Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays and has
been described as a romantic tragedy. I will be looking at the
different types of love in the play and how the language and drama
reflect these.
The play opens with a Prologue from the Chorus who warn of the tragedy
to come.
“……….A pair of two star-cross’d lovers take their life:……. ”
Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are the star-crossed lovers who die
because their families, who have been feuding for generations, cannot
accept the young people’s love for one another. The phrase
‘star-crossed’ evokes the recurring theme of celestial forces
directing the outcome of the story. When Romeo first meets Juliet it
was ‘love at first sight’ which quickly developed into something
deeper and more profound.
This is reflected in the language which changes from blank verse to
sonnet form (I.5. 93-106). This raises the tone of the emotion and
illustrates for the audience, the empathy in thought and feeling,
between Romeo and Juliet. The imagery is religious, tender and
sensual.
“My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand”
Romeo is hoping for a kiss from Juliet who stalls him by playing along
with the imagery.
“For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm
is holy palmers’ kiss
There are lots of ‘o’ and ‘s’ sounds which slow the pace of the
exchange, and this is in contrast to Tybalt’s harsh, clipped language.
In Romeo and Juliet we see how Shakespeare creates dramatic tension
using the contrast between the public and private scenes. We notice
that the private scenes are betwe...
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...ed to leave their families and friends to
be with each other. Then, by a twist of fate, they take their own
lives, rather then live without each other.
In conclusion, Shakespeare uses a range of techniques to present love
through language and drama in the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’. He uses
different language styles including the sonnet form of poetry,
imagery, language techniques, the idea of fate and destiny and by
using techniques such as oxymoron’s to emphasise and heighten the
character’s feelings. He also highlights Romeo and Juliet’s
relationship by structuring the play so that their scenes are separate
from those involving hatred, death and darkness. This creates a play
with romance, comedy, tragedy, and a deeper message about the
importance of family, society, morality and their relationship to each
other.
In the fair city of Verona, two rival families, the Montagues and Capulets were involved in a nasty family feud that goes back years before any of the members were born. Even the townspeople were involved in the dispute, because the families were always fighting in the streets and causing disturbances. They disrupted the streets of Verona and even Prince Escalus tried to break up the fighting. They were given a warning, by him that another public fight would result in death. While this was occurring, Romeo, (a Montague) the main character, was getting over his last love, Rosaline, and was very upset. Juliet of the Capulet household had just been introduced to a wealthy young man, Paris, whom her parents wished her to marry. Yet she did not love him. Romeo goes to a party in an effort to forget about Rosaline. At this party he met Juliet, and immediately fell in love with her. He later finds out that she is a Capulet, the rival family of the Montagues. He decides that he loves her anyway and they confess their love for each other during the very famous "balcony scene" in which they agreed to secretly marry the next day. Friar Lawrence agreed to marry them in an effort to end the feuding between the families. Unfortunately, the fighting gets worse and Mercutio (Montague) a good friend of Romeo ends up in a fight with Tybalt (Capulet), Juliet's cousin. Tybalt killed Mercutio, which caused Romeo to kill Tybalt in an angry rage. For this, Romeo is banished from Verona. At the same time, the Capulet's were planning Juliet's marriage to Paris. Juliet didn't want to marry this man so she arranges with Friar Lawrence to fake her own death with a sleeping potion that would make everyone think that she was dead. Friar Lawrence promised to send word to Romeo to meet her when the potion wears off and to rescue her to Mantua, where Romeo was currently staying. There they would live happily ever after. Unfortunately, Romeo didn't receive the message on time and upon hearing of her "death" went to Juliet's tomb where he drinks poison and dies. When Juliet's potion wears off, she wakes to find her lover's dead corpse. She then proceeds to stab herself with Romeo's dagger. The two families find the bodies and with their shared sorrow, finally make peace with each other.
