Shakespeare's Use of Imagery and Symbolism to Create Dramatic Tension in Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare's Use of Imagery and Symbolism to Create Dramatic Tension in Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is set in 16th Century

Verona. It concerns two main characters, Romeo and Juliet, and their

fight to keep their love and themselves alive. Romeo and Juliet are

the only children of two feuding aristocratic families, the Capulet's

and the Montague's. At a party held by Lord Capulet, the two meet and

instantaneously fall in love.

Throughout the rest of the play we follow their journey of accelerated

adolescence until they meet their tragic death. Some people argue that

Romeo and Juliet epitomises the true essence of love, because it is so

tragic; Romeo and Juliet die for each other, without any hesitation.

Shakespeare uses linguistic and poetic devices to create dramatic

tension for the reader. Through these carefully structured phrases and

sentences, we the reader can know and understand the feelings which

Romeo and Juliet are experiencing.

Act One Scene Five

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This scene begins at Capulets house. He is getting ready for a feast

to be held at his mansion. He is in a jovial mood, reminiscing of his

youth, 'I have seen the day…and could tell a whispering tale in a fair

lady's ear.' The use of the past tense shows us that he is reflecting

on his life. Romeo enters the party and sees Juliet. As soon as he

sees her, he launches into a speech of rhyming couplets. In this

sonnet, Shakespeare uses the first of many references to light, 'she

doth teach the torches to burn bright.' The use of light imagery is so

powerful because we see light as something pure and cleansing a...

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... which brightens up a

dark nights' sky. The references to explosions could be seen as the

speed at which Romeo and Juliet meet, fall in love and die.

One final point on the language of the play is the poetic is the

variety of poetic forms the Shakespeare employs. As is noted

elsewhere, he employs the sonnet form on a number of occasions, more

obviously in the opening of scenes One and Two and more subtly to

elevate the opening lines of Romeo and Juliet's love affair.

Shakespeare uses his poetic genius to create the most beautiful love

story of all time by making the love so vivid and real, through his

language and poetry. Romeo and Juliet share a love, which all people

wish to experience because it is the 'perfect love'. There are no

blemishes or dark areas in their relationship, just sheer,

unadulterated love.