About Arlene Schulman Expertise I have loved Shakespeare all my life, and as a Stage Director and Actor for over twenty-five years I have had the opportunity to study his work in intimate detail. I would be happy to share my knowledge of his plays. I can also help with acting Shakespeare, working with blank verse, character development, script analysis and interpretation. I don`t have as much knowledge in the area of his sonnets, but I can help to understand their meaning and language. I also have some knowledge of his life and of the Globe theatre where he performed his plays, as well as the Royal Shakespeare Company and his birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon, and can point you in the direction of some wonderful websites on the subjects as well.
Experience
Organizations SSDC - associate member The Shakespeare Institute (MA Candidate - "Shakespeare & Theatre)
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas
The Shakespeare Association of America
Question QUESTION: Hello,
In Act 1 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet, what does Lady Capulet
mean when she says: "A crutch, a crutch!"
Cheers.
ANSWER: Hi Victor,
Notice that both fathers are called "old" - Old Capulet, Old Montague. And notice that both wives are trying to stop their husbands from going out and joining the fight with the young men.
Lady Capulet's words "A crutch, a crutch!" are her way of telling her husband that, at his age, a crutch would be of more use to him than a sword!
Best,
Arlene (MsDirector)
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank-you very much for that.
One more question: in Act 2 Scene 2, Romeo says "the white-
upturned wondering eyes." what does white-upturned mean
exactly?
Thanks,
Victor
Answer Hi Victor,
Keep in mind that, just as with modern English, you can't take individual words and phrases out of context to find their meaning, since words seldom have specific meaning outside their context (they can have lots of different meanings depending on how they are used). So look at the phrase within the context of what Romeo is saying:
Romeo is comparing Juliet to an angel who appears over the heads of mortals who look up at him in awed amazement. The phrase "white-upturned" does not stand by itself. It describes the eyes of the mortals looking upward at the angel - "white up-turned wondr'ing eyes".
Think about it. If you are standing next to someone who is looking up far above their heads, what do their eyes look like? Because their head is thrown back and they are looking way up, mostly you see the whites of their eyes (the pupils turned far up). So... looking up at an angel? "White" up-turned (that is head and eyes looking up) wondering eyes.
