Dope is Dope (A Discussion of the Friar Lawrence Speech of Romeo and Juliet) Most people think of drugs as a bad thing. When they hear the word, they think of cocaine, meth, tobacco, and other harmful materials. But what about antibiotics? They save lives every day, and still are drugs. In Shakespeare’s time, there were no ‘bad’ drugs, only good ones. That doesn’t mean, of course, that they always came from good things. Dope, one of the most powerful medicines of the time, came from a flower, which, if ingested, was the most potent poison in the world. In this essay, it shall be discussed how Friar Lawrence's speech in Romeo and Juliet teaches us that beauty can hide death, that good can come from bad, and that what you have been does not always define what you are. …show more content…
The dope flower, like any flower, is pretty to look upon. If people were to go on looks alone, it would be perfectly harmless, beneficial, even, to one’s health. Do not be fooled by the facade, however. If ingested, the flower will kill you very quickly, and no medicine can reverse the effects. It is much the same for Roseline; she is pretty to look upon, but poisons Romeo’s mind with want, making him mopey and forlorn. The second thing the famous speech of Romeo and Juliet teaches us is that good can come from something bad. As aforementioned, the flower is deadly; yet when properly prepared, it has some of the greatest healing qualities as was yet to be seen in that time period. Without the bad, there would never have been the good. This theme is continued with the events that lead up to Romeo meeting Juliet. Because of a bad thing, his love of Roseline, a good thing occured, being him seeing Juliet for the first
Through a young man’s journey through life, they will eventually stumble upon the obstacle of love. Some may choose to avoid it and others may choose to face it head on. Those who chose to face love head on experience rejection. In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare oxymorons and metaphors to emphasize Romeo’s exaggerated reaction after he faces rejection.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas uses poison and medicine to help simulate the forbidden and true love between two characters in his book, Maximillien and Valentine. This idea was influenced by the writings of William Shakespeare in the play Romeo and Juliet, in the play Juliet is poisoned and Romeo finds her lying on the floor dead, so he kills himself. He kills himself because he knows this is the end and he will never be able to show pure love to anyone else, but to the girl who is now dead. The substance that Juliet is given wears off and she wakes up to find her true love, Romeo, lying on the floor dead and hopeless. Alexandre Dumas uses this method of poison and medicine to capture the reader's attention on the forbidden love that Maximillien and Valentine share in the midst of the story. Valentine is given a poison, like Juliet, and Maximillien wants to kill himself because of the fact that his true love is no longer living, like in Romeo and Juliet. The Count tells Maximillien that he will not kill himself and that he is going to live with him for a month and i...
Their youthful love plays a big role in their irrational decisions and their love blossoming so intensely and so quickly. “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (1.V.52). This quote demonstrates how deeply Romeo is possessed by Juliet, showing their love at first sight. Not knowing that Romeo and Juliet are from feuding families, they fall in love at first sight. The love between Romeo and Juliet continues, despite the bitterness between the two families. “Love give me strength, and strength shall help afford” (1V.1.125) This quote shows how Shakespeare handled an emotion, then translating it into something that gave Juliet strength to continue the Friar 's plan to be with Romeo. The love between Romeo and Juliet makes them forget about their commitments to the world and everyone around them, they both get consumed in a self centered world of
The suicides of Romeo and Juliet reflect their hasty and impulsive decisions as well as the dishonesty of Friar Lawrence and the Nurse. Romeo’s haste in drinking the venomous poison, Friar’s cowardice in handling the consequences as well as the Nurse’s choice of standing against the relationship of Romeo and Juliet contribute equally to their fatal end. Therefore, dishonesty and haste can result in undesirable circumstances to any individual.
117-123). The aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid The blooming flower is indicative of their growing love, especially Juliet. Being her first experience of true love, her actions become more rash the deeper she falls in, even if she is aware of the consequences.... ... middle of paper ... ...
There are two sides to every story, even if it is Romeo and Juliet. Behind all the love and roses is a less appealing meaning, something many don’t want to think about. Friar Laurence, Lord Capulet and Romeo brought the tragedy upon themselves, but sometimes, we only have ourselves to blame.
Romeo and Juliet plays on the idea of duality. Friar Laurence says, “In man as well as herbs, grace and rude will;” (2.3). He uses the example of a plant which can be used for medicine, but it can also be used as a poison. The art piece is inspired by a tarot card. Specifically, the lovers tarot which is translated in Italian. Tarot cards are seen as a system of fortune telling, a prediction of one’s fate. Fate in this play is a dominating force in the lives of these young lovers. The Prologue states that Romeo and Juliet have fate against them, a "death-marked,"love. The mechanism of fate works in all of the events surrounding them: the series of accidents that ruin Friar’s plans and the tragic timing of Romeo’s suicide and Juliet’s awakening. These events aren't coincidental but manifestations of fate to the unavoidable outcome.
