Emily Whitaker's Blog - Posts Tagged "clever-plot"
Why the Sycamore Grove
“Madam, an hour before the worshipped sun/ Peered forth the golden window of the east/ A troubled mind drove me to walk abroad/ Where, underneath the grove of sycamore/ That westward rooteth from this city side/ So early walking did I see your son.” – Benvolio in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
Before Romeo is introduced to the audience, Shakespeare tells us that Romeo is distraught and his family is worried about him. Benvolio tells his aunt and uncle that he did see Romeo walking in the sycamore grove very early that morning. And it is this line that kicks of the call to action to start off the story. But it is pact with so much information.
Benvolio says he was walking in the grove because he had a ‘troubled mind’ and I needed to know what was troubling him.
I believe Shakespeare wanted a witness to Romeo’s pain, so he put Benvolio in the grove to see him, but Shakespeare doesn’t wright without reason. He knew why Benvolio was walking in the grove with a ‘troubled mind’. It was not a story he needed to tell, but his characters all have life before entering the stage. The detail in this line is what I believe Shakespeare used to direct his actors.
So I answered this question as an actor. Standing in the wings waiting to rush on stage for Act 1 scene 1, I needed to figure out where I was coming from and why? The day was new, but it had started long ago for me. I had seen the sun rise, my lungs were filled with fresh air, and my heart was already heavy by the time I was rejected by my cousin as I passed him in the grove.
What specifically is troubling Benvolio? This part I filled in as a writer. And I chose Rosaline. A character that Shakespeare felt was important enough to name, give lineage to, and yet the audience never actually meets her. I will go into my journey in mapping out her part in this tragedy in future posts, but to me she was an exciting choice. And I wanted to see what would happen if I put her in the grove with Benvolio. I wanted to find out what would bring a Capulet daughter and Montague son into the grove despite their families' feud.
I wrote this first chapter originally as an exercise to learn about the relationship Benvolio would have with Rosaline. And by the end of the chapter it was clear.
I truly wanted the book Benvolio to start at the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, but there was no way to tell the readers how Benvolio ended up in the Sycamore grove, with a ‘troubled mind’ on that particular morning, without telling his story in full.
Please enjoy Chapter 1 of Benvolio and any questions are always welcome.
http://www.amazon.com/Benvolio-Emily-...
Before Romeo is introduced to the audience, Shakespeare tells us that Romeo is distraught and his family is worried about him. Benvolio tells his aunt and uncle that he did see Romeo walking in the sycamore grove very early that morning. And it is this line that kicks of the call to action to start off the story. But it is pact with so much information.
Benvolio says he was walking in the grove because he had a ‘troubled mind’ and I needed to know what was troubling him.
I believe Shakespeare wanted a witness to Romeo’s pain, so he put Benvolio in the grove to see him, but Shakespeare doesn’t wright without reason. He knew why Benvolio was walking in the grove with a ‘troubled mind’. It was not a story he needed to tell, but his characters all have life before entering the stage. The detail in this line is what I believe Shakespeare used to direct his actors.
So I answered this question as an actor. Standing in the wings waiting to rush on stage for Act 1 scene 1, I needed to figure out where I was coming from and why? The day was new, but it had started long ago for me. I had seen the sun rise, my lungs were filled with fresh air, and my heart was already heavy by the time I was rejected by my cousin as I passed him in the grove.
What specifically is troubling Benvolio? This part I filled in as a writer. And I chose Rosaline. A character that Shakespeare felt was important enough to name, give lineage to, and yet the audience never actually meets her. I will go into my journey in mapping out her part in this tragedy in future posts, but to me she was an exciting choice. And I wanted to see what would happen if I put her in the grove with Benvolio. I wanted to find out what would bring a Capulet daughter and Montague son into the grove despite their families' feud.
I wrote this first chapter originally as an exercise to learn about the relationship Benvolio would have with Rosaline. And by the end of the chapter it was clear.
I truly wanted the book Benvolio to start at the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, but there was no way to tell the readers how Benvolio ended up in the Sycamore grove, with a ‘troubled mind’ on that particular morning, without telling his story in full.
Please enjoy Chapter 1 of Benvolio and any questions are always welcome.
http://www.amazon.com/Benvolio-Emily-...
