“Epic, Passionate and Poetic.” Romeo and Juliet is written in blank verse. This simply means “unrhymed iambic pentameter.” For example, Two households, both alike in dignity In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. It may seem “melodramatic”, but it’s perfect for the play. Shakespeare makes it work by the plot actually living up to the hype (Romeo and Juliet Writing Style). “It truly entices the heart of the reader as they empathize with the protagonists’ universal, unconditional and ideal romance, the portrayal of perfect, undying love that is captured …show more content…
Shakespeare really stresses in all these scenes the ease in which messages can go wrong (Huntley). When Romeo finds out about Juliet’s “death” he believes he has all the facts. He suddenly makes the decision to kill himself, aided by poison. “Romeos best speech is perhaps the one he delivers in the tomb; with it he gives dignity, meaning, and finality to the one act he plans and executes” (Huntley). The speech and characters of the play have been depicted all throughout music, literature, dance, and theater. There’s a certain musical flow and intense alternation of mood that enliven the speech. Mercutio is a big part of this. When Romeo needs guidance, Mercutio is there quickly giving him advice worth hearing. In fact, some believe the wisest words in the entire play are said by him. Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? Now art though sociable, now art thou Romeo; Now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature. These words are also said to be the most ironic. Romeo here has not found his identity and doesn’t truly find it except for in those spontaneous moments he shares with Juliet. Mercutio has plenty dialogue but is commonly known for his passionate repetition of “A plague a’both your houses!” right before his death. The main concern for the two lovers though is keeping their marriage secret. They hope to one day bring peace among the feuding families but are distraught. In Juliet’s balcony speech you hear this concern. O
The play has many different types of figurative language. For example shakespeare use dramatic irony when Romeo thinks Juliet killed herself but we know she she was just sleeping. Shakespeare's also includes many important themes. One of the main theme is teenagers can’t make big life changing decision. Romeo and Juliet killed themselves because they thought there was only one way to fix the problem that was created. Although Romeo and Juliet has many figurative language and themes, it still doesn’t help us in our future, unless you’re a english teacher. When will we ever need to know Shakespeare’s
In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the character Mercutio is a foil for Romeo. They are both young men who enjoy each other's company and meet their death in this tragedy. Romeo is an impulsive, hopelessly dramatic romantic who overreacts to most life events. While Mercutio is more realistic, grounded, carefree and serious, although he can be impulsive. With Mercutio being a foil for Romeo, it is easy to see Romeo's dramatic and tragic life story as compared to the more calmer tragic ending for Mercitio.
In the tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare presents the inner struggles of Romeo and Juliet, the two protagonists as one of the main themes. This is clearly shown at the end of Act 3 Scene 2 when Juliet receives the news that Romeo has been banished and Tybalt has been killed. Juliet is distraught at the conflict of her loyalties. Should she express love for her family or should she express love for Romeo? By using many different language features, such as oxymorons, paradox, antithesis and dramatic irony, Shakespeare effectively displays Juliet's conflicting emotions. Later in the play, Shakespeare uses the betrayal by adults to again show the inner struggles of Romeo and Juliet.
In Act 2, scene 1, Mercutio calls for Romeo by saying, "Romeo! Humors! Madman! Passion! Lover!
Romeo’s lovesick moping for Rosaline sparks a need for a wild rant within Mercutio. Mercutio taunts and mocks Romeo, for his dream which tells him they should not crash the Capulet’s party. This, in the end, all falls back on the theme of fate. As a result, Mercutio’s rant persuades Romeo to attend the party because after all, dreams are ridiculous and not always truthful. Additionally, Mercutio is suggesting that, like Queen Mab, dreams (specifically Romeo’s) are petty and insignificant. All of this takes place in Act once Scene four. The purpose of this speech is to add comic relief amongst the tragic events, whilst foreshadowing what’s to come. Romeo is constructed as a juvenile character with a dreamy nature, who is romantic and lovesick , in comparison to his best friend, Mercutio, who takes on the role as a comedic, volatile, pessimistic and sharp-witted personality.
However, Juliet soon stumbles upon her fate when she finally meets Romeo and instantly falls in love with him, despite him being the son of her family's enemy. Shakespeare's text structure depicts Juliet as someone who is reckless, and does not stop long enough to evaluate the full consequences of her actions. "Farewell!—God knows when we shall meet again. I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins. That almost freezes up the heat of life. I’ll call them back again to comfort me. — Nurse!—what should she do here" (4:3:14-18). Shakespeare uses paradox, hyperbole, apostrophe and oxymoron to convey the violence of emotions in Romeo and Juliet as also the 'sweet lyricism of young passionate love' (Albertan A, 2003). His clever use of dramatic structure enables the audience to switch between comedy and tragedy to heighten the tension, leading up to the heartrending climax. "O, look! Methinks I see my cousin's ghost Seeking out Romeo that did spit his body, upon a rapier's point: — stay, Tybalt, stay!" (4:3:19-21). This apostrophe is a solitary example of the establishment of tragedy within the play, showing how two star-crossed lovers have a destiny with death.
