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The Dramatic Effects of Act 1 Scene 5 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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The Dramatic Effects of Act 1 Scene 5 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet There are many components of Shakespeare’s classic, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, which mainly consist of love, hate and honour. This is the story of the incessant love of two young people, which crosses the borders of family and convention. It encompasses love, hate and tons of emotion, tragically ending with the harsh reality of death. There are many imperative events leading up to act 1, scene 5, and various other events that take place in this specific scene. Possibly the most important and the utmost obvious fact that the audience discern about is about the two families, The Capulets and The Montagues. Shakespeare…show more content…
Paris also asks Lord Capulet for Juliet’s hand in marriage; however Lord Capulet feels that Juliet is not ‘ripe to be a bride’. However Romeo also arrives at the ball, to catch a glimpse of his supposed love, Rosaline, it is this ball which brings the couple closer and promotes a passionate love. Possibly the most effective of these events is Romeo’s passionate soliloquy, in which he expresses his feelings towards Juliet. This emotional eruption is triggered by a pivotal moment, when he first sees Juliet. Romeo’s soliloquy’s opening two lines are, ’O she doth teaches the torches to burn bright, it seems she hangs upon the cheek of night’. We immediately find out that Romeo is riveted by Juliet. By saying this, he is fictionally describing her as standing out between the other members of audience and fire is usually an element of surprise. This implies that he is affected by her presence. The second line tells us that she is not like the other girls and Romeo uses effective yet intimate imagery to portray this. The third and fourth lines are also using expansive use of imagery:’ as rich as a jewel in an Ethiop’s ear- beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!’ Romeo’s contemplation towards Juliet results in his speech and these purely imaginative lines show this. An Ethiop’s ear is a very dark brown, practically black in colour and when Romeo amalgamates the
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