RATIONALE:

 

Once the task of familiarising themselves with the story of Romeo and Juliet is sufficiently negotiated, students can begin to engage in processes of interpretation, critical thinking and discourse.

This exercise requires students work collaboratively in examining specific characters from the play through the lens of contemporary and personal experience.

The process is more efficaciously negotiated by having students work in pairs or small groups. Additionally, students are drawn into processes of communicative analysis, evaluation and explanation in formulating their content and arranging it into appropriate verse form. Working collaboratively is also intended to foster a sense of play beyond sensibilities of ‘getting it right’.

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REQUIREMENTS

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Students can negotiate this exercise in a traditional desk-bound classroom.

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EXERCISE - MAKING YOUR OWN PROSE MONOLOGUE

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 Students should begin by choosing either Romeo or Juliet.

They should look at their chosen character as if they were a best friend in a modern context.

They should make a list of five or six concerns they might have for either Romeo or Juliet’s behaviour in pursuing a relationship with someone from a culturally different background and for not sharing what they were doing with immediate friends and family.

Having created a point form list of what they want to say, students should then convert these points into a simple statement from the point of view of the best friend. “I have a mate called, Romeo, who is worrying me a bit lately…..”

This simple statement eventually takes the form of a prose monologue.                                                  

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Utilising the Inversion Game approach from Lesson 9 , students can then convert their prose monologue into verse. They should feel free to change, add or delete words as they see fit through this process.

Students then get to read their verse monologue to classmates.

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Now that students have focused on a negative interpretation of their character’s story, now they can be released to convert this information into a positive viewpoint.

Now they can create their own beat poetry version of why Romeo and Juliet should  get together.

                                    

Again, they can present this to classmates.