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Symbolism and imagery of romeo and juliet by william shakespeare
Symbolism in Romeo and Juliet
Symbolism and imagery of romeo and juliet by william shakespeare
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Throughout the course of the play Romeo and Juliet and the novel Lord of the Flies, there is a common motif of light versus dark that affects the way characters grow and view the world. Contrasting sharply between the two written works is the usage of this idea. In Romeo and Juliet the light is treated as a problem that will bring their forbidden love to “light” whereas the darkness provides a covering for their rendezvous. In Lord of the Flies it is the opposite, with the darkness being representative of the boy’s hidden savagery as well as providing fear of the unknown while the fire, a symbol of light, provides safety in warmth and food as well as the ability to see through the dark. Romeo and Juliet portrays the use of darkness in a positive …show more content…
The examples of light through the book like the fire, Ralph’s fair hair, and the pale skin of the boys, are symbols of the good and safety. The examples of darkness such as the face paint, the night and the density of the forest’s foliage symbolize shady dealings and frightful encounters. Jack, one of the more savage boys, truly descends into a hateful madness when he smears on mud as face paint. This not only makes him look more gruesome, but it hides his pale skin away from the world. Also, it should be noted that throughout the book there is a common theme of hair color being an example of foreshadowing towards the mindset of each boy. For instance, one of the notoriously good characters, Ralph, has very fair hair whereas Robert, a sadistic and violent boy, has dark hair. Jack is one of the few characters to break this mold because his red hair shows his progression into madness as well as the fire’s steady decline from light imagery into something darker. In the beginning of the book, Jack is tasked with keeping the fire lit. However when the fire goes out around the same time Jack catches his first pig and paints his face, Jack descends into depravity and the fire becomes an ominous symbol. This, along with the hunters want to live deeper in the woods where the sun does not reach shows the darkness as a symbol of malicious intent. However, it is here in the forest where one of the characters discovers the Lord of the Flies and becomes enlightened. It is this sort of contrasting imagery that shows the books love of blurring the lines of the good and the
The evil in man is seen in many parts of life and it could be only be brought out when they have the power and position to do it. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding symbolism is used to show the theme of the Inherent Evil of Man through the conch, the Lord of the Flies, and the fire. The breaking of the conch shows how the boys forget authority and destroy their only symbol of civilization. The Lord of the Flies shows the violence of the boys, and the temptation of the evil Lord of the Flies. The fire shows how something used for rescue and hope is turned into something violent and evil. The fire burns down trees and parts of the island when the savage boys are trying to kill Ralph.
Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is considered one of the most famous love story of all time. It reminds me about the first Hunger Games movie. Although the hunger games did not portray the iconic love in first sight, it still had a strong amount of love and passion between the characters, Katniss and Peeta. There are many similarities and distinct differences between both of the stories. Despite the obvious and specific details, like location or character names, both of the stories shares a similar plot. For instance, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are alike to Romeo and Juliet but by characteristics rather than personalities. If I did not know the title of the film and the character names, I would assume that it is a futuristic remake of Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet, (R&J), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, (AMSND), are two different genres with but have the same basic plot: Two young lovers can’t wed and the girl is to marry another man who is preferred by her father, so the couple meets at night and plans to run away. Both couples have gone against the wishes of their authority figures but it doesn’t end well for Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, or Juliet. R&J is set in Elizabethan times, and the Chain of Being would have been disrupted by their actions.AMSND has fantastical elements that interfere with fate and these elements such as fairies and cupid, would have been understood to be higher on the chain than man by its attendees of the time. Is it the force of celestial bodies that makes R&J a tragedy and AMSND a comedy?
White flowers grow outside in the fields where Matt lives. “He’d looked out the window where fields of white poppies stretched all the way to the shadowy hills. The whiteness hurt his eyes, and so he turned from them with relief to the cool darkness inside” (Farmer 6). When the poppies in the fields of Opium (the futuristic place where Matt lives) it gives a pretty and pleasant picture. These poppies, however, are sinister and threatening. This shows that although Matt longs to go into the outside world as it seems exciting, it is actually very dangerous. Darkness on the island in Lord of the Flies symbolises the fear of the unknown. “He says the beastie came in the dark” (Golding 35). The boys fear the dark because they do not understand it, and do not know what it contains. There really is nothing to be afraid of, and there is no “beastie” in the dark. The boys do not understand the darkness so their imagination creates fear. The white flowers and the darkness both show that things are not always as they first appear. It shows that sometimes we view things as dangerous when they are not or view things as fun when they are
In the novel Lord of the Flies William Golding uses many forms of symbolism to point out the underlying conflicts in their society. By using these symbols he makes the reader not only think about the problems that arise in the book, but also hints towards problems in our society today. The story uses the conch, fire, and the glasses to reference other meanings in the story. These symbols play a crucial part in the story in which they provide the reader with information that isn’t directly stated but is inferred.
