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Critical Appreciation Of Romeo And Rosauy

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“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou her maid art far more fair than she…” (II.ii.845-851). This excerpt is from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet where Romeo has seen Juliet at the Capulet party. In this scene, he is looking up at her balcony pleading her to come out, and reflecting on her beauty. Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s adaptation of young love and how intense these young lovers are willing to defy their social norms, families, and life to simply love one another. Love is the major theme within this play, and Romeo’s soliloquy in Act 2 Scene 2 represents what lengths and how powerful love can be within just a first impression. The question is how was Romeo’s feelings conveyed in this scene? Are Romeo’s feelings portrayed as more of a scapegoat for forgetting Rosaline since there’s a comparison between her the moon and Juliet the sun. This soliloquy gave an image of how fast the nature of love can be and how blinding, and powerful the feeling is for young couples, also it examines the maturity level within young couples and how they cast their judgements.
Romeo and Juliet is the tragic love story between young lovers that are from feuding families and in the end their deaths reconcile both families together the story gives a great lesson in values and how far people are willing to go for love. In Romeo’s scene, Shakespeare uses both dark and light imagery when describing the blossoming feelings of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is standing within the shadows looking at Juliet’s balcony where he compares Juliet to the sun “Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon” (II.ii.848-849). Asking the sun to kill the envious moon which is Rosaline and has made his love for Juliet outshine his previous love. In the beginning of the soliloquy, Romeo is talking about his woes and describing his bitterness against Rosaline, “Her vestal livery is but sick and green and none but fools do wear it; cast it off...” (II.ii.853-854) and you see a transition between his mood and him moving forward and having a more genuine vibe and “mature” understanding of love.

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