The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is written by a man named William Shakespeare, famous for his poetry, play writing and known for shaping the English Language. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is based on a tragedy of characters Romeo and Juliet who die reuniting their families after many years of hatred. In this essay I am going to be exploring how the writer uses religious imagery in Act 1 Scene 5, love shown in Act 2 Scene 2, love seen to be deathly Act 5 Scene 3 and an analysis of two poems with comparisons to Romeo and Juliet and each other.
In Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 5, our eyes encounter a love sonnet with various usage of religious imagery. It deliberates how religion played an importance to residents in Verona: The play’s setting. A sonnet was something Elizabethan audiences were particularly fond of integrating by fourteen lines.
Throughout this sonnet, love and religion is merged together to create a sacred union. Romeo sees Juliet for the first time at Capulets manor party. Unidentified just yet they are arch enemies. Religious imagery is shown when Romeo addresses how Juliet is ‘This Holy Shrine’ implying ‘Shrine’ as someone to worship, give all devotion to. Her looks are just beautiful in his view, completely smitten by them. Disregarding he’d just gotten out of a relationship with Rosaline, Juliet must be special.
Flattered, Juliet plays back to Romeo also showing religious imagery reassuring him to a ‘pilgrim’ she models palm-to-palm like a prayer that ‘saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch’ demonstrating a connection has been established, she already gained respect for him. A shrine-to-pilgrim is like kissing in a polite manner suggesting during Elizabethan times religion was quite momentous to their everyday live...
... middle of paper ...
...sing your virginity in those days was considered shameful before marriage. The narrator paradoxes to show she could have been a pure woman now people see her as ‘unclean’. It shows the reader that it was a mistake that she’d like to take it back, it crumbled her reputation and knowledgeable to readers over what happened. A reader would feel she was tricked for the lord’s pleasure; generally no feelings were mutual like the narrator had for him.
Line 45 the narrator talks about her son quoting ‘my fair-haired son, my shame, my pride’ using an oxymoron to underline despite the regret of pre-marital sex she loves her son, though her ‘shame’ being born out of wedlock considering in those times it was sinful to do, the son is her rock forever. This makes a reader feel happy for her because she has a son to love and nurture, he will respect his mother unlike his father.
This rhetorical feature is only one of a large arsenal that Shakespeare utilizes to convey his story. Romeo begins his ritualistic display of affection in a grand manner, his language resplendent with beautiful imagery. At the open, there is little dialogue; Romeo must first woo his intended. This being achieved through antithetical couplets to highlight the differences between Juliet and everything inferior around her; 'Juliet is the sun...Kill the envious moon ', 'She speaks yet she says nothing ', are prime examples of this technique. This is also often assisted by; 'godly ' references that of 'heaven ' and that of the 'angel, ' to emphasize his rhetoric. Indeed, the rhyming verse adds a pleasant sound to the ear, to heighten the effect of Romeo 's words, a technique very much commonplace in that era of
There are many forces in the tragic play of Romeo and Juliet that are keeping the two young, passionate lovers apart, all emanating from one main reason. In this essay I will discuss these as well as how love, in the end, may have been the cause that led to the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Their strong attraction to each other, which some call fate, determines where their forbidden love will take them.
Who would be willing to die for their loved ones? Romeo and Juliet would and did. Romeo and Juliet’s love and death brought two families together who could not even remember the origin of their hate. When the parents saw what their children's love for each other, they realized that their fighting had only led to suffering and insoluble conflict. Romeo and Juliet loved each other to an extent that they killed themselves rather than live apart. They did it with no hiatus. Juliet says before she kills herself, “O happy dagger, This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die.”( 5, 3, 182-183) demonstrating how she would rather die than not be with him.
He tries to warn Romeo of the temporary state of infatuation and persuades him out of his rage upon hearing his verdict of banishment. The Friar was a leaning stone for Juliet to turn to while her parents forced her to marry Paris, while the nurse betrayed her by compelling her to marry Paris. His words and belief, that the couple’s marriage would solve the family feud, was also astonishing and showed a sense of belief but also doltishness which he held. But his words have no weight, they are like water in a shattered bucket, because although he speaks in magnifying and brilliant wisdom, his actions undermine them.
Shakespeare plays have fascinated audiences with their ability to seemingly portray the depth of the meanings and descriptions of each scene. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was for many years the world’s best love story and influenced readers and writers from around the world. Understanding the contrasting natures is one of the most important themes in this play and underpins the plot. Love and hate, life and death, lastly, missions and reality will only increase every reader’s sense of curiosity.
Shakespeare creates drama in Act 1 Scene 5 by reflecting the play’s themes in his language. He makes the scene even more dramatic by using emotional language to describe characters and then contrasting this emotional language with the themes of the play.’ So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, as yonder lady o’er her fellows shows’. This quote shows how Shakespeare uses emotive language to describe how beautiful Juliet is and how she stands out from the other woman like a dove in the middle of a flock of crows. Then he associates this emotive language to the theme of love to demonstrate Romeo’s love/feelings for Juliet, ‘Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er true beauty till this night’. This quote shows how Shakespeare contrasts language with the themes of the play to create drama. ‘If I profane with my unworthiest word hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss’. This quote is when Romeo and Juliet first meet. Once again, in this quote Shakespeare uses emotional language and contrasts it with the theme of religion to reflect the play’s themes. His use of verse when describing Juliet also uses...
