragraph, focusing in on the word unstained, and analysing the connotations of that word, and that creates the image of something pure.

Finally, we again see how this analysis is linked to the argument by connecting ideas of purity with the expectations of how women should behave in Elizabethan England.

So now let's think about the conclusion to the paragraph.

"In both interpretations, we can see the concept of sin being connected to societal expectations, whether those expectations come from religion or the patriarchy.

Perhaps by connecting the concept of sin to societal expectations, Shakespeare suggests that sin is a social construct.

It's society that decides what is sinful, rather than sin being universally innate and understood." So what I'd like you to do is tell me what's effective about these concluding sentences.

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

Welcome back everyone.

You might have said it summarises the main argument of the paragraph by saying we can see the concept of sin being linked to societal expectations of religion and gender.

It also considers Shakespeare's intentions by thinking about what Shakespeare might be trying to say about the nature of sin and society.

So now I 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 adding an alternative interpretation could be an effective addition to an analytical paragraph? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

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 adding alternative interpretations demonstrates there are multiple ways you can reach the same conclusion based on the textual evidence.

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

Fantastic work everyone.

Now the final task of the lesson, now the model response is a single analytical paragraph.

To develop your argument into longer response, you want to think about where there might be further moments in the text that support your interpretation of the text.

So what I'd like to think about is where else in "Romeo and Juliet" can you see examples of Romeo and Juliet's love being associated with religion and Juliet adhering to the social expectations of a wife? I'd like you to write a few notes to show your examples.

So pause the video, write your notes now.

Welcome back everyone, amazing work there.

What I'd like you to do is read back through your notes.

Did you include the following ideas? That Romeo Juliet's religious language says pilgrim and shrine in their first conversation in Act one, Scene five.

That Juliet specifically says she cannot speak ill of her husband in Act three, Scene five.

By calling Romeo husband, rather than by his name, Shakespeare implies that Julia is adhering to societal expectations of how a wife should behave through her loyalty.

So pause the video, read back through your notes now.

Welcome back everyone.

Now hopefully you can take these ideas about what makes an effective response and use them in any writing you do going forward.

You all did amazingly well, today, everyone.

Here's the summary of what we covered.

By taking their own lives, Romeo and Juliet are committing a religious sin.

Arguably, Juliet perceives the sin of bigamy as a greater sin than taking her own life because she chooses to take her own life rather than marry Count Paris, which would be bigamy, because she is already married to Romeo.

We might suggest Shakespeare positioned Romeo and Juliet's marriage as religiously sanctified.

So we might see Shakespeare presenting Romeo and Juliet's marriage as something holy through the idea it was God who joined them together.

We also have the religious language used in their first meeting, which positions Romeo as a pilgrim to Juliet shrine, which suggests they're on a religious journey to find each other.

Alternatively, we could say that Juliet's perception of sin has been influenced by societal expectations of women.

So we might see her desire to be unstained for Romeo as influenced by the patriarchal idea that women should be pure and faithful to their husbands.

Arguably both interpretations link the perception of sin to societal expectations.

I really hope you enjoy the lesson, everyone.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.