How does Shakespeare introduce Romeo to the audience in act 1 scene 1? Romeo and Juliet is a play by William Shakespeare written in 1595. The play explores the theme of love, hate and death. One of the main characters in the play is Romeo who is a heartbroken, overemotional teenage boy. Shakespeare uses many techniques such as reported action, metaphor, hyperbole etc. to introduce Romeo to the audience in the play. By analysing what is said about Romeo, what he says, his general mood and his imagery of Rosaline, it is possible to infer how Shakespeare introduces Romeo in act 1, scene one. By analysing what is said about Romeo, it is possible to identify how Shakespeare introduces Romeo to the audience in act one, scene one. Studying act one, …show more content…
In Act one, scene one, Romeo is depicted as a thoughtful character, “O brawling love, o loving hate.” Shakespeare uses juxtaposition and oxymorons in Romeo’s speech to portray Romeo as a contemplative being. The use of juxtaposition makes Romeo seem quite clever. Romeo is present as an overemotional and passionate teenager, “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs, being purged, a fire sparkling in lover’s eyes.” Shakespeare uses hyperbole to make Romeo seem sentimental, emotive language is also used to make the reader emphasise with Romeo heartbreak. Shakespeare depicts Romeo as suicidal, “do I live dead that I live to tell you now?” This is another use of hyperbole, this makes Romeo seem over-dramatic and it also shows the extent of Romeo’s sadness. Romeo says he is so sad that living is like death to him. Romeo is also described as pessimistic, “I have lost myself; I am not here. This is not Romeo, he’s somewhere else.” This is a use of hyperbole where Romeo recognises that he has not been himself. By examining what Romeo says, he is presented as a reflective, sentimental, despondent and …show more content…
Although Rosaline never speaks or appears in the book, Romeo’s imagery of her gives you a very good idea of what she is like. First of all, Romeo thinks Rosaline is very beautiful, so much so that he is overwhelmed with thoughts of her, “she is too fair, too wise, wisely to fair.” The use of repetition and rule of three shows how obsessive Romeo is and exaggerates how compulsive Rosaline’s beauty and wisdom is. Romeo’s imagery of Rosaline shows how unforgettable Rosaline is. “O teach me how I should forget to think.” This is a self-contradiction and is a sort of paradox. It shows how Romeo still misses Rosaline and even though she is “unavailable”, he is still “in love” and can’t forget about her. Romeo’s imagery of Rosaline indicates that Rosaline is not touched by Romeo’s infatuation of her, “and in strong proof of chastity well armed, from love’s weak childish bow she lives uncharmed.” Imagery and metaphor is used here to show how Rosaline will not indulge in Romeo’s love for her or allow herself to be charmed by him. Rosaline is described as different and unique,”for beauty starved with her severity.”Because Rosaline will not accept his love and lives in chastity, love cannot exist because of her unwillingness to accept. This quotation is a use of hyperbole. From Romeo’s imagery of Rosaline, I can tell he is quite obsessive and enamoured by Rosaline’s
An important scene is the Capulet's ball where Romeo and Juliet first meet. This shows their love-at-first-sight and can be interpreted in many ways. In Act 1 scene 5, Baz Luhrmann's modern film version presents Romeo and Juliet first seeing each other through a tropical fish tank. This is a very effective way of showing how they met, Romeo and Juliet didn't understand the quarreling between their families but they were caught up in it, the first thing they truly understood was that there was something they wanted that was the other side of the tank, each other. Something tantalizing because of the fish tank, yet the tank made it unattainable. You can walk around a fish tank and they met each other soon enough, but it turned out that in the end, it was
part of the reason for this is because of how well he manages to grab
Romeo is a melodramatic 16-year old that lets his downheartedness over Rosaline take over when he sees Juliet. Romeo is unhappy, as Rosaline decided to stay chaste, and then he meets Juliet and he sees that she is looks attractive and wants to make irresponsible decisions. Romeo gives a perfect example of his irresponsible, lustful identity when he says this, “Did my heart love till now? / Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night”(Shakespeare,
He isolates himself from the merrymaking both socially and physically in his refusal to dance and banter with Mercutio. Upon request by Mercutio to dance, Romeo replies by saying ‘I have a soul of lead’, connotations of lead being heavy, therefore disabling him to move, but also poisonous. This idea sustains the theory that Rosaline has deprived and made him suffer, to the degree of poison, also supporting Romeo’s melodramatic nature. Romeo spends his time, not pursuing Rosaline, but despairing ‘under love's heavy burden I do sink’. Once again, Romeo’s over metaphoric and dramatic nature describes how he is being weighed down by the symbolic weight of being out of love. It begs the question, is Romeo simply in love with the sadness of being out of it.