In Lord of the Flies, there’s a good amount of imagery that shows the darkness and the lightness. The dark and light in Lord of the Flies is repeatedly used over and over to show the bad and good side of a specific person or thing. Jack’s mask shows a feature of dark and light imagery. When Jack creates his mask, he covers half of his face with red clay and the other half of his face with white clay. “...slashed a black bar of charcoal across from right ear to left jaw” (Golding 63). This shows how half of Jack’s personality is on the “dark” or “evil” side while the other half is on the “light or “good” side. Also, when Jack calls Roger over to see the mask Roger saw darkness. “…opened his eyes and saw him a darker shadow crept beneath the
Not only does the first Lion King movie share Shakespearian ties, its sequel also takes inspiration from another one of the bard’s famous tragedies. Disney’s The Lion King 2 has a storyline comparable to that of Romeo and Juliet, differing from the play, like the prequel, in that it has a more child friendly ending with far less death. The basic plot for both of the entertainment pieces are the same, along with the personalities of a few of the main characters. Although it is not nearly as close knit to the original piece as the previous movie, by adding a few differing moments, there is no doubt that the two stories are the same.
In Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet and The Taming of the Shrew, the leading female characters have traits that can join them together or separate them. Juliet and Katherine both face having to marry a man they don’t want to wed and face pressure to marry them from their fathers. Both of their personalities come through by the decisions they make, Juliet can be unthoughtful on how she makes decisions and Katherine can be more sassy towards her family and society about marriage. Shakespeare still let some of the characters personalities clash together giving them some of the same qualities. The roles, Katherine and Juliet were different in the fact that Juliet was naive and spoiled unlike Katherine, but they both have stubbornness in common.
In The novel “Lord of the Flies”, there is a good amount of imagery and symbolism that show evil and good also known as darkness and lightness. The evil and the good is used in the book continually over and over. For this reason I chose the theme of evil and to portray this on a mask I will be using Jack; a character from the book who very clearly shows this.
Throughout an individual’s life, they go through change. Everything around them can impact the way they grow up, physically and mentally. The environment that an individual is around can influence how he/she acts, either being good or bad. In the Lord of the Flies by William Golding, light and dark imagery demonstrate how the environment impacts an individual’s behavior and feelings.
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the boys who are stranded on the island come in contact with many unique elements that ideas or concept. Through the use of symbols such as beast, the pig's head, and even Piggy's glasses, Golding demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules and taboos, allow their natural capacity for evil to determine their existence. This study is an attempt to analyze the use of symbolism in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. It aims at shedding light on the motives behind the use of symbolism in this novel. This work is divided into three chapters.
Act III, scene i On Demand Act III , scene i of Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare is portrayed in two different movies, Romeo and Juliet directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and West Side Story directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Benvolio and Mercutio mock the Capulets and then a fight occurs between Mercutio, and Tybalt in the middle of the town square which results in Mercutio dying. Romeo then challenges Tybalt to a duel and he kills Tybalt so Romeo is banished from Verona. While both movies offer different Interpretations of Romeo and Juliet they also are interpreted the same.
There are myriad symbols in the novel which incompass human nature.The beast in the novel represents the religious aspect all societies ability to generate a common fear.The need for fear is one of the most powerful tools in development due to the way in can hold a generalized accountability. Jack 's reign reflects the very depths of human instinct and how humans are inevitably malicious. He used the fear of the beast to control all of the people that followed him. On the other end of the spectrum the conch represents order, which is broken as soon as they let fear govern their morals. The lord of the flies is a sow 's head that jack impales on a stake which is used to symbolize the devil just as simon alludes a christ like figure. The sow 's head makes the reader visualize a palpable evil in the novel. The behavior of the boys in general determines that environment directly regulates
for Juliet when he says, “It is my lady, o it is my love” (II.i.10).
Throughout all of Shakespeare's literary masterpieces, he works to capture and frame human emotion and its vast complexity. Two of the best known Shakespeare works; Romeo and Juliet and Othello both perfectly encapsulate a common theme of his literature; love and it's painful decay and eventual loss; yet both have a distinct difference in what truly drove them to this state. Othello, suspicious of Desdemona’s love and susceptible to the manipulation of Iago (motivated by an uncontrolled desire for Desdemona) ends up taking his lovers life; followed by his own. Jealousy is the culprit here, while in Romeo and Juliet the cruel ending can be attest to a mad, almost corrupt desire which drives the lovers to kill themselves rather than enduring