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Year 11
AQA

'Romeo and Juliet': exploring Juliet's agency in Act 4, Scene 1

I can explain Juliet’s agency in Act 4, Scene 1 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

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Year 11
AQA

'Romeo and Juliet': exploring Juliet's agency in Act 4, Scene 1

I can explain Juliet’s agency in Act 4, Scene 1 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Arguably, Paris’ use of imperative language suggests that men stereotypically dictated women’s life choices.
  2. Paris’ claim “thy face is mine” could reveal how women were not considered in control of their bodies.
  3. We might see Juliet’s desire to die as a way of taking control of her life.
  4. However, this might be undermined since her desire to die comes from her wish to remain “unstained” for Romeo.
  5. We might see Juliet’s use of imperatives as subverting contemporary stereotypes of women.

Keywords

  • Agency - the capacity of an individual to act independently from others and to make their own free choices

  • Imperative language - most commonly used to give a command or instruction

  • Dictating - to give orders, or tell someone exactly what they must do

  • Stereotype - a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like

Common misconception

That Paris is an unimportant plot device in 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Paris' interactions with Lord Capulet and Juliet arguably reveal contemporary stereotypes of relationships between men and women.


To help you plan your year 11 english lesson on: 'Romeo and Juliet': exploring Juliet's agency in Act 4, Scene 1, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You could extend the thinking around Juliet's voice by thinking about where else in the play we see her voice as the final voice in the scene and what it might reveal about women and agency.
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Equipment

This lesson uses an extract taken from Act 4, Scene 1 of 'Romeo and Juliet'. It's available in the additional materials.

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
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Supervision

Adult supervision required

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
'The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human' is the definition of .
Correct Answer: personification, personify, to personify
Q2.
'A set idea that people have about what someone or something is like' is the definition of which word beginning with 's'?
Correct Answer: stereotype, a stereotype, stereotypical, stereotyping
Q3.
Starting with the first, put these events from Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' in chronological order.
1 - Lady Capulet tells Juliet of her potential marriage with Count Paris.
2 - Juliet meets Romeo at the Capulet ball.
3 - Romeo and Juliet marry in secret.
4 - Lord Capulet demands that Juliet marries Count Paris.
5 - Juliet fakes her death.
Q4.
The word 'maybe' is an example of which of the following?
interrogative language
imperative language
Correct answer: tentative language
Q5.
'An official who watches a game or match closely to enforce the rules and arbitrate on matters arising from the play' is the definition of which word beginning with 'u'?
Correct Answer: umpire, an umpire
Q6.
'The capacity of an individual to act independently from others and to make their own free choices' is the definition of which word beginning with 'a'?
Correct Answer: agency

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Paris says to Juliet: "Thy face is ".
Correct Answer: mine
Q2.
Language most commonly used to give a command or instruction is which of the following?
declarative
interrogative
Correct answer: imperative
exclamative
Q3.
In Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Juliet expresses her desire to die so that she can “live an wife” to Romeo.
Correct Answer: unstained
Q4.
'To give orders, or tell someone exactly what they must do' is the definition of which of the following?
pleading
Correct answer: dictating
proposing
Q5.
In Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Juliet says: “’Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife / Shall play the ”.
Correct Answer: umpire
Q6.
In Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Juliet responds to Friar Lawrence's suggestion of a potion with “Give me, give me!”. Arguably this shows which of the following?
Juliet's fear of potential death
Correct answer: Juliet taking control
Juliet giving away control

Additional material

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