Images of Emotions in "Romeo and Juliet"
One of William Shakespeare's most famous plays is "Romeo and Juliet." I believe the reason for this is its sense of reality and idealism. This paper will present images of human emotions in "Romeo and Juliet," which make this tragedy so believable.
Youth and family play a big role in this tragic story. "Shakespeare delineates the hold of the patriarchal family on its children" (Kahn 18). This statement is true both then and now. Parents and elders will always have a hold on the children, but only to a certain extent. The two "noble" families of the play feel control and protection over both Juliet and Romeo; yet in the end, the only effect they have on the two lovers is that they have pushed them to the drastic measure of self-slaughter.
Others say that the relation between the two time periods is in the children's disobeying of and misunderstanding of rules set before them.
The youth of society tend to question and then possibly disregard the rules that are important to their parents if they do not have a good reason to believe in these rules. The rebellious actions of youth can eventually cause their own untimely destruction. (Justin K.)
Although some feel that way, others say that idea is incorrect because teenagers who have been either purposely forcefully kept out of society tend to fear society rather than their own families (Bradbrook 99).
I agree with Kahn, parents do have a certain magnitude of authority over the youth of society, but it will only have a limited effect. Just as the aged people of today eventually gained or were allowed their ability to make their own decisions and others, so must the younger generation be able to do. This opportunity was one never given to Romeo or Juliet they were left in a position of the second type of connection, where their only option was to go against the rules and concepts set before them.
Two of the many other emotions used in this piece are prejudice and hate. They are intertwined and effect each other in ways so noticeable to us that we tend to forget that they even exist at times. "From examining 'Romeo and Juliet,' it is evident that the play shows how prejudice leads to escalating violence" (Justin K.). This, to most people, is common knowledge especially in society today, where many actions are based on racism or sexism.
Love, what a small word for being one of the most powerful and complicated emotion someone can receive. Love grants people an experience of other emotions such as, sadness, happiness, jealousy, hatred and many more. It is because of those characteristics that love creates that make it so difficult to define the emotion in a few words. In the play, “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, defy their parents in hopes of being able to be together and live a happy life. The characters in “Romeo and Juliet” show the characteristics of love through their words and actions throughout the play. The attributes the characters illustrate throughout the play are rage, loyalty, and sorrow.
“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare is a play about two lovers from different families that have an internal feud between them. It ends in both lovers, Romeo and Juliet, committing suicide as they could not openly live with each other. An important idea in this play is that of the impetuosity of youth and the rash decisions that young people may make. This idea is continuously brought up throughout the play and is explored through the concepts of overreacting and being blinded by anger, desperation in forbidden love and taking your life for love.
In an attempt to push away from medieval love conventions and her father's authority, Shakespeare's Juliet asserts sovereignty over her sexuality. She removes it from her father's domain and uses it to capture Romeo's love. Critic Mary Bly argues that sexual puns color Juliet's language. These innuendoes were common in Renaissance literature and would have been recognized by an Elizabethan audience. Arguably, Juliet uses sexual terms when speaking to Romeo in order to make him aware of her sexuality. When he comes to her balcony, she asks him, "What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?" (2.1.167). Bly asserts that "satisfaction in her hands, becomes a demure play on the sating of desire" (108). Following this pun, Juliet proposes marriage. She teases Romeo with sexual thoughts and then stipulates that marriage must precede the consummation of their love. Juliet uses "death" in a similar sense. She asks night to "Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die / Take him and cut him out in little stars" (3.2.21-22). Death holds a double meaning in these lines. It connotes both "ceasing to be and erotic ecstasy" (Bly 98). Based upon this double meaning, one can infer that "she sweetly asks 'civil night' to teach her how to lose the game of love she is about to play for her virginity" (Wells 921). She tells her nurse, "I'll to my wedding bed, / And death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead!" (3.2.136-137). Placing death opposite Romeo highlights the irony of the situation; both death and Romeo should claim her maidenhead together. These sexual puns reveal Juliet's awareness of her sexuality. She entices Romeo, forcing her sexuality to act as emotional currency.
In the play of Romeo and Juliet the way Romeo and Juliet act towards their parents is astoundingly rebellious and disobedient. Throughout the play both characters lie and disobey their parents. The way that Romeo acts towards both of his parents is so rebellious that it ends up getting him banished. Juliet disobeys her family and the nurse so much that none of them ever have the slightest clue of the plan which ends up killing her. If either character had thought out their actions through the entirety of the play and told a parent what is unfolding, both of them could have lived. The way that Romeo and Juliet both interact with their parents is a web of lies. The way both families feel toward their children is love
This theme is not only represented in “Romeo and Juliet”, or other playwrights and stories that people read about online, but in their everyday life. Although Shakespeare makes the theme of love and hate dramatic and over the top in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare delivers the message of how love and hate can overpower and consume us, and if we aren’t careful, it can easily blow up and destroy everything. As Kurt Tucholsky once said, “Those who hate most fervently must have once loved deeply; those who want to deny the world must have once embraced what they now set on fire.” The coexistence of love and hate was not something Romeo and Juliet could choose to embrace or avoid, it was simply
In my essay I will be discussing the many ways in which Shakespeare causes us to feel sympathy towards Romeo and Juliet in the final scene of the play, after a brief summary of the events previous. In the beginning, Romeo and Juliet meet each other for the first time at a party. They fall in love and eventually decide to get married. As a result of Romeo killing Tybalt for revenge, he is banished from Verona. Juliet is being forced to marry Count Paris. A plan comes about that Juliet is to be drugged which would cause her to appear dead and therefore preventing her from having to marry Paris. However Romeo fails to receive the details of the plan and thinks that she is dead. He therefore returns to Verona to pay his last respects and end his own life. This brings us to the final scene of the play.
