Romeo's Language in Act Two Scene Two of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

946 Words2 Pages

Romeo's Language in Act Two Scene Two of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Throughout Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, there is a great deal of emotive and descriptive language, rich in imagery. In Act 2, Scene 2 (well known as the "Balcony Scene"), Romeo's use of passionate language for Juliet is abundant, yet whether it can be trusted is another question entirely. The scene opens with Romeo's soliloquy and it is famed for its metaphors and personification use. The metaphors especially, in this scene are extremely expressive as can be seen in this quote, "Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes". Romeo is implying that Juliet's eyes are stars and this expresses his sincerity that he believes Juliet to be unreal and enchanted because her eyes are stars. When Juliet speaks Romeo also refers to her as an angel and being almost immortal, saying that she is from heaven. He says, "O speak again, bright angel -". The most famous metaphor in this scene has to be, "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!" He says that Juliet is the sun, as if she is high up, as though she is in heaven and this metaphor emphasises Romeo's expressiveness and how he is in complete awe of her. In this scene, Romeo uses assonance at one point, when he speaks, "When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds," The repeated 'a' vowel makes the clouds really sound lazy, it makes the language and the way he says it sound much more expressive. He also uses alliteration, repeating the 'l' consonant to make the sentence more lilting and passionate. He says, "With love's light wings ... ... middle of paper ... ... him and therefore Romeo is risking a great deal for his love for her. Maybe the greatest and most sincere sacrifice he makes for Juliet (other than taking his own live later on in the play) is that he is willing to leave everything and everyone he loves for her. This means he is truly in love with her and Romeo proves that he is honestly in love with her when he says, "Call me but love, and I'll be new baptis'd; Henceforth I never will be Romeo." Romeo is clearly besotted. In conclusion, considering all the points mentioned, I would advise Juliet to trust Romeo. He obviously cares a huge amount for Juliet otherwise he would not use all the emotive and passionate language that he did. I would advise Juliet to be aware of his impulsive nature but still to feel assured that he is truly in love with her.

Open Document