The Idea of Antithesis in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

The Idea of Antithesis in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

In this essay I am going to look at how antitheses are a big part and

how they are central to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. There are many

antitheses and oxymorons in the play and I will be examining how they

are used and how they drive the play on, entertaining and involving

the audience.

There are so many examples of opposites in the play, covering

language, characters, scenes and backgrounds, focusing in the main on

the central theme throughout the play of love and hate.

The first and main opposite we encounter in the play is love and hate,

in act 1 scene 1 although a trace of all the opposites are always

present throughout the play. "my only love sprung from my only hate."

Romeo is miserable because of all the people in the world; he has

fallen in love with someone from the only family he hates. Fate and

freewill could also be linked to love and hate as Romeo and Juliet

discovered. "Is love a tender thing? Is it too boisterous, and it

pricks like a thorn" Romeo is saying here that love is painful and

painful pleasure is another oxymoron used to describe pleasure in a

painful sense. This quote is linked to fate and free will as well as

love and hate. There are many antitheses in the play but the main

opposite must be love and hate. Without each other there is no

opposite.

Romeo and Juliet found that fate was not on their side as the hate

between the Capulets and Montagues eventually led to the death of them

both. But as they struggled to bring the two families together, they

used their free will and strength to prove their love and bring the

two families toget...

... middle of paper ...

... idea of a young couple fighting

against fate, using their strength and freewill to try to bring the

two families together, and holding on to their love. This idea again,

relies on the antitheses integrated in the play, and the oxymoron's

used in the play to create a sense of confusion, happiness, love or

hate about the character or scene

Antitheses are central to Romeo and Juliet because if they weren't

there then the dramatic contrast of love and hate and the other

opposites would not exist and the play would be totally ineffective to

the audience.

The way the theme of opposites is used throughout this play ensure

that the audience is kept entertained and on the edge of their seats

due to the dramatic impact. It is the use of these opposites which

keeps Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet entertaining and amusing.