Romeo And Juliet Metaphors

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Romeo and Juliet Essay “O Romeo, O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” (II.ii.33) In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it would make sense that love has a positive appearance in the play. However, in Romeo and Juliet, love has a negative connotation. It is implied that love is depressing, death-filled, and the play also has numerous negative metaphors about love.
Throughout the tragedy, there are many lines that fit the negative connotation of love that explain why love is depressing. “Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too rude, too boist’rous, and it pricks like thorn.” (I.iv.25-26) As Romeo is depressed about Rosaline not loving him, he realizes that love is a negative thing. Since it uses words like obnoxious and rude, are all negative. “He is …show more content…

“Young men’s love then lies not truly in the heart, but in their eyes.” (II.iii.67-68) Friar Laurence states this, meaning that adolescent males (like Romeo) only love young women for their looks, not their personality or character. This supports the negative connotation of love because Friar is saying that Romeo is immature and not serious about his love for Juliet. “Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.” (II.iii.184) It may seem strange for the two lovers to say this to one another, but what Juliet means is that she would pull the string around Romeo so hard, it would it kill him. The quote is negative because it deals with separation, depression, and murder. “Doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack the hateful mansion.” (III.iii.107-108) In this quote, Romeo is talking about committing suicide, which, in itself, is already negative. The “mansion” is his body, while the first part deals with the lasting impression his name left, knowing that his exile will leave him loveless. The negative metaphors located in Romeo and Juliet fortify the idea of a negative connotation of love in Shakespeare’s

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