Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by world-renowned English playwright William Shakespeare. It has managed to capture the hearts and minds of every generation from the Elizabethans to the current population, making it startlingly apparent that the themes of the play – conflict, death and true love – were just as relevant in the past as they are today. The play’s continued survival and popularity are evidence that, despite the stricter moral codes of the Elizabethans, all generations have been able to sympathise with the titular characters. In this essay I will write about the ways in which Shakespeare convinces both modern and Elizabethan audiences that Romeo and Juliet’s love is special and meant-to-be.
Romeo and Juliet opens with a sonnet which introduces the basics of the plot to the audience. Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony in the opening sonnet makes the rest of the play seem like it is just adding detail to the plot that has already been given.
The sonnet introduces three key themes to the play – love, death and conflict – and by the end of the prologue the audience knows that a tragedy will follow: “a pair of star cross’d lovers [will take their lives]”, that their two families (the Capulets and the Montagues) are in conflict with one another and that “with their death [they will] bury their parent’s strife”. But the first hint that Romeo and Juliet are fated is in the phrase “a pair of star cross’d lovers”. As Shakespeare has written the prologue as a prophecy, this phrase seems to guarantee not only that Romeo and Juliet will love one another, but also that they are fated to be. “Star cross’d” denotes that their relationship will happen because their stars, or fates, cross paths. The phrase could also be interpreted as signifying that, because their destinies are bound by the stars, their relationship is magical and special.
The Term Paper on Romeo And Juliet Love Shakespeare Cleopatra
... of love, a desire. Shakespeare it could be argued presents many different kinds of 'love' within his plays, particularly in Romeo and Juliet. 'Love ... main characters. At the beginning of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is seen to profess his love for Rosaline, who it would seem ... love and death appears in the prologue - "From out of the fatal loins of these two foes" came a pair of "star-crossed" ...
Act 1 Scene 1 continues where the prologue left off, introducing (of the main characters) Lord and Lady Montague, Tybalt (a Capulet), Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin) and Romeo himself. Shakespeare does not hesitate to introduce the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets already spoken of in the prologue. In one line, Lord Montague asks Benvolio “Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach?” or in simpler words “Who has re-started the feud between our families?”. The introduction of the conflict so early in the play ensures that it will continue to be a key theme throughout. Later, Lady Montague says “Right glad I am [Romeo] was not at this fray” which is the first clue that, perhaps, Romeo is gentle, but it is not his gentle nature which first hints that his love for Juliet will be true. It is his mood in this first scene, one of love-sickness and rejection because his love for the woman Rosaline is unrequited (“[I am] out of her favour where I am in love” says Romeo to Benvolio later).
The audience’s knowledge that his “sad hours seem long” at the beginning will make his joy with Juliet seem like an assurance they are really are in love at first sight.
Shakespeare’s introduction of the feuding family members before Romeo or Juliet allows both Romeo and Juliet to appear more peaceful and gentle than their families. In Romeo’s introduction he seems gentle because his is not involved in the fight and in Juliet’s introduction she seems gentle because of her obedience (like when she speaks to her mother, asking “What is your will?”).
Perhaps Shakespeare introduces them both as gentle characters in order to draw parallels between their personalities. Although this technique is very subtle, it does allow the audience to realise that Romeo and Juliet are very similar. Such an audience could come to the conclusion that the love of two so very similar characters would have to be fated.
However, it is not only the structure and the stagecraft of the play which helps to convince the audience that Romeo and Juliet’s love is special and meant-to-be; the behaviours of the characters in the play (and the changes to these behaviours) demonstrate their love is special, too.
The Essay on Lord Capulet Romeo Juliet Love
How Shakespeare Makes Act 1 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet Dramatically Effective At the start of Act 1 Scene 5 the guests at the Capulets' ball have just finishes dining and Sampson and Gregory, the two head servants, are complaining that a number of the servants, especially Potpan, are not helping to clear up: "Where's Potpan that he helps not to take away?" Most of the servants are trying to clean ...
Romeo is introduced to the play as a depressed, discontented character, entirely preoccupied with moping about his unrequited love Rosaline. He talks of how Rosaline “hath Dian’s with” or can avoid Cupid’s arrows (Dian is the goddess of chastity) and of how Rosaline “hath forsworn to love” or has vowed not to fall in love. With the fight between the Capulets and the Montagues having occurred before his introduction to the play, it is quickly evident to the audience that he is perhaps more of a peacemaker than his relatives. His loneliness is likely the most noticeable aspect to his personality in this first scene but it will become clear later on that the purpose of the play starting with Romeo in low spirits is only to contrast with his high spirits around Juliet later. His language in the opening scene differs entirely with his language in Act 1 Scene 5 – the scene where he first meets Juliet – he switches from sad phrases like “Tut, I have lost myself, I am not here / This is not Romeo, he’s some other where” to animated, flirty phrases like “My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand / To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”
So too in this way does Juliet’s character change.
