The goal of your blog is to express the thoughts, feelings, and history of your chosen character in a variety of ways. As you design your blog, you should always consider whether you are representing your character accurately, based on the text. It is absolutely fine to add details to your character’s life that are not mentioned in the text, as long as they are both appropriate to our school context and in line with the way the author describes your character.
Each group will create their own blog at blogspot.com for their character. We will be visiting the blog at the end of each act in Romeo and Juliet and there will be class time set aside to do this. I will link all the blogs to our class blog, but please become followers of the other blogs as you will need to visit them to comment on blog posts, try their surveys, and view their content.
Everyone’s blog MUST have ALL of the following (although you can choose at which stage of the play you include these):
• At least five posts written from the perspective of your character at the end of each act. These posts should be at least 250 words each. Each post must reflect content and themes of the act that was just read. Use the “ Act One: Things to Consider” section below to assist with your blog post.
• At least one post must have a related image within it.
• A sidebar that includes at least three links grouped around a theme of interest to your
Character
• A header with a title that matches your character and blog content, with a quotation
related to your character from the novel as a subtitle.
• A photo of your character (as you imagine him or her) on the sidebar with a brief
description of your character (role in life, relationships, goals, location, etc.)
As well, everyone’s blog MUST have ONE of the following:
• A link to a video or an embedded video
• A survey for viewers
• An additional set of links grouped around another theme
• Photo slideshow
• graphic and quotation
Each time we post, you will also be responsible for visiting each of the other character’s blogs and respond, via character, to their post/content of their blog page.
ACT ONE: THINGS TO CONSIDER
Literary Elements
Foreshadowing: The Prologue states that this is the story of “star-crossed lovers.” There are four strong foreshadowings of evil in Act 1.
Pun: A pun is a play on words. Usually a pun involves words that sound alike, even though they are spelled differently and have different meanings. In scene 4, Romeo is punning when he tells Mercutio why he cannot dance. “You have dancing shoes / With nimble soles. I have a soul of lead / So stakes me to the ground I cannot move” (1.4.14-16).
Paradox: A paradox is a statement that appears to contradict itself, but that on closer examination reveals a truth. For example, when Juliet describes Romeo as “My only love, sprung from my only hate!” (1.5.152) she appears to contradict herself. On closer examination, however, you understand that she realizes a sad fact: Romeo, her “only love,” belongs to the Montague family, a family she has been taught to despise since birth, hence, her “only hate.” In scene 1, Romeo describes his love for Rosaline in a series of paradoxes. See 1.1.181-187.
Aside: An aside is a remark whispered by one character to another, which other characters on stage are not supposed to hear. In Scene 1, for example, when Sampson and Gregory pick a fight with the Montagues, they plan their strategy through whispered asides.
Discussion questions (you do not have to answer the questions in your post, but you may want to take them into consideration when you are writing your blog post and commenting on the other character’s blogs)
- Discuss the sources of tension in the first scene. Why are these characters upset?
- How does Romeo describe the woman he loves in Scene 1? Refer to things like word choice, connotation, tone, figures of speech, and so on.
- Describe the Nurse. Describe her relationship with Juliet.
- Who are Romeo’s friends and what is their plan? Discuss the debate they have with Romeo, as well as their motivations for this plan.
- Describe Romeo’s reaction when he first sees Juliet.
- Discuss the parallelism between Romeo’s “story” and Paris’ “story so far in Act 1.
- Refer to Mercutio’s lines in Act 1. What kind of friend is he to Romeo? Would you like to have him for a friend? If so, why? If not, why ?
- Discuss the Prologue and what you already know about the play. If you were Romeo and Juliet, would you follow love or stay loyal to your family and friends? Explain your reasons.
So . . . for today . . . write 250 words that looks at the content of Act One, through the perspective of your character. this will give us a sense of who they are, as well as chroncicle the events (only those that they would be privy to) that took place and their attitude/opinion of these events.
Further, you will need to comment on each of the other character's posts. I would recommend "following" their blogs, but you will also be able to access each of the blogs through this main blog once the addresses for each character have been uploaded
