Romeo And Juliet Literary Devices

Throughout his career, William Shakespeare wrote several plays and a few for which his names still remains to this day. One of those plays that hold this esteemed playwright's name in the light is Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare starts off the play with a prologue that is very useful to the reader and the work itself. The purpose of the prologue is to introduce the reader of the conflict of the play. Interestingly, the prologue also serves to summarize the entire play of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare effectively does all this in the prologue of his play Romeo and Juliet through various well-placed literary devices. One device that William Shakespeare mixes into his prologue is the identification of the setting from the very beginning. It is

Just in the prologue alone, there are at least five examples of foreshadowing. An example of this device could be seen on line 6 where it says," A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life" (Shakespeare 6). This line reveals many things to the reader when read carefully. First, the reader learns that a couple will most likely be the center of attention, or that they will play a big role in the play. This line also indicates that the fate of these two lovers is death. Shakespeare uses this method foreshadow to let the reader know what is going to happen. From the very beginning of the play, the reader already knows the fate of two of the potential main characters and obtain a glimpse into the future. That being the predominant reason, the playwright also uses foreshadowing for another purpose. The author of this prologue uses foreshadow to intrigue the reader and to encourage them to get all the details regarding the play. For example, line 11 opens the mind for intrigue. Line 11 says," Which, but their children's end, nought could remove" (Shakespeare 11). After reading that line, the reader could maybe wonder whose children are involved, how they are going to die, and why their lives have to end. The reader's interest could then be strengthened and the individual begins to read the play with those questions pending. Of all the literary devices, foreshadowing seems to stand out amongst the rest. Shakespeare uses this to allow the reader to anticipate what will happen and to fill the mind of the reader's mind with