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Thematic analysis of romeo and juliet
The effectiveness of making romeo + juliet modern
Thematic analysis of romeo and juliet
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William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare shapes our response in a variety of ways using a number of
techniques. To give you an answer to this question, I will comment on
a number of key areas ; character, language, themes, the plays
structure and dramatic devices. Shakespeare did not create this story
it was adapted from a well-known love story written by Author Brooke.
Shakespeare first produced the play in 1596.
At the start of the play we meet the Chorus not a character but a
dramatic device. The Chorus's comes on stage before the play starts,
his job was firstly to quieten down the rowdy Elizabethan audience.
Plays were really the only form of entertainment back then, so
Elizabethan audiences often got involved in what was happening and
often reacted badly to evil characters. The other role of the Chorus
was to inform the audience on what the plays about this was said in
the form of a sonnet. A sonnet was a fourteen-line long love poem
where every third line had to rhyme and the last two lines also had to
rhyme. This was one way Shakespeare shapes our response to the lovers
first meeting because he tells us about what will happen to them, when
he says, "A pair of star crossed lovers" and, "Misadventure".
In act 1 scene 1 there is a feud between the Capulet and the Montagues
in the streets of Verona. There was an intense atmosphere in this
brawl, swords were drawn and some highly offensive gestures were made.
These gestures (thumb between the fingers) would have shocked an
Elizabethan audience but a modern day audience would be totally
unaware of what they mean. This Scene is created to engage the
audience and get them involved, but also to inform an audience of the
extreme hatred the two families have for each other. This is also
another way Shakespeare shapes our response to the lovers first
meeting by showing how immense the rivalry was between the two
families which introduces us to the struggle Romeo and Juliet will
The feud between the Capulets and the Montagues was the major conflict throughout the play. The family feud between the Capulets and the Montagues made living in Verona difficult for everyone. Quarrels burst out in the village, causing destruction of property and the rivalry forbid
Sampson and Gregory start to mock the Montague's by biting their thumb, which was considered very rude then. This causes a fight to break out and this shows us that the rivalry and hatred between the Montague and Capulet's also continues at all social levels as well. This introduces us to the fighting that goes on between the two families. We are introduced to Romeo and discover he is in love with a girl called Rosaline. He gate crashes a Capulet party and meets
We first see Capulet in Act 1 scene 1 when he walks in on a fight that
To begin, in the play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare makes a point in emphasizing the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. The feud shows how they are all just living in the moment and not thinking about how this feud could affect others living presently and also in the future. They are not thinking rationally but instead are stuck on the fact that they both think they are better than one another. This makes them think they can not talk to one another or be nice but instead just pretend they don't exist. In the future, they may actually
short summary of what the play is about. The chorus is in the form of
wither in their pride/ Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.” From
“He who falls in love meets a worse fate than he who falls from a
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare's plays he very rarely used original ideas. Most of the plays he wrote, such as "Romeo and Juliet," were adapted from other people's stories. Shakespeare used these ideas as basic outlines for his plays.
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet `Romeo and Juliet` is one of the best love stories of all time but although Shakespeare wrote the play, the story wasn't original. It all started hundreds of years before Shakespeare was born, in Italy when myths and folktales travelled about two young lovers from enemy families. After that, a poem was written called `The tragical history of Romeus and Juliet` by Arthur Brooke in 1562. So although Shakespeare's ideas weren't original, he has developed the basic ideas so well that now the whole world are familiar with the deeply touching love story of `Romeo and Juliet`.
“Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, still-waking sleep, that is not what this is” (Shakespeare 1.1. 179-180). A string of contradictions explain the love story of Romeo and Juliet, a contradiction. Some critics consider this story a tragedy because Shakespeare once wrote; “the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves”. While others say it does not follow the standard Aristotelian form of tragedy (Krims 1). Romeo and Juliet can not be a tragedy because no flaw causes them to fall, the lovers, could not have controlled fate, and family and friends assisted them to their deaths.
In Act 1 scene 1 we see servants of the Capulet house. and Montague house quarrel in this instance the feud is introduced as well as demonstrated in the above. Shakespeare tries to help the audience to understand the complicity of the feud as it later causes numerous death. The snare of the snare. Later on in the scene Benvolio comes in and tries to keep the peace as he says “part fools”.
Firstly, the Capulets and Montagues are at odds with each other. Members of each house and servants break into a sword fight, clashing with each other. Sampson says "Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow." (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 60). The feuding between the two families motivates Sampson to challenge the Capulets. Another example of how the two houses despise each other is what Romeo and his friends have to do to get into the Capulet feast. So they will not be recognized, Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio wear comic masks to hide their faces. Mercutio says, "Give me a case to put my visage in" (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 29). They do not want to be recognized because of the hatred between the two houses. Also, Romeo and Juliet are not supposed to be in love: "My only love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late! / Prodigious birth of love it is to me, / That I must love a loathed enemy." says Juliet (Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 137-140). They are not supposed to love each other because it just so happens that each of their houses despise each other. It is unfortunate for Romeo and Juliet that their two families are against each other, because this means that they are not supposed to be married.
Shakespeare starts the play with conflict, and consequences for this conflict. When Gregory and Sampson, Capulet servants, begin to annoy members
...uliet. “Where be these enemies? Capulet, Montague? See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love!”... “Give me thy hand this is my daughter’s jointure, for no more can I demand.” This is evidence that Capulet and Montague hated each other, but when their children die, they realise that there is no point in hating each other, so they reconcile and become friends.