Juliet’s weakness to be controlled by love leads her to make unadvised and irresponsible decisions that contribute to her choice of ending her life. Characterized as a young and rash teenager, with no interest in love and marriage at first, Juliet wants to be independent. However, after she first lays eyes on Romeo, Juliet’s perception of love is quick to change. Their strong love easily manipulates and clouds her judgment. Even if she is cautious and realizes their love is too fast, the rush of feelings from having a first love overcomes her. Her soft-spoken words symbolically foreshadow the journey of Romeo and Juliet’s love. “Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee, / I have no joy of this contract tonight. / It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden;…/ This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, / May prove to be a beauteous flower when next we meet” (2.2. 117-123). 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 ...
To begin, Juliet challenges her family expectations in favour of living a life where she can express her love to Romeo, who is her family’s enemy, freely. For example, as Romeo and Juliet speak with each other on the balcony, she states “Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (II, ii, 100-102). Juliet understands society will not allow her to be with Romeo, a Montague, because he is the family’s (Capulet’s) enemy. But due to her intense love toward Romeo, she is ready to give up her family ...
Based off the dismal circumstances presented throughout the poem, it is more than safe to say that Mary Lady Chudleigh is opposed to the future endeavors that a marriage encompasses. Her final warning is stated in the last section of her poem, “Who, with the power, has all the wit. Then shun, oh! Shun that wretched state”, (20, 21). She strongly advises the unmarried woman to do anything to avoid (shun) the “wretched” state of marriage. She also repeats the word shun, forcing her deliberation on the reader. Using the term wretched, again portrays her disapproving attitude towards the thought of being
The light and dark imagery that Shakespeare uses in this passage describes Juliet as a young and eager lover. Romeo associates Juliet with light meaning goodness. Then Romeo says that Juliet looks like the excellent night. The night that Romeo speaks of represents Rosaline. Romeo basically says through with light and dark imagery, that Juliet is as good as Rosaline to love. Romeo then compares Juliet to a "winged messenger of heaven" who filled with lightness and goodness. He says that all humans look upon this kindness as the messenger "bestrides the lazy puffing clouds" while doing his errands. Romeo explains using this imagery that everyone looks at Juliet because she gives off a stunning and intricate outlook.
When Romeo sees Juliet on her balcony, he is struck by her beauty and compares her radiance to the sun. In a soliloquy, as he is aware that Juliet does not hear him, he expresses love for her that outshines his love for Rosaline, the moon. Unlike the sun, the moon is cold and remote, symbolizing Rosaline’s
Being one of the most debated texts in history, Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, has the power and ability to divide audiences. Throughout the play, it is seen that Shakespeare has left the audience to contemplate the underlying cause of the Romeo and Juliet tragedy. Shakespeare begins by showing the reckless actions and choices of the lovers, illustrating one of the main contributing factors to their deaths. Friar Lawrence plays a large role in the deaths of the lovers as he is the main instigator, greatly contributing to the deaths. Also, demonstrated through the play is that the lover’s destiny is written in the stars. Without
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is arguably the most well known and well-read play in history. With its passionate and realistic treatment of universal themes of love, fate, war, and death, it’s not difficult to see why. However, most people don’t realize that there are several versions of the play, each with their own unique additions and/or changes to the plot, dialogue, and characters. After thumbing through the texts located here on this website, you can see even at a glance the distinct differences between the versions of Romeo and Juliet. This essay will explore how people dealt with death during the Renaissance in context to Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Lamentable Tragedie.) More specifically, I will show that the added monologue in act 4, scene 5, regarding the convention of death, is consistent to the social and religious beliefs of the time period.
Romeo first notices Juliet during her parents' banquet, which causes them to fall in love at first sight. His reaction in Act I, scene IV illustrates that Juliet's appearance significantly affects him: “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night. As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear- Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! (Act I, scene IV, 45-48). Romeo swiftly decides that he is in love with Juliet though he hasn’t spoken to her yet. Juliet is more sensible and declines his first moves, but soon lets him kiss her. At this time, the feelings of both lovers look to be the same. Nevertheless, fate checks their loyalty by revealing their identities. Juliet is a Capulet, and Romeo a Montague, which is an unearthing that shocks them both, but they do not doubt the love they have together. In fact, this leads the reader to accept their love as genuine. In final, their compassion and devotion towards one another is too strong for it to be lust, which proves they are in true love.
'Romeo and Juliet' is a play written by William Shakespeare that teaches current and future generations important lessons about love and vengeance. Hatred and revenge is a key theme throughout the play as everyone is blinded by pessimistic opinions and ideas about their enemies. Although their pride and passion for violence is extremely overpowering and demeaning, there is a small seed of hope and love (Romeo and Juliet) beginning to grow in the immense darkness. By analysing these themes, it helps to enlighten and strengthen your knowledge of the consequences of forbidden love and assists the reader in becoming more optimistic.