'Romeo and Juliet': honour, violence and masculinity in Act 5, Scene 3
I can explain how honour, violence and masculinity are presented in Act 5, Scene 3 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
'Romeo and Juliet': honour, violence and masculinity in Act 5, Scene 3
I can explain how honour, violence and masculinity are presented in Act 5, Scene 3 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Potentially, Paris’ defense of Juliet’s honour may show that men’s honour was affected by the women in their life.
- Arguably, both Paris and Romeo show a reluctance to engage in violence.
- Through their reluctance, perhaps Shakespeare is criticising societal expectations on men.
- Throughout ‘Romeo and Juliet’, it’s been suggested that male honour comes from defending it through violence.
- However, at the end of the play, Lord Capulet and Lord Montague’s actions suggest that honour now comes from civility.
Keywords
Cessation - the fact of something ending or stopping
Dishonourable - bringing shame or disgrace on someone or something
Civil - polite, respectful, or considerate in manner
Generous - showing a readiness to give more of something, especially money, than is necessary or expected
Common misconception
That the male characters in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' are always keen to fight.
In Act 5, Scene 3, Romeo and Paris both seem reluctant to fight.
To help you plan your year 11 english lesson on: 'Romeo and Juliet': honour, violence and masculinity in Act 5, Scene 3, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 english lesson on: 'Romeo and Juliet': honour, violence and masculinity in Act 5, Scene 3, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 english lessons from the Romeo and Juliet: the integral role of violence and honour to masculinity unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You may wish to have a copy of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
- Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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