Juliet is introduced in Act 1 Scene 3, but in this scene she only speaks 7 lines. Even if an audience member were deaf and could not hear her lines, only see them being spoken, the impression would be that she is a passive, obedient character. This is certainly true for the first scene; the most rebellious line she speaks is (when asked what she thinks of marriage) “It is an honour I dream not of”. Even this line only avoids giving a direct answer; she does not voice her opinion on marriage.
As the play moves on, however, her character also suffers drastic change, much like the change in Romeo’s character. While Romeo goes from depressed to animated, Juliet’s biggest change is from passive to assertive. She speaks many, many more lines in Act 1 Scene 5 than in her introduction, but it is her words which offer the biggest contrast. The difference between “How now, who calls?” and “You kiss by th’book” is astounding and the conclusion that the audience come to is that she has changed because of her instant love for Romeo and that, indeed, this love is special.
The Term Paper on Reno And Juliet Romeo Love Scene
1 Romeo and Juliet 2 William Shakespeare between 1591 and 15963 England 4 Romeo- Romeo is the most famous Montague there is. At first he loves Rosaline, but later falls in love with Juliet. Romeo is very fickle when it comes to love and falls quickly in and out of it. Juliet- Juliet is a Capulet and the love of Romeo. She is also the love interest of Paris but despises him very much. Juliet much ...
It is certain, whichever way you look at Romeo and Juliet, that its language is its finest aspect. Shakespeare’s masterful use of the young English language is evident everywhere in the play – his sonnets, quatrains and complex rhetorical devices are what make Romeo and Juliet the popular play it is. Perhaps then it is Shakespeare’s use of language which best convinces the audience that Romeo and Juliet’s love is special and meant-to-be.
Shakespeare’s use of oxymorons helps to convey the emotions of his characters throughout the play. In particular, Romeo’s introduction is heavy with oxymorons which seem to demonstrate his confused state of mind. His talk of “cold fire” and “sick health” could be interpreted as him describing his love for Rosaline. His “sick health” an indication of his simultaneous happiness and sadness when thinking of Rosaline; his “cold fire” a representation of his thoughts on love – for him it is beautiful flame which he can only admire and feel nothing from it. Romeo will use oxymorons later in the play, but it is more the absence of oxymorons in his speech with Juliet (and thus the absence of his confused emotions) which gives the audience the impression that his love for Juliet is special and true.
By the Capulet Ball (Act 1 Scene 5, the scene in which Romeo and Juliet first meet) however, Romeo’s oxymorons will have taken on a more positive tone. His change in character is heavily reflected in his language, and the same goes for Juliet. Where Romeo’s speech would be full of fretting and oxymorons and where Juliet’s speech would be virtually non-existent, instead their speech is filled with metaphors, similes, sonnets and religious imagery.
Romeo refers to Juliet as a “holy shrine” and Juliet to Romeo as a “saint” or a “holy palmer” and they speak of purging their sins through kissing. All of this religious imagery is used in order to further convey a sense of Godliness or purity to their relationship. An alternative interpretation is that the religious imagery is used in order to show the audience that Romeo and Juliet see each other in an angelic light. Although Romeo and Juliet speak so dearly to each other in this scene their language is still very formal. As the play moves on, however, they become more informal with one another.
The Essay on Romeo And Juliet A Tragic Play
It is known that in Shakespeares tragedies main characters die in the end, and in his comedies people marry. Since Romeo and Juliet are a tragedy, Romeo and Juliet are going to die in the end. Some events have to lead to their deaths, and someone makes these events happen. The person(s) who started it all and did something that led to all the other events that caused the death of "a pair of star- ...
Perhaps, though, it is the delivery of their speech which best convinces the audience that their love is special. As I have mentioned earlier in the essay, the beginning of Romeo and Juliet’s first conversation is written as a sonnet. The very idea that two complete strangers could, on their first meeting, speak a sonnet to one another is astounding to any audience and certainly an indication that their relationship is special. At the end of the sonnet Romeo and Juliet begin to complete rhyming couplets with one another, each finishing every other line. Coupled with the religious imagery, the sonnet seems also to suggest some sort of magical aspect to their love – not only do they speak a sonnet to each other on their first meeting, they also speak in the sonnet of saints, prayer and sin!
