User:JustAnotherKeyboardMonkey/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Benvolio

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose to evaluate this article because Benvolio is an important character in Romeo and Juliet and those wishing to learn more about the play should have access to a complete and reliable article article about Benvolio.

Evaluate the article
 Lead Section 

The lead section is concise, and gives the reader a good overview of Benvolio's character. It should be mentioned that Benvolio is one of Romeo's close friends, as that is an important part of the narrative, and it doesn't give a description of the article's major sections, but other than that it isn't terrible.

 Content 

The content in this article leaves much to be desired. It seems to touch on many of the key aspects of his character, such as how he originated in Matteo Bandello's work Giulietta e Romeo, like many of the play's characters. However it doesn't talk much about his characterization in this text.

It also doesn't have much in regard to Benvolio's role in the play. It mentions the key events, such as Benvolio dragging Mercutio away in Act III, and talks about how Benvolio is generally portrayed as a peacemaker, but these topics are not discussed with the depth that should be expected in a Wikipedia article. Though this is not a literary analysis, the "Role in the Play" section should at least have a complete list of the things Benvolio does to influence the play in a meaningful manner.

The list of actors playing Benvolio is surprisingly short, and while all actors playing this character need not be recorded, it was interesting that notable ones, such as Jack Farthing, who played the character in the 2009 recording by Shakespeare's Globe, (and is still available to watch today) are not listed.

The etymology section is both brief and disputed on the talk page, with wikipedians arguing about the meaning of the name.

 Tone and Balance 

This article maintains an unbiased tone and does not try to persuade the reader in any way.

 Sources and References 

This article contains three references, two external links, and three citations in the bibliography. It goes without saying that the sources for this article suck. While a list of Benvolio's lines is an external link, there is no link for the complete text listed, even though it is in the public domain.

Both external links work.

 Organization and Writing Style 

The article is organized into different sections and the content in each section is all on-topic (though the information is incomplete for some of them). The article is mostly easy to read, but there are a few minor grammatical errors throughout.

 Images and Media 

There is one image in this article, but it is confusing, as the actor in the photo is not listed among those who played Benvolio, due to an incomplete listing of actors. This image is not sourced and should be changed to one of a more recognizable actor performing this role, or there should be a listing of where the image came from, and the actor should be added to the list of portrayals.

Since Benvolio is not a widely used subject in visual media, it makes sense that there is no section of the article dedicated to that.

 Talk Page Discussion 

The talk page is very interesting. The most recent edit was removing vandalism, and this was done in 2010. There is not much discussion and this article has not been updated in thirteen years. There was a dispute about the etymology section, as well as an interesting (if off-topic) conversation about Benvolio's life (and possible death) after the events of the play. Since this was literary analysis and interpretation it did not appear in the article, but it was still fun to read.

This article is part of both WikiProject Fictional Characters, and WikiProject Shakespeare, and it has been listed as an article of mid-importance for the latter.

 Overall Impressions 

This article needs much improvement. It needs more substance within nearly all of its sections, more references, an external link to the entire play, and minor adjustments to grammar.

One thing it did well, though, was have interesting subsections in the article, though these sections do need to be completed.

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