Examples Of Figurative Language In Romeo And Juliet

One of the most significant reasons why Shakespeare’s all-time great plays of the Elizabethan Era became so widely recognizable is because of the way it was written. Shakespeare gave the world a beautifully-blended mix of poetry and language to go along with a captivating story. The effect of that combination masterfully created some of the most highly-regarded plays in history. The story of Romeo and Juliet turned into one of those. It is said to be one of the most cleverly written plays ever because of all of the poetic devices, use of figurative language, and the speech being spoken in 16th Century English, which is what was being utilized during Shakespeare's time. In one of the more famous scenes from Romeo and Juliet, the balcony conversation,

Juliet expresses her frustration with Romeo being a Montague just hours after they met and fell in love with each other. She opened up by saying, “’Tis but thy name that is my enemy;” (Shakespeare 71).

Juliet means that Romeo is not her enemy, but his last name and the family he comes from, are. This is because she is a Capulet and he is a Montague, the two families in Verona that have had an everlasting feud and hatred for each other. Juliet says it is only Romeo’s last name that is her enemy, but not him because they both recently enchanted each other at the party. In the next line, she goes on by stating, “Thou art thyself, though not a Montague” (Shakespeare 71). Juliet is implying that the typical Montague stereotype of being very malicious towards Capulets does not apply to her love, even though he was born into her family’s rival. Juliet continued her monologue by expressing, “What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man” (Shakespeare 71). Juliet said that to further justify her point about Montague just being a name because she made it clear that Montagues are not determined by bodily appearance. Her reasoning for doing this was to remind herself that being a Montague does not affect a person's character, which is why she decides she can love Romeo. After that sentence, Juliet communicates, “What’s in a

name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet;” (Shakespeare 71-73).

She is stating that Romeo is not associated with the callous standards of the Montague name because you could call him something else and he would not change. Once again, this further explained her idea that Montague is just a name. In her next statement, Juliet expressed, “So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title” (Shakespeare 73). Following her previous explanation, Juliet said that Romeo would still be the love of her life and he would still be perfect to her no matter what his name was. In Juliet’s concluding line, she said, “Romeo, doff thy name, and for thy name, which is no part of thee, take all myself” (Shakespeare 73). Juliet expressed that she does not want Romeo to have the predictable Montague personality. If he committed to not possessing that, (which Juliet already knew he would anyway) in return, she would allow him to become his love. Also in the balcony scene, Shakespeare included poetic devices in Juliet’s specific passage to more effectively carry out her message of a Montague being nothing but a name. Shakespeare’s first method of amplifying his writing was by intensifying the mood of Juliet’s

monologue. In line 49, when Juliet says, “Romeo, doff thy name,” (Shakespeare 73)., Shakespeare uses a hyperbole to make it seem like Juliet treats Romeo as if his last name does not mean anything, even though he cannot get rid of it. Shakespeare’s other way of using poetic devices is by enhancing the meaning of certain sentences. In lines 45 and 46, Juliet expressed, “That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet;” (Shakespeare 71-73). Shakespeare used a simile to represent how Romeo having any other name would not affect Juliet’s love for him. The other example of the poetic device of enhancing meaning was in line 42, when Juliet stated, “It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to man” (Shakespeare 71). Shakespeare used a metaphor to contrast the difference between the physical attributes of a Montague, which reminded Juliet that Romeo does not fall into those characteristics so she can love him even if he is from the family that the Capulets despise.