Shakespeare utilizes several literary devices to display a reversal in his plot. In the prologue of Act two, Shakespeare employs word choice, personification, connotation, and symbolism in the first five lines of the Chorus as literary mechanisms of conveying meaning to his audience deeper than the surface of the text. Through these literary devices, we are able to see the progression of a reversal within Shakespeare’s plot, as Romeo’s romantic situations have begun to shift in his favor.
In Act Two, the first word utilized is “now,” which propels the plot forward and signifies the occurrence of a change taking place in Shakespeare’s plot (Shakespeare, 2.1.1). Then personification is apparent in regards to “old desire” lying “in his death-bed” (2.1.1). The word choice of using, “old,” as an adjective to describe “desire,” emphasizes that Romeo’s previous state of nostalgia for Rosaline’s affection is a thing of the past by generating a sense of distance in time. The personification of Romeo’s past intentions lying down in a “death bed” illustrates to the audience that his feeling for Rosaline are gone, deceased, and are never to return. Using the concrete image of lying in a death bed, facilitates the sense of permanency. This first line of Act Two relates to the theme of dying love in Shakespeare’s plotline because it demonstrates to Shakespeare’s audience that love is unpredictable and changes with time. Any romantic feelings that Romeo once held for Rosaline have been put to rest and are no longer present.
In line two, Shakespeare uses the word “young,” as an adjective to describe “affection,” in order to generate a sense of newness (2.1.2). This conveys that a new romance has suddenly sprung into existence between Romeo and Juliet. Through Shakespeare’s usage of the verb “gapes” within his personification of “young affection,” he manifests the allusion of a pregnant woman’s vagina opening wide during childbirth in preparation for a baby to be born. Within this allusion, the word choice of “heir,” in reference to what line one’s “old desire” is giving birth to, promotes the theme that out of something old comes something new (2.1.2). Line two advances this theme by symbolizing the circle of life that is
Romeo and Juliets is a tragic love story but it is the meaning behind the words that made it such a beautiful play. Romeo and Juliet’s dreadful events took place in Verona. Juliet born into the Capulet family and Romeo being a Montague destined to be enemies but fall deeply in love. The audience knows the love between the characters because of the significance behind Shakespeare’s dialogue.
Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses symbolism to exemplify how fate is inevitable. The biggest symbol from the beginning to the end, is the stars. The stars represent one’s fate, (and it was believed that the stars determined what happens in one’s lifetime) include parenthesis?. Before heading into the Capulet’s party, Romeo states, “I fear too early, for my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date with this night’s revels, and expire the term” (I.iv.106-109). Before he even arrives at the masquerade he has angst about an unknown fated consequence that will arise from attending the party. When Balthasar shows up at Verona, he tells Romeo of Juliet’s tragic death, as he replies with, “Is it e’en so? Then I defy you, stars!” (V.i.24). Romeo challenges fate itself, to
In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare portrays the inevitability of fate and futility of resisting one's identity. This is evident, first of all, when Romeo, after slaying Tybalt, says "O, I am fortune's fool." This is an example of alliteration, which is a sound technique that relies not on repeated letters, but repeated sounds and is produced when a number of words with the same first consonant sound occur close together. Shakespeare uses this technique of alliteration to create rhythm and mood to the dialogue, as well as trying to engage the audience. Shakespeare also portrays this theme, when Romeo says "Some consequence yet hanging in the stars/ shall bitterly begin his fearful fate/ with his nights revels."
Love is an important theme in most of Shakespeare’s play, including in Romeo and Juliet because love is a stronger force than all the animosity and forces of fate in Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s play, Shakespeare explores Romeo’s change in attitude to love between Rosaline and Juliet. In Act 1 Scene 1 Shakespeare introduces us to Romeo’s passionate desire towards Rosaline through the use of oxymoron, monologues and vivid imagery. In contrast, in Act 2 Scene 2, when Romeo is addressing Juliet, his language shifts through the use of light, religious and mythical imagery to reflect his newly found romantic love to Juliet.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet focus on the two young lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who fall in love and die within a span of three days. Romeo and Juliet illustrate how the love brings them together to over power the control of their relationship. The moment that Romeo and Juliet declare their love for one another, they try to keep their love a secret since they are the children of the feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Initially their families would be outraged against their relationship that Romeo and Juliet propose to hide the truth of their love. Once Romeo and Juliet reveal to the Nurse and Friar Lawrence their plans to marry, their relationship is nothing but a risk of problems. Romeo is unafraid to show his love that he teases Tybalt teasing him about falling in love with Juliet, although not explicitly. However, the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt, occur when Romeo and Juliet take actions to protect themselves, but they are not however, protected. Juliet protects her relationship by committing a false death only for Romeo to believe it as true. As a result, the act to protect Romeo and Juliet’s relationship a secret are examples of the failed actions both Romeo and Juliet try to prevent; however, it is not ‘fate’ that control their lives and deaths.
