Romeo And Juliet Figurative Language Essay

William Shakespeare’s diverse use of rhetorical and figurative language enhances and develops the moods he conveys, thus creating vast and various atmospheres throughout his works. An example of one his works that uses many of these devices is Shakespeare’s renowned Romeo and Juliet. In the famous play, the two lovebirds (Romeo and Juliet), fall in a forbidden love as the long-lasting rivalry between their two families continues its onslaught. The couple later on tragically commit suicide, which ultimately ends the feud. During the journey of the two lovers, Shakespeare expresses clearly the mood of each scene using figurative language.

A device that Shakespeare utilizes throughout the excerpt (Act II, Scene II, Lines 62-84) is metaphors, as Romeo claims that, “For stony limits cannot hold love out,” (2.2.67) meaning that love cannot be stopped, no matter the obstacle in its way, whether it be an ocean, as stated by Romeo himself when he said that, “As that vast shore washed with the

My life were better ended by their hate, than death proroguèd, wanting of thy love,”(2.2.76-78). By using complex syntax and diction Shakespeare creates a sense of sincerity and genuity from Romeo as he explains to Juliet how he’d rather die should she not love him, than live without her love using intricate diction such as ‘proroguèd’. Another strong example of how Shakespeare’s unique use of diction and syntax greatly influences the mood of the scene would be when Romeo confesses to Juliet that, to him, he’d rather face 20 of her relatives than be given an angry look by her, saying that, “Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords,”(2.2.71-72). It gives a sense of almost sickening romanticism, especially from Romeo, and intensifies the obvious ‘love in the air’ between the two in the