Audience's Sympathy in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Audience's Sympathy in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare was a very experienced play writer who engaged the

audience making them feel mixed emotions. In the play "Romeo and

Juliet" one of the main emotions felt by the audience is sympathy. In

this essay I will explain how Shakespeare does this.

In act scene 1 Romeo is lovesick over a young lady named Rosaline.

When Romeo speaks, generally he speaks in poetry, especially when it

is something he feels passionately about. In scene 1 Romeo's form of

speech is already in contrast with the other characters in the play.

For example at the start of the play Sampson and Gregory are boasting

and laughing about how they wish to deal with the Montague women. "Tis

true, and therefore women being the weaker vessels are ever thrust to

the wall." This manner of speech contrasts with the way in which Romeo

speaks about women, "She is too fair, too wise; wisely too fair, to

merit bliss by making me despair." This builds up the audiences love

for young Romeo and when the audience likes a character they are

likely to feel sympathy for that character if something tragic happens

as is did in this play.

In the famous balcony scene Romeo and Juliet find themselves speaking

in poetry and using a lot of similes and metaphors. Also the speech of

Romeo and Juliet is very love orientated yet very innocent unlike some

of the speech used by Mercutio. "O speak again bright angel for thou

art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head, as a winged

messenger from heaven."

Romeo is a very honest character that falls in and out of love easily

and because of that Mercutio teases him, but in ...

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character is good, however Mercutio's death made him change from

someone who bottles up anger to someone who releases it. Therefore he

kills Paris and Tybalt. This makes the death count high, but because

the audience has so much sympathy for Romeo they tend to forget that

he is capable of killing someone.

Banishment of course adds an extra twist to the play and both Romeo

and Juliet are distraught after it. The audience sympathise immensely

with this because they are unable to see each other.

The tragedy at the end is brought about by a misplacement of a very

important letter from friar Lawrence to Romeo. This letter brings

about the fate of the lovers, which of course is death. The audience

sympathise greatly because they know that it would have all been all

right if the letter had reached Romeo.