Just as the Friar says in the beginning of the Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet, “Wisely and slowly, they stumble that run fast.” (II.iii.94). this was a sign of foreshadowing for for the death of the lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Even though fate was a factor that had contributed to a tragic end, there was also personal choice involved, and ultimately, the story may have had a different ending if it weren’t for the flaws of the lovers and their inability to have a grip on reality in dire circumstances. Over the course of the play, the lovers from the conflicting households have not matured and remain rather static in development. Furthermore, in this tragedy, the only son of the montages remains rather childlike, Juliet still seems immature and their relationship over all seems more like a play act on lover rather then something mature and sustainable. Overall, from start to finish, Romeo and Juliet were living in the moment, being absurd and silly rather then focusing on the future and trying to work problems out effectively.
One of the main catalysts in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' is powerful, uncontrollable emotions; love, hate, wrath, infatuation, and outrage are all apparent in the play and have a direct impact on the tragic events that unfold. In act one, scene two, the strongest emotions conveyed are those of despair, love and sincerity. Shakespeare uses imagery, figurative language and powerful vocabulary to convey these emotions to the audience.
In books, the author hopes to convey to you a message through reading but in movies, it doesn’t work exactly that way. Themes are what is focused upon but never stated in movies similar to books in their respective plots; in Lion King, for example, they stress that you must “conquer your worst fears as it will come back” when the King comes back to confess his crime of “killing” his father – this is something, a lesson, in which the movie conveys when it leads to that climax. Many movies may easily sway you into believing in a theme early on but some aren’t as easy to see. These lessons are the hidden messages scattered in the plot from early on to the final finish of the movie.
In the tremendous play of ‘Romeo & Juliet’, Shakespeare’s ways engages the audience straight away. The astounding methods he uses hooks the audience into the play and allows them to read on, wondering what will happen. The tragic love story of Romeo & Juliet, as mentioned in the prologue, sets a variety of themes throughout Act 1 Scene 5. Many of the recognisable themes are: youth and age, revenge, forbidden love, fate, action and hate. The main idea of the play is a feud that had been going on between two families, The ‘Montagues and Capulets’, the son of the Montagues and the daughter of the Capulets fall in love and the story tells us how tragic, death, happiness and revenge find them throughout the play.
The classic play Romeo and Juliet by the famous playwright William Shakespeare is one of the most beautiful love stories of all time and has captured and inspired readers everywhere. Regardless of the fact that it was written in the 1500’s, it is still being performed and extolled today. There is a multitude of reasons for such continuance of the play. First of all, its everlasting themes of love and hate enable people to deeply relate to the story. Secondly, its memorable characters deeply imprint on the minds of readers. And lastly, above all, is its magnificent language which many writers today regard in awe. These three elements make the acclaimed play, Romeo and Juliet, one of the most timeless stories of our lives.
Countless people all around the world are familiar with the idea of the famously tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers in William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. Their heart wrenching love story has been an inspiration for many literature pieces throughout various genres and later cinematic works of art. The young couple was not only memorable for their passionate, devoted love, but also the tragic events that ultimately lead to their death. One aspect of the play that has a strong impact on the audience is Shakespeare’s use of charismatic and compelling language seen throughout the play. The unique personality traits used to describe Romeo and Juliet allows many to relate to the young lovers. Shakespeare’s use of descriptive language, allows the audience to understand the societal expectations, beliefs, and values set out for the men and women of Verona, Italy. Romeo’s character, however, can be been seen defying these expectations and also
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet centres on the relationship between two young protagonists, but much of what occurs during the play is as a result of the inequality between men and women. Juliet’s arranged marriage with Paris, as well as the ancient feud between Capulets and Montagues eventually contributes to the deaths of their children.
Once hormones have revealed themselves, children turn into confused young adults that think they can do everything by themselves and that there will no longer be any need for nurturing from adults. The word “young” from “young adults” is what teenagers completely ignore, when actually they should do the opposite and ignore the “adults” part. Furthermore, this causes infliction between teenagers and adults, especially their parents. Once they have the courage to say “no” with consciousness to what they are ordered to do, they come across a feeling, a feeling of being big and powerful. Because of that, teenagers then only focus on their new discovery of rebelling against adults and are, metaphorically speaking, injected with ego.
In 2001, there were 6,600 children surveyed to see if the expectations parents held for their kids had an effect on their future lives (Gillett) (BE10). Neal Halfon, a professor from the University of California, discovered that 97% of children were expected to go to college (Gillett) (BE11). This study shows the expectations that parents have for their children affects minors later on in life. In my childhood, I thought everything was fun and games and I was immature. As I grew older into adulthood, not only did I mature but I realized just how serious life is. Even though I didn’t have to make hardly any major decisions or take anything seriously in my childhood, I realize now that I have to be mature and make decisions on my own.