Romeo and Juliet: Who is to Blame?
For the final assessment of Romeo and Juliet, you are going to write a persuasive 5 paragraph minimum essay on who is to blame for the death of Juliet. Your role is that of a prosecuting attorney, and your audience is the Prince and the jury convened to punish those responsible for her death. Think carefully about the events of the play and the choices made by the various characters, and remember, you must use a formal tone (consider your role and your audience).
This paper will be done over 2 days. The first day, you are going to write a 1st draft of the paper in class. During class, you may ONLY use your notes to assist you in your writing of the paper. That night, you will be revising the paper for homework, but NOT writing the final draft. The second day in class, you are going to write the final draft of the essay. You only have the 45 minutes in class to complete the assignment so if you do not do a good job of revising your paper the night before, it will be difficult to finish the whole paper on time. Once the period is over, I will be collecting both your first and final draft to see what revisions and corrections you have made.
Criteria for paper
· double-spaced, typed
· Times New Roman, 12 point font
· 1 inch margin on all sides
· name, teacher name, period, date in upper right corner
· must include at least one direct quote from the play
· no shorter than 1 page; no longer than 3
· Honors students are required to include one properly cited quote from the play as evidence.
How to cite quotes from Shakespeare's play:
Hamlet debates whether "To be or not to be" (3.1.56).
This tells the reader the quote is taken from act 3, scene 1, line 56 of the play. Note the punctuation and capitalization. Since the line initially starts with a capital T, it does so in your essay as well. If the quote you have selected ends with a period or a comma, you do not place either before the last quotation mark; all you need to do is place a period after the last parenthesis.
Sample Outline:
I. Intro
A. Motivator
B. Thesis Statement
C. Blueprint (list of the three things your character did/did not do that lead to Juliet's death)
II. Body- The first thing your character did/did not do
A. Topic sentence- State the thing the character did or didn't do
B. Support- Explain how this leads to her death
C. Support- Explain how this leads to her death
D. Support- Explain how this leads to her death
E. Transition- Lead to the next paragraph
III. Body- The second thing your character did/did not do
A. Topic sentence- State the thing the character did or didn't do
B. Support- Explain how this leads to her death
C. Support- Explain how this leads to her death
D. Support- Explain how this leads to her death
E. Transition- Lead to the next paragraph
IV. Body- The third thing your character did/did not do
A. Topic sentence- State the thing the character did or didn't do
B. Support- Explain how this leads to her death
C. Support- Explain how this leads to her death
D. Support- Explain how this leads to her death
E. Transition- Lead to the next paragraph
V. Conclusion
A. Restate your thesis; for example: "Based on the evidence presented, it is clear that Friar Lawrence is . . ."
B. Review your evidence
C. Clincher- close your essay with a statement, prediction,
What to include in your ‘Death of Juliet’ essay’s introductory and concluding paragraphs.
For the intro, supply all the elements you have done in the past for this type of writing:
- A motivator that encourages or ‘hooks’ the reader to continue reading
- Key information about the work being discussed – this includes the author’s name and the title. Also, it is of vital importance that you include a brief summary of the work; this can be accomplished in a sentence or two.
- Your thesis statement, also known as ‘the claim’ – what does your paper purport to prove?
- A blueprint that maps out what your body paragraphs will be proving. In this specific case, your blueprint will either be a list in sentence format of either the characters responsible for Juliet’s death or the three reasons why the character you selected is responsible.
- Restate (and reword) the argument your paper is attempting to prove (i.e. your thesis)
- Repeat the elements of your blueprint
- Write a final piece of commentary – this is the “clincher”. This comment brings your argument to a close, possibly be extending your argument to a wider picture. Students frequently refer to this as the most difficult part of an essay.
Here are some samples:
Intro:
Even before opening the cover of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, many readers already know the play’s tragic conclusion. The drama concludes with the suicides of the title characters, whose marriage was thought to end their families’ long-standing feud. While Juliet Capulet is certainly to blame for taking her own life, it is clear that there are three characters that are responsible for placing her in the position to do so. By examining their roles in the play, it is clear that Friar Laurence, Benvolio, and the Capulets’ illiterate servant are the characters most to blame for Juliet’s untimely death.
Conclusion:
When their actions (or inaction) in Romeo and Juliet are examined, it is clear that three secondary characters are responsible for Juliet’s death. Friar Laurence, Benvolio, and the servant who mistakenly invites Romeo to the party are all partially responsible for placing Juliet in a position where suicide seemed the only possible exit. Of the three, Friar Laurence is the one most worthy of scorn – not only did he agree to marry the two together, he abandoned a girl he knew to be suicidal. When the Prince decrees at the end of the play that “Some shall be pardoned, and some punishèd” (V.iii.324), the Friar is the most deserving of whatever punishment Escalus has in store.
Sample Partial Essay
John Q. Student
Mr. McLean
Period 2
5/13/11
Romeo is Most Responsible
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet ends with the tragic suicides of the title characters. However, are they the only
ones to blame for their deaths? Specifically, there is one character that is to blame for Juliet’s suicide. Because of his
impulsive nature, Romeo is the one to blame for her death. This is obvious when he kills Tybalt, immediately thinks of
buying deadly poison, and kills himself before seeing if J. is really dead.
Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge for Mercutio’s death. However, if Romeo had only spoken the truth to Tybalt about his
marriage, Juliet’s eventual suicide would have been prevented. This is because his killing of Tybalt causes him to be
exiled. His exile causes Juliet’ depression, which the parents assume is over Tybalt, and force her to marry Paris. This
situation leads to her faking her death, which in turn causes Romeo to speedily find a way to end is life. His death leaves
Juliet to kill herself.
The second rash decision Romeo makes that brings about Juliet’s death is purchasing the poison to kill himself.
Immediately after Balthasar tells him of Juliet’s death, Romeo runs out to purchase a deadly poison. . .