Starter (10 mins approx.)

Show students a version of Act 1 Scene 5 before starting this lesson, to give them an overview of this key moment in the text. Once you have finished watching, ask students about the similarities between this scene and the opening scene of the play.

How does Shakespeare use public/private spaces and violence/emotion to create contrasts between characters? What effect does it have on characters’ behaviour to have this scene take place at a party, but at a party where identities are disguised?

Main activity (30 mins approx.)

Start by asking students to look at Romeo’s speech as he sees Juliet for the first time – lines 51-60. In pairs, ask students to take it in turns to speak each rhyming couplet. On each syllable, ask them to tap their chest.

What effect does the rhythm have? What does it feel like to speak it? What emotions is Romeo experiencing at this moment in the text and how does the way he speaks show us this?

See the downloadable lesson plan for the full activity, prompt questions and more.

Plenary (10 mins approx.)

Ask students to look back at the edit on the page and count the number of lines down to where Romeo and Juliet kiss for the first time. Ask them to look closely at the way the lines are structured in terms of rhyme and syllables. Can they notice these lines adhering to any particular form they recognise?

Once they have realised this section of the text is a Shakespearean sonnet, ask students to consider why this might be. We have a love poem here, saturated with religious imagery – what is this conveying to the audience about Romeo and Juliet and why? In what ways is this setting them up as fated, ‘star-crossed lovers’?

Give students some time to write notes to summarise their findings from today’s lesson.

Starter (15 mins approx)

Show students a picture of a Catholic Priest and ask them what they would expect a Priest to believe and how they would expect them to behave, and what they would definitely expect them not to believe and how they would not expect them to behave, based on what they know of Christianity. Ensure this conversation is handled sensitively to respect the beliefs of all students in the classroom.

Now ask students to look at the Friar’s opening lines in Act 2 Scene 3, up to line 31. Ask students what they notice about space and place in this scene; Romeo has come to Friar Lawrence’s private outdoor space, where he is alone – and Friar Lawrence doesn’t notice Romeo until he speaks, so he thinks he is by himself the whole time.

This therefore means the Friar thinks no one can hear or see him – and might suggest that what he is saying is more representative of his true personal beliefs than those he is ‘supposed’ to hold as a man of religion.

Take it in turns to read each line around the classroom, and ask students to clap when they hear a word that has a religious or specifically Christian connotation. There should be no, or very few claps (depending on students’ interpretations). What does this tell them about Friar Lawrence and the importance of his faith to him when he is in private?

Now read the lines around the classroom again, the opposite way around, so students have the chance to say a different line – ask them to stand up when they hear a word associated with nature and the natural world.

What does this tell them about what Friar Lawrence considers to be important? Ask them what people in Shakespeare’s time might have thought about people who picked herbs and used them to make natural remedies, and who thought of Mother Nature being in control of Earth? How might these beliefs be in conflict with Friar Lawrence’s religious beliefs? If Romeo is going to Friar Lawrence for religious advice, what concerns might we have after meeting Friar Lawrence for the first time?

Main activity (25 mins approx)

Read through the provided Romeo and Friar Lawrence edit together and check for students’ understanding. Ask them the following guiding questions:

• What do we learn about the relationship between Friar Lawrence and Romeo? How close are they? What information does Friar Lawrence have about Romeo that other characters don’t have? What does this tell us? (Remind students that in the first scene of the play we learn that Romeo’s parents don’t know what is wrong with him – Romeo tells the Friar things he won’t tell his own parents)
• How does Friar Lawrence feel about Romeo’s declaration of love for Juliet? Does he believe him?
• Why does Friar Lawrence agree to marry Romeo, despite his misgivings? What do you think about this decision? How does Friar Lawrence’s quick change of heart echo the contradictory behaviour we have seen so far in this scene?

Now ask students to focus just on Romeo’s lines. Pair students up and ask them to take turns just saying Romeo’s lines to each other, ignoring Friar Lawrence’s. What do Romeo’s words reveal to them about his character and behaviour? Is he open to advice or not? What does he want from Friar Lawrence?

Plenary (15 mins approx.)

Introduce students to the concept of shared lines by explaining that Shakespeare uses iambic pentameter in his verse (ten syllables made up of five pairs of stressed and unstressed beats – da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM) and when a line of verse doesn’t contain ten syllables, this is for a specific reason.

Some lines are 11 or 9 syllables long, ending on an unstressed beat or ‘feminine’ ending, which leaves a note of uncertainty or incompleteness to a line. Other lines have fewer syllables, and the ‘leftover’ syllables in the shortened line are an indicator to the actor that there should be a pause – this could be providing time for the actor to move across the stage, to pick up a prop, or to simply pause and think. Sometimes though, lines with fewer syllables form shared lines with the line that follows, which is always spoken by another character. When a short line is followed by a short line spoken by a different character, and the syllables in both lines combined add up to 10, this is a shared line and indicates the lines being spoken with no gap between – the equivalent of an interruption or almost speaking over the other character, which is usually indicated in contemporary playtexts by the / symbol.

Ask students to look at the edit and identify the shared lines between Romeo and Friar Lawrence. What does this tell us about the pace and tone of their dialogue? How well are they actually listening to each other?

Pair students up and ask them to try out the edit with their new knowledge of shared lines. Feed back afterwards – what did trying the edit out reveal to them about the characters in this scene? How does their relationship echo the themes in the rest of the play? Do they think Friar Lawrence is a good or bad influence and Romeo?