LAUNCH TEXT | ARGUMENT MODEL
This selection is an example
of an argument in the form of
a response to literature. This
is the type of writing you will
develop in the Performance-
Based Assessment at the end
of the unit.
As you read, look for
evidence the writer uses to
support an opening claim. Mark
the evidence you find especially
strong.
NOTES
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, love is fire. It burns
the lovers of the title, through their
families, and through people on the sidelines. The romance between
Romeo and Juliet hurts so many people that one wonders whether
it would have been better if time unwound and the two leads had
never met. If we examine the play from the beginning, the evidence
for this is overwhelming.
Winding back the clock, we begin in Verona, where we find
Romeo, heir of the noble House of Montague, feeling sorry for
himself. His reason: rejection at the hands of Rosaline, niece to Lord
Capulet, leader of the House of Capulet and rival to the Montagues.
Romeo's friend, Mercutio, wishing to improve his friend's spirits,
disguises Romeo and sneaks him into a Capulet party. Romeo has his
own motive for going-he wants to see Rosaline again-but at the
party he meets Juliet, daughter of Lord Capulet, instead. From that
moment in time, they are in love, and everyone's life gets worse.
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The first one to suffer is Mercutio, a member of neither house,
but a relative of Prince Escalus, ruler of Verona. He fights a duel on
Romeo's behalf with Juliet's cousin Tybalt. Romeo meddles in the
fight, and his interference gets Mercutio killed. Romeo, furious at his
friend's death, kills Tybalt.
For this action, Prince Escalus exiles Romeo from the city and
threatens him with execution should he ever return. The Prince has
his own plans for Juliet-a hope to see his cousin Paris marry the
young woman. Juliet's family is also in favor of the marriage, as it
would raise the status of the House of Capulet and bring them closer
to destroying the Montagues. Juliet ignores her family's history,
wishing to be with Romeo and no one else. Desperate, she plans a
way for them to escape their families and disappear together.
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2
Better Never to
Have Met at All
FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PAST