There are a lot of very tragic scenes such as the duel with Tybalt, Juliet faking her death and the end. In the duel with Tybalt scene, Tybalt is fighting Mercurtio and once they start to fight Mercutio gets stabbed by Tybalt and he dies. “No, ’tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but ’tis enough, … Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm.” In this quote, Mercutio has just gotten stabbed and is dying. He is explaining how deep his wound is. This is an example of hatred and tragedy in Romeo and
As one of the most complex characters in the play, Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio’s purpose is to act as a static catalyst for the death of most of the characters. Shakespeare uses Mercutio’s character cleverly as the kind of character that stays in the background, but influences the rest of the cast in the utmost amount. Mercutio’s light and occasionally sardonic humor at inapt times relieves the play from being a complete tragedy and allows the audience a false sense of security before calamity strikes, such as the death of his character. Mercutio also stands as a consistent character to prove that despite the fact that the majority of Shakespeare’s characters are unpredictable and impulsive, there has to be at least one character to steady
They have made worms meat of me,” (3.1, 68-69). This quote exemplifies that although Mercutio is neither a Montague nor a Capulet he still dies in a battle fought between the families. This incident heightens Romeo’s fatal flaw, as his reckless act of heroism turned out to be a burden as it caused the death of Mercutio. Moreover, Mercutio’s plague towards the families also foreshadows further tragedy, as Romeo then gets banished from the Verona, along with additional events which later on result to his death. Last, even after his death, Mercutio acts as a foil character to Romeo by causing a shift in Romeo’s gentle character. For example, after Tybalt slays Mercutio, Romeo avenges his friend by killing Tybalt. This act shows his alteration in character, as he was never seen as a ferocious character in any previous scenes. This is evident in the play when Romeo says, “Away to Heaven, respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now,” (3.1, 125-126). This quote exemplifies Romeo’s new perception, as he claims he is finished with sympathy and gentleness. This change in Romeo’s personality is significant because not only is he going to attack Tybalt, but also he is going to kill him, which then entitles him a murderer. This is significant because it further leads to his banishment, which in all leads to his death. The transition in the persona of Romeo is highlighted by the character Mercutio, which leads to the
These two characters exist on a two different spectrums. This scene reinforces that while Romeo is a dreamer; Mercutio is the sensible character of the two and helps to keep Romeo as a character grounded and rational. When Romeo tells Mercutio that he " talk'st of nothing", Mercutio responds by saying that "dreams are the children of an idle brain." (Scene 1, Act 4)
This results in Romeo’s fate to be darkened. Second, Mercutio shows how Romeo is constantly dreaming. Mercutio’s realism contrasts Romeo’s head in the clouds. This is revealed when Mercutio says “True, I talk of dreams, which [is] the [child] of an [inactive] brain,” (1.4, 96-97). This quote exemplifies that dreaming cannot be a portent, and that it can change just like the wind. This also shows that Mercutio has a flamboyant imagination, while demonstrating his mocking side. This quote also acts as foreshadowing in which shows that if Romeo keeps his head in the clouds he will make mistakes in life, such as him quickly marring Juliet. Moreover, this quote reveals that Mercutio is an important foil character because his view on love contrasts that of Romeo. Mercutio’s view on love is that it is futile, however Romeo thinks of it as a key component to life. Mercutio’s mocking of the hopeless love, makes Romeo’s view look stronger and more passionate. Third, Mercutio shows how serious Romeo is. Mercutio always talks in a witting and light-hearted way, in which contrasts to Romeo’s seriousness. Mercutio always uses clever wordplay and puns to mock people and bring comic relief into the play. This is emphasized when Mercutio says “And but one word with one of us? ... Make it a word and a blow,” (3.1, 40-41). This quote illustrates the comedy that Mercutio brings. At the edgy moment when Tybalt was about to fight, Mercutio still made a mockery of him.
To start with, Mercutio brought Romeo to the dance where he met and fell in love with Juliet. A quote said by Mercutio Romeo and Juliet states, "If love be rough with you, be rough with love/Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down," (Shakespeare I.iv 27-28). This quote reveals that Mercutio is encouraging Romeo to get
Mercutio is Romeo’s friend and a kinsmen to the Prince. He is fun-loving, but can be very intense at times, and he has a very wild imagination. In Shakespeare’s classic work Romeo and Juliet, this beloved character dies at the beginning of the third act. There are many things that led up to his death, such as his insistence that Romeo attend the Capulet’s party, confidence, and pride. If he had acted differently in certain situations, he would most likely have not died the way he did.
As a consequence of the brawl between Tybalt and Mercutio, Mercutio ends up dead which then develops the theme because of the pain Romeo feels after hearing about his friend’s death.
Mercutio is a relative of the prince and friend to Romeo. He is an eloquent man and becomes the center of attention whenever he appears in the play. It seems like he dominates Romeo with his teasing and irony. He mocks Romeo as he thinks he is too sentimental and tells him how foolish he is; he turns all of Romeo’s thought about love into sexual metaphors.