The figurative language continues into Act 2 Scene 2 (the balcony scene) where, as well as religious imagery, the characters also compare each other (and their love) to light, birds, the stars and the moon amongst other things. Romeo calls Juliet “the sun” and a “bright angel” and he calls her eyes “two of the fairest stars in all the heaven”. This imagery of light and heavenliness is also present in Juliet’s speech, for example when she tells Romeo not to swear by the moon “that monthly changes in her circled orb”. While the stars were spoken of to describe Romeo and Juliet’s doom in the prologue (“star cross’d lovers”) here the imagery of the heavens is used to compare their love to light. When contrasted with the darkness that is the feud between their families, the audience could interpret this to mean that their love is a glimmer of light in the dark, troubled world which surrounds them.
Perhaps it is the amazing imagery used in Romeo and Juliet which helps maintain its popularity, or perhaps it is the play’s status as the classic love story, but it is certain that Romeo and Juliet is still incredibly popular. Logically then we are led to believe that Romeo and Juliet was popular when it was first produced on stage. Surely then an Elizabethan audience could be convinced that Romeo and Juliet’s love was special and meant-to-be? Perhaps not.
The Term Paper on Romeo And Juliet Love Play Scene
... again contrasts Romeo and Juliet's love, showing the audience how passionate they are, and how Paris' love is just dutiful. Throughout the play the audience can see ... sonnet.This is appropriate because it is a very structured play about love, and sonnets represent love. In this concise manner, we are told from ...
Although a modern audience might find Juliet’s father’s wish for her marriage to be arranged unreasonable and Juliet’s contradiction of this wish perfectly reasonable, perhaps it was not acceptable in the Elizabethan Era.
The Elizabethans had different expectations of women (and children).
Although the monarch was herself an unmarried woman, women still suffered from gross sexism when it came to what they could choose to do in life. Women were not allowed to be schooled and were expected to become house wives. They were treated as the inferior sex and divorce was non-existent. In the first productions of Shakespeare’s plays, female characters were often played by boys. A girl like Juliet would have been expected to do as she was told and marry Paris. The thought that she would disobey this command and then marry Romeo as well is outrageous in the mind of an Elizabethan. As a consequence of this, the idea that Romeo and Juliet were in love at all could have been impossible from the start.
However, the popularity of the play seems to suggest that even the (prudish by today’s standards) Elizabethans could sympathise with Juliet. This reveals something about the era not told in the play (which only shows the anger of Juliet’s father when she refuses to marry Paris) – that many Elizabethans were willing to forget about a character like Juliet’s disobedience and feel empathy towards her character’s situation. Maybe the idea of love between Romeo and Juliet was not so impossible for the Elizabethans after all.
There is an entirely different problem when trying to convince a modern audience that Romeo and Juliet are in love and it is not at all to do with Juliet’s obedience. A modern audience might find the romantic conversations, sonnets and quatrains between Romeo and Juliet entirely implausible. Often is the question asked “Were Romeo and Juliet in love at first sight?” The sheer complexity of their first words to one another seems to suggest to some that Romeo and Juliet felt nothing but lust. Their language is too fruity and too sensational. However, Romeo and Juliet’s determination to be with one another even after learning that they are from rival families (or as Juliet puts it: “My only love sprung from my only hate”) seems to disprove this.
The Essay on Romeo and Juliet 42
Romeo and Juliet is a play by Shakespeare. It was written about 400 years ago. The play is about "two star crossed lovers" one Romeo Montaque and the other Juliet Capulet .There is a problem with this their familles are rivals. Baz luthran made an adaptation of this play, he made it more up to date by using the following affects. Sounds and music, The sound and music creates great effects on ...
It is clear, once again from the play’s popularity, that its story and themes are still relevant today. Despite the archaic old language, the idea of two lovers with families in conflict has not appeared to grow old or out of date, and one can certainly say that the play’s themes – true love, conflict and death – still relate to everyone. These themes are common experiences in life, and through theming the play around these things, Shakespeare has produced something timeless with on-going relevance.
In conclusion, after having presented to you Shakespeare’s wide variety of techniques and my own information about the continued popularity of the play, I can only say what is clear to me. Shakespeare was undoubtedly successful in convincing his audience (and many audiences from that point onwards) that Romeo and Juliet’s love was special and meant-to-be. He has done this through his spectacular use of imagery (religious and otherwise), his sonnets, his structure and his figurative language. Although William Shakespeare might not have known it when he was alive, he has written a timeless love story appealing to every generation.