In Romeo and Juliet we learn how Shakespeare uses vivid language to build character and depth in their roles. Shakespeare was a poet, playwright and an actor with a great love for language. Shakespeare was of great importance when it came down to the moulding and developing of the English language. Shakespeare had such an immense love for language that he created neologisms that we use in everyday life. Some of these neologisms he created include words such as puke, lonely, bedroom, democracy etc. in the play he developed numerous characters that played incredibly believable roles. An example of how Shakespeare made his characters believable was Tybalt, who spoke only forty lines in the entire play. Though he
Shakespeare thus portrays Romeo and his love as an infatuation. This infatuation is evident in how instantaneously Romeo falls out of love with Rosaline and into love with Juliet. At one stage, Rosaline was the “precious treasure of his eyesight”, yet Romeo’s embodiment of perfection was, a few scenes later, his notion of defectiveness. This therefore reveals to the audience the instantaneous and reckless path of the two lovers, as well as the fickleness of adolescent “love”, diminishing at the sight of
Act II, Scene IV of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, opens with an exchanged between Romeo’s companions, Benevolio and Meructio. Having attended Capulet’s party the night before, Benevolio informs Meructio that Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin and sworn enemy of the Montague’s, has sent Romeo’s father a letter. Meructio declares it a challenge, asking, “… is he a man to encounter Tybalt?” Benevolio retorts, “Why, what is Tybalt?,” Meructio elaborates by declaring:
Just like in the story of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, there are actual true events very simaler to some of the parts in the story. In 2005, 2 families by the name of Soliz and Ortiz had a violent breakout including guns, injuring 6 people. You will find that the story of Romeo are relateable to the article, “Six Wounded in Fla. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Firefight”.
Motifs in a play can subtly give characters in a story or play more depth. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this shines through in many cases. In this play, Romeo of the Montague family falls in love with Juliet of the Capulet family, who are currently involved in a feud with the Montague family. The play follows their struggles to make it as a couple, even though they are destined to fail. Stars and high and low appear as motifs frequently in Romeo and Juliet and have a deeper meaning than one may think.
Romeo and Juliet, a tragic love story between two-star crossed lovers, portrays themes that tend to revolve around young love. As the play introduces it’s two main characters, you soon see the challenge that the young lovers would have to face which lead them to the fate of death. The use of imagery and metaphoric language allows us to visualize the theme that is being set throughout the play. Shakespeare gave us several opportunities with his delicate word choice to understand the themes such as “love” and “duality of light and dark”. To help convey these themes to the given audience, Shakespeare carefully words the dialogue of each character to give us different views on each scene.
Metaphors were widely used in their first meeting as Romeo first lays eyes on Juliet during the party which described how in the crowd “shows a snowy dove trooping with crows” (1.5.55). This comparison of Juliet as a pure dove surrounded by ugly crows demonstrates how Romeo instantly has a strong attraction to her since she is one-of-a-kind in his eyes. The moment his eyes lay on Juliet, everything else is dull in comparison including Rosaline who was the reason he was so heartbroken in the past few days. Romeo, when taking hold of Juliet’s hand, states that he will “profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine” (1.5.104-105). Romeo feels he is unworthy, but will still try to charm the elegant Juliet to be with her. Pilgrims are usually
Often times, relationships can be torn apart by the immature things in life. Nowadays people can get caught up in what is fictitious rather than what is genuine. The poem Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, contradicts this idea. The characters, Romeo Montague and Friar Lawrence, opens themselves up to one another which forms a bond so firm. Therefore, through Shakespeare’s use of metaphorical language, apostrophes, and personification Shakespeare proves the point that relationships can be held firmly together through trust.
The balcony scene in act two, scene two, also known as one of the most famous scenes in all of literature, Shakespeare shows us how Romeo is an “obsessive lover”, and expresses the love that both Romeo and Juliet feel towards each other. He shows us that Romeo is an obsessive lover since he was just mourning his love towards Rosaline, but he falls in love with Juliet with just one look at her. This passage has an important role in the play, because it is where the obstacles that they will both face begin, and will end in misery.
Romeo and Juliet follows the same framework to that of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Once more, the thread of the story progresses through the character of Juliet, beginning with the ominous declaration of the Chorus. Instantly, they beg that “patient ears attend,” (968) already accentuating the stress of the play. The entirety of the plot progresses quickly, and as Heyworth interprets it, the “proximity of a definite date, of finite time, lends the language of the later acts a frantic, importunate quality” (9). In this manner, just as the progression of A Midsummer Night’s Dream hastily followed the actions of Hermia, the arrangement of her marriage, and the events that transpire, the plot of Romeo and Juliet relies heavily upon the notion of time as well.