Initially, the love between Romeo and Juliet occurs unbelievably short period of time that interrupts the development of their emotions. Romeo feels the emotion of love towards Juliet the exact moment he encounters Juliet. Although he claims to love no one other than Rosaline, and he would die without her just that morning, as soon as he sees Juliet, he gets hooked by her beauty and gives the ownership of his heart to her. The transition between Rosaline to Juliet took place too quickly, and as it is a love at first sight, they are unable to fully grown the seed of the love. Likewise, they are married the day after they meet. They merely know their faces and their names, but still shoot themselves into marriage, the ultimate commitment to another is rushed through by their reckless commitment to satisfy the...
Romeo, one of the star-crossed lovers, is affected by his feelings for Juliet. In the beginning, Romeo is desperately in love with Rosaline. Romeo mopes around describing his love as “too rough, too rude, too boist’rous, and it pricks like thorn” (1.4.25- 26) because Rosaline did not feel the same way about him. When Romeo lays eyes on Juliet for the first time, he forgets all about Rosaline and exclaims, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear i...
In spite of this, is certain that the Nurse played a serious role in encouraging the lovers? relationship to blossom. Instead of advising Juliet on the dangers of a love that is ?too rash, too unadvis?d, to sudden?, she continues to place Romeo upon a pedestal, proclaiming his ?face be better than any man?s, his leg excels all men?s, his [body parts] are past compare?. Her haste for Juliet to ?hie hence to Friar Lawrence? cell?, and preparations for ?cords? to be brought for Romeo to ?convoy [to Juliet] in the secret night?, are gestures that illustrate her desire for their relationship to progress quickly. Therefore by offering her approval of Romeo, the Nurse inadvertedly strengthens Juliet?s devo...
Ultimately`, William Shakespeare shows in many different ways throughout the play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, that love is the more powerful force than hate. The readers see how the characters continuously forgive one another, even when the conditions are tough. The friendships between specific characters display a loving bond that cannot be broken with hate. Shakespeare demonstrates that Romeo and Juliet’s love can overpower the hate of many events in the play. He shows that their love can even overpower the death of one of their own family members. Romeo and Juliet’s love brings friendship between their feuding families. This story is a true example of how love can conquer all.
In the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet reinforce the idea of unrequited love brings emotional hurt to the lover is conveyed through the representation of the Romeo and Rosaline relationship. Romeo’s emotional hurt and pain, is reinforce through the use of characterisation and figurative languages representing his unrequited painful costs. In the line said by Montague: “Many morning hath he. Been seen, with tears augmenting the fresh morning dew. Adding to clouds more clouds with is deep signs”, reinforces Romeo’s sacrificial love for Rosaline, sacrificing his love, tears and sighs, he ended up rejected by Rosaline for she didn’t need his love (unrequited love), the use of hyperbole in the quote clearly shows Romeo’s exaggeration of his sense of sorrow. In Act 1 scene 1 the use of light and retreat imagery is shown, representing Romeo’s despair, resulting him to retreats from of society: “Shut up his windows, locks fair daylight out, and make himself an artificial night”
Romeo’s numerous rash decisions demonstrates his great impulsiveness. Romeo at first grieves over his unreciprocated love for Rosaline, but after he sees Juliet; he forgets about Rosaline entirely. His hastiness leads him to make decisions that are not intelligent or to his benefit. Shortly after meeting Juliet, he asks her to “exchange [her] faithful vow” for his ( 2.2.132). Romeo’s recklessness is evident that he does not think before he makes important decisions; prompting him to propose to Juliet just hours after their first meeting. Yet the morning before, Romeo was suffering from depression because he could never have his Rosaline. After what seems like a lifetime of loving Rosaline and promising to never love anyone but her, Romeo sees Juliet and instantaneously all his thoughts of Rosaline vanish. Romeo becomes infatuated with Juliet, with whom he exchanges less then fifty words before “falling in love.” The next morning he begs Friar L...
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, which is about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths end their feuding families feud. Throughout the story Romeo and Juliet comforted and loved each other which helped changed each of them for the better. As Shakespeare wrote, “ I’m invincible against their hatred “ (Shakespeare 2.2. 72-73). In the beginning, Romeo was known to be mopey, sad, and depressed, but that all changed when he met Juliet which happens to be what he needed at the time. Juliet was a sweet person who made Romeo soft and if someone wanted to fight him he would fight them back with his love. Love tends to lead people in the right direction. Clearly both characters fell deeply in love with each other which “told” them what the right thing had to be done. Shakespeare writes, “ Love told me what to do, and I let love borrow my eyes” (Shakespeare 2.2. 81-82). Romeo would risk everything for Juliet and it shows how love changed him for good and the affect it has on his choices. People may not want to admit they have changed, but changing for the better is the best thing someone may do for
When Romeo meets Juliet, he claimed to be immediately in love. Although he has been sulking over Rosaline, when he met Juliet, he states, “Did my heart love till now? forswear it sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (Act 1.5 Lines 51-52). The entire time as he envisions love with Rosaline, it was all incoherent. Romeo’s impulsive attitude causes him to fall head over heels with Juliet, which begins the drama in this play.