Romeo and Juliet Extract Question Model Answer (OCR GCSE English Literature)

Romeo and Juliet Extract Question Model Answer

You will always have two options when answering a Romeo and Juliet question as part of your OCR English Literature GCSE:

• A question based on an extract from the play

• A “discursive” essay, with no extract

Here, we will focus on showing you how to write a Grade 9 answer for the extract-based question. We also have a model answer for the discursive essay.

What’s the difference between the extract and discursive questions?

Essentially, the extract question (which is always the first question of the two options), provides you with evidence that you can use in your essay in the form of a 40-line extract from Romeo and Juliet, while for the discursive question you will have to come up with your own evidence. However — and this is really important — even in the extract question you are expected to include quotations and references from the rest of the play to achieve the highest marks. See the extract as more of a stimulus or springboard for the essay. Check out our Romeo and Juliet Key Quotations page for some key quotations you can use.

How is the Romeo and Juliet extract question assessed?

The extract question is assessed using an identical mark scheme to the discursive question, so for a detailed breakdown of the assessment objectives and advice on how to get top marks for each one, check out our Romeo and Juliet essay student-friendly mark scheme.

How long do I spend annotating the extract?

You have 50 minutes to complete your Romeo and Juliet essay, so you do have a decent amount of time to annotate the extract and plan your response. It is best to consider the extract in terms of what is being presented to the audience and where it comes in the play, and use this to help you plan an answer to the question. Instead of annotating all the lines, choose relevant evidence that may even go beyond the quotes and extend to staging, for example. Spend as long as you need on planning your response, even as much as 15 minutes, because the better your grasp on your response, the better your essay will be (and the quicker it will be to write). Our advice on how to approach the Romeo and Juliet question is definitely worth looking at to see our suggestions on how to plan your answer.

Grade 9 Romeo and Juliet extract question model answer

Below you will find a sample, top-mark answer for a past OCR GCSE Romeo and Juliet extract essay question. This Romeo and Juliet model answer includes annotations that show where and how this answer has achieved maximum marks. It’s an example answer to the following question:

Grade 9 model answer

Shakespeare presents love as more powerful than hatred and prejudice in the play. Both Romeo and Juliet defy danger and oppose stronger forces to pursue love (AO1). Shakespeare’s tragedy illustrates the lengths the doomed lovers are willing to go to in order to oppose the prejudice and hatred between their families. Their marriage, and subsequent tragic deaths, symbolise the sacrifice they make in the name of love and peace (AO1). 

In this extract, the power of the love Romeo feels for Juliet means he willingly puts himself in danger; he disregards the significant risk of trespassing on Capulet property. It is important to note that Romeo is hiding in the dark garden, and overhears Juliet. His words “Speak again, bright angel” will be said to himself more than to Juliet. However, this scene highlights Romeo’s attitude to Juliet, that she is like an angel, a “winged messenger” from “heaven”, which continues his description earlier in the play during their shared sonnet in which he calls her a “saint” (AO2). Juliet’s purity, and by extension, their relationship, presents love as enlightening and holy, as well as, perhaps, sacrificial, which foreshadows their deaths in the name of love. Still, Romeo’s hyperbolic words in this scene portray elements of courtly love that Shakespeare challenges through his depiction of a reckless and impulsive tragic hero. Friar Lawrence comments that love often lies “not truly in their hearts”, but in “young men’s … eyes”, warning Romeo to “love moderately”. But Romeo’s disregard for the feud, while well-intentioned, is foolhardy, and his rash actions jeopardise the fate of both young lovers (AO1). Shakespeare’s presentation of Romeo’s volatile responses, borne out of the power of his love, illustrates the close relationship between love and violence.

Nevertheless, Shakespeare in the same scene presents love as having the power to challenge societal expectations. In what is essentially a soliloquy (as Juliet is speaking to herself) (AO2), Shakespeare delivers the play’s messages about a love that goes beyond family honour and the resulting hatred. Juliet challenges the prejudice that makes Romeo her “enemy”, conveying frustration in the impassioned, exclamatory question asking why he has that name, “O Romeo, Romeo!/Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” The metaphorical language is sophisticated, elevating its message. Expressing both her feelings for Romeo and her rationale about the feud, Juliet compares Romeo to a rose, suggesting he would be as sweet regardless of his name (AO1). Shakespeare’s depiction of Juliet’s attitude to love contributes to the purity and equality their love represents in the play: powerful enough to challenge prejudice and cultural norms.

However, it could be argued that the power of their love for one another is self-destructive. Later in the play, their decision to “deny” their family names and proceed with a forbidden marriage isolates the lovers, forcing them to take drastic measures. Perhaps Shakespeare draws attention to the danger of passionate love, an idea illustrated in much of his work (AO1). Friar Lawrence, in particular, comments on the danger of “violent delights” that have “violent ends” as he marries the pair. Still, Juliet’s commitment to Romeo, and thus the integrity of their relationship, is illustrated in her desperate list of all the punishments she would endure rather than marry a man she does not love. Furthermore, the exiled Romeo dies “with a kiss”, adamant he will be with Juliet forever, even if in death. Via the tragic resolution, which brings peace to the families, Shakespeare presents the power of external forces on their innocent love, raising questions about family conflict and gender expectations (AO3). 

It could be argued that Shakespeare’s tragedy presents a love that is defeated by hatred (AO1). Perhaps, though, it is more likely that love is more powerful than hate: that Shakespeare is arguing that Romeo and Juliet represent a love that will not submit or bend to social attitudes. Thiers is a pure form of love that, ultimately, exposes injustices (AO1).

Sources

Shakespeare, William. Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Edited by Peter Alexander, HarperCollins, 1994. Accessed 26 March 2024.