In this essay I will address how conflict is successfully used in Act 1 Scene 1 to prepare the audience for the rest of the play. It will firstly show how Shakespeare uses physical conflict between the two feuding families. Secondly I will demonstrate the idea that Shakespeare introduces emotional conflict through the character of Romeo, and his outpourings of love for Rosaline. Finally I will show that the character of Romeo demonstrates both physical or external conflict and emotional or internal conflict. The purpose of the prologue is to clearly outline the plot of the whole play in fourteen lines and it also allows the audience to be settled before the actual play
During some of part one, and two, we slowly learn about Romeo and his dilemma. He has fallen in love with beautiful Rosaline and all of his heart is crying out to her. He vows to never see a beauty as fair as her, and complains about the rudeness and pain of love. He allows himself to go to the party with Mercutio and his friends, but remarks he won't have a good time. "I'll go along, no such sight to be shown, But to rejoice in a splendor of mine own." That is until he sees Juliet. Instantly he forgets all of his lamenting for Rosaline love, and proclaims Juliet is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. "O! she doth teach the torches to burn bright. It seems she hangs on the cheek of night, like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."
Romeo is portrayed as an emotional and reckless character. His friend Mercutio and Fr. Lawrence comment on Romeo’s fickle attitude when he immediately falls in love with Juliet completely forgetting about Rosaline, his first love. Romeo quotes,” Did my heart love until now? Foreswear it sight, for I never saw true beauty until this night”. His love for Rosaline was superficial. Juliet transforms Romeo’s immature and erotic infatuation to true and constant love. After meeting Juliet he matures very quickly. Maybe Romeo’s love for Juliet is so intense because unlike Rosaline, Juliet reciprocates his
Juliet is introduced into the play in act one scene three, as an innocent, obedient, and respectful adolescent. Her polite response to her
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
Moreover, Romeo through his infatuation with Rosaline learned valuable lessons that help him come to appreciate and understand the feelings he experiences with Juliet. Romeo felt rejection, sorrow, and misery from his infatuation with Rosaline which is seen when he is talking to Benvolio, “In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman” this particular quote shows the sadness or sorrow he feels from the feelings for Rosaline (1.1.201). Also when he says “She hath forsworn to love”, the words Romeo speaks allow it to be inferred that his feelings for her have been rejected (1.1.220). “At the opening of the play [Romeo] is maundering about like an erotic woman novelist, sighing and groaning because Rosaline will not listen to his tenders of affection” revealing that Romeo’s love was rejected and was upset because of this, allowing him to learn these feelings and what it is like to be rejected by the one he had feelings for (Northwood 19). Due to having felt these emotions from his infatuation, when he finds his love for Juliet and receives love and acceptance from her. Since he went so long, feeling sorrow and rejection when he finally finds Juliet, he can fully appreciate the love and acceptance he is given which intensifies his love for her and does the opposite of weakening the credibility of his love. Through his infatuation with Rosaline, he was able to grow as a person and become able to fully commit to his love for Juliet.
Romeo’s speech identifies to the audience for the first time, how Romeo feels about Juliet. That Juliet’s beauty is unmatched by those in the room and that Romeo has never loved before but he now thinks he has found her, Juliet the one. At this point the audience realises just what type of love and passion Romeo feels for Juliet. This event adds much more dramatic effect and intensifies the scene. At this instant a height of drama is achieved, but Shakespeare lifts it higher with a stronger and more hating speech, that of Tybalt’s.
Romeo seems to be miserable as he is in love with Rosaline yet Rosaline is not in love with him. Once Romeo learns that the Capulet’s are holding a party at which Rosaline is attending he risks his life just to be with the one he loves. Romeo is passionate for love.
Romeo and Juliet seemed quite nonchalant in both the movie and play begin to comprehend the reality of who the other is. But Juliet in the beginning of act two, scene two, Juliet conceals her frustrations from the nurse and proves how her father's feud with Montague has brought her to hate those who she had never met.
The Dramatic Effectiveness of Act 1 Scene 5 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet In this essay, I am going to analyse the dramatic effectiveness of Act one Scene five of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ This is one of the most important scenes of the play as Shakespeare has instantly created an atmosphere of romance and danger, through Lord Capulets banquet, which then sets up a chain of reactions. Romeo and Juliet first meet here, and immediately fall in love from first sight. Their conversation provides a glimpse for the audience of the roles each of them are going
Act 3, Scene 1 in 'Romeo and Juliet' is very important to the play as