... imagery; opposite points of view SYMBOLS • Poison; thumb-biting; Queen Mab Act I, scene i (Read: Act I, Scene i) Summary Sampson and Gregory, two servants of the house of Capulet, stroll through the streets of Verona. With bawdy banter, Sampson vents his hatred of the house of Montague. The two exchange punning remarks about physically conquering Montague men and sexually conquering ... Montague women. Gregory sees two Montague servants approaching, and discusses with Sampson the best way to provoke them into a fight without breaking the law ... . Sampson bites his thumb at the Montag...

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• Grade Level: High School

... again in Act Three - there is a swift transition from playfulness to unrestrained tension. In the opening scene, the light mood is created by Sampson and Gregory, two servants of the House of Capulet. "Tis well thou art not a fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been Poor-John." Gregory says ... this to Sampson in jest - their repartee is humorous and mocking - the typical conversation matter found amongst men anywhere. In Act Three, this humour is created by ... any in Italy." Mercutio is joking about Benvolio's good, wholesome nature. The tension in the opening scene occurs when members o...

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... in a violent, long-standing feud that polarizes each family against the other. Even the most distantly related characters hated the other family, as shown when Sampson and Gregory show their disdain for the Montagues in Act I, with Sampson declaring that "A dog of [the Montagues] shall move me to stand; I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's." (Romeo and ... Capulets, to be above the Montagues - a clear show of familial pride. This pride then leads to some major conflicts where neither family will back down, including the resulting fight after Sampson made that remark. It...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to kill each other. It says," From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." (I.i.42, 66,67,and 70-72) Sampson, a Capulet makes an insulting jester to Abram a Montague. Sampson says," Nay, s they dare. I will bite my thumb at them, which is disgrace to them if they bear it." Tybalt has his sword at the Montague ... ...

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... . Even in the first few lines Gregory helps to lighten the mood, "That shows thee a weak slave, for the weakest goes to the wall." (1.1.14-15) Here Gregory makes Sampson seem cowardly when Sampson speaks of fighting the Montagues. Sometimes if Shakespeare didn't have a word for something, he"d make up a word. Even without Leonardo, Romeo and Juliet is an unforgettable play. As ... ...

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... the play is, at times, seen from a rather different angle. For example, the first reference to love, in the play, is shown through two serving-men of the Capulet house, Sampson and Gregory. Throughout this early part of Act I Scene I, the two servants" coarse humour in conversation, and their vulgar and crude opinions on what they see as love, bring an ... start of the play. Both men have a very narrow-minded view of love, involving very little emotion, and only a view of both physical and sexual attraction. This is shown by Sampson's opinion of women as "weaker vessels" and also his re...

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... . The dialogue in this first scene between the servants is very well known to those familiar with the words of Romeo and Juliet, Abram says to Sampson, "Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?", Sampson replies with, "I do bite my thumb, sir." The servants use swords as weapons, just as in Shakespeare's novel, which was a traditional weapon to use back in ... ...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... be exposed as phony. To hate or not to hate is the question the Capulets and Montagues are faced with but so easily come up with a decisive answer. Abram and Sampson brightly illustrate the vivid hate that they have towards one another in a downtown marketplace by having a verbal quarrel. Instances like this happen periodically throughout the play between the two families ... ...

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... it's power's and plan's. It did this by starting with a few simple emotions and actions. Romeo had a crush on Rosaline, who did not return these feelings. Next, an illiterate servant (Sampson) of the Capulet's was sent to invite people on a list to a party that the Capulet's were throwing. While Romeo babbled on about his life with Benvolio, his cousin and kinsmen ... ...

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... there maiden heads, take it in what sense you will" The language is intensified by shouting and all speech is read incredibly fast apart from the last word "sir" which Sampson uses sarcastically. Luhrmann made clever adaptations to his film so the original script would not be changed, the name of the gun is the sword used in Shakespeare's version. Although ... ...

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... but banished from Verona instead. If Romeo ever returns, Prince Escalus cautions, he will certainly be killed. Act I, Scene I On a street in Verona, two servants from the house of Capulet, Sampson and Gregory, deliberately initiate a fight with two servants from the Montague house, Abram and Balthasar. Benvolio, a close friend to Romeo and nephew of Lord Montague, arrives and tries to stop ... ...

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... little speech being used, but it is accurate to the original script. Such lines as when Abram, a Capulet asks the question "Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?" and Sampson, a Montague replies, "I do bite my thumb, sir". This starts the gunfight between the two families. For those that are unsure, the biting of the thumb at one another is an ... ...

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... that requires them to hate, insult and fight each other. Even the household staff becomes caught up in the rivalry. In the opening scene of the play, Gregory says to Sampson "Draw they tool, here comes of the house of Montague". The hatred felt between the two houses is also shown through Juliet's cousin, Tybalt. "As I hate hell, all Montague's and ... ...

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... Romeo kills him. Which lead to prejudice between the families. The street in Verona, a public place, is where the prejudice starts between the two families. In Act one Scene one, Sampson and Gregory servants for the Capulets, insulted the Montagues servants Balthasar and Abraham by biting his thumb at him. This leads to a fight, which involves the Lord's of both families ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Romeo kills him. Which lead to prejudice between the families. The street in Verona, a public place, is where the prejudice starts between the two families. In Act one Scene one, Sampson and Gregory servants for the Capulets, insulted the Montagues servants Balthasar and Abraham by biting his thumb at him. This leads to a fight, which involves the Lord's of both families ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... rashness and impulsiveness,their love of merriment, and their strong bonds of loyalty. William Shakespeare emaphazises the qualities of rashness and impulsiveness several times. He commonly uses Tybalt. Tybalt saw Sampson and other Montagues, upon impulse he reached for his sword and pulled it out. Tybalt said " What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word/ As I hate hell, all Montagues ... ...

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... , the heads of the maids, or their maiden-heads. Take it in what sense thou wilt." (I. i. 26-27). That line is from the beginning of the book when Gregory and Sampson are spewing puns out at each other, each pun twisting the meaning of the previous one. Another example of Shakespeare using his puns for a reason other than humor comes in ... ...

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... and loyal that whatever problem may arise there is always someone to fight on their behalf without question. This can be seen when Benvolio defends his family members, Gregory and Sampson, against Tybalt by first asking Tybalt to put his sword up but eventually coming to blows as Tybalt would not give in. Another type of love is that which is ... ...

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