Based on the classic Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Roman, Julie, and Friends displays a new theme on becoming friends with children of all genders, even if it is not expected or allowed by their friends. There were many changes made to create a story that resembled Romeo and Juliet but also changed the meaning to a more positive and age appropriate moral. For example some of the original characters are resembled in the remediation, while others were completely new for the purpose of the new plot. The classic play was changed to a children’s book to provide a positive message to children by using pictures and designs that would suit a child’s liking. The design of the book was happy and cheerful, with basic pictures that resemble the words but are similar to the other pictures in the book. The book also uses ethos, logos, and pathos to sell the moral of the story. Ethos is mainly used by the creditability of Shakespeare. While pathos is the ability for the reader to connect with the characters personalities and stories. Logos is used by providing the child realize that friends can be any gender or personalities, but if given the chance a friend can be found in anyone. The target audience is for children around the reading level of 3, with the purpose being the idea that children can become friends with children of any gender.
In all of the best works of literature, each of a writer's characters has a purpose whether the role is small or big. Even if it goes unnoticed, the small characters usually play a key role to the story's plot development. These minor characters also add depth to the story's world and also help in the development of the major characters' personality. In William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the minor characters of Friar Lawrence, the Nurse, and Tybalt are in many ways the most pivotal characters to the play's development.
wither in their pride/ Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.” From
Fate or choice? Choice or fate? How does one separate these ideals? Can one? Shakespeare could not. Nor can we. Fate and choice are so intertwined that our choices determine our fate, and our fate determines our choices. William Shakespeare trusts the audience to scrutinize whether it is fate or choice that rules our human life. Shakespeare aptly conveys this oxymoron (with which people have been dealing for ages) through the evidence and structure of his play, Romeo and Juliet.
“He who falls in love meets a worse fate than he who falls from a
should do now. He says, "Is it e'en so? Then I defy you, stars!" Romeo
Acts 3 scene 1 of the play is a turning point. How important are the
of a fight "let us take the law of our side let them begin" Sampson
A different type of love is seen prior to Scene Five. It is the more
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare The first scene of the two film versions of Romeo and Juliet directed by Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli is a very unusual and interesting interpretation of the 16th century play, written by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. Both Luhrmann and Zeffirelli capture the love and tragedy story in different ways. Baz Luhrmann very cleverly manages to weave the past into the present by setting the movie in Shakespearean language and yet giving the film a very modern twist. It is set in, the very heart of a modern American city that is quite threatening and urban. Here crime thrives in the city centre, violence rules the streets and becomes a part of daily life and where people are bred not to reveal their true feelings living a life of fear, chaos and full of illusions.
In the play, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare reveals an underlying message that points to the contrasts between youth and age that are even apparent now today. The youth of society tend to question and then possibly disregard the rules that are important to their parents if they do not have good reason to believe in these rules. The rebellious actions of youth can eventually cause their own untimely destruction. We see today in the headlines many instances where teens have followed their own unguided course bringing about tragic results. Shakespeare shows us in his play how these factors contributed to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, by William Shakespeare, based on the theme of the love of the world. This love is presented in many different manifestations. such as infatuation and unrequited love. This play is carefully written to show desires, emotions and family life. To the start of the play Romeo is talking about how his love has been Vexed.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet is one of the best stage plays that Shakespeare has written with a lot of tragedy involved in it and to balance the tragedy Shakespeare has introduced comedy into the play. He achieved this by doing such things as adding comical figures such as nurse or odd behaviour of a character which seems amusing to the audience. The main comedy in the play is introduced when Romeo enters the stage in act one scène one as love sicken person who is over infatuating his love for Rosaline. "Out of her favour where I am in love." (Act1, Scene 1).
In Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy written by the great English playwright- William Shakespeare- “a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,” due to rivalry of two families (Crowther 1). Simply put, the hatred between two families causes a pair of lovers to commit suicide. Although this case is a suicide, the blame might not be all on the lovers- Romeo and Juliet. The tragedy might be the fault of other people involving in this event, specifically the adults around the lovers. There are three adults around the lovers that might have influenced them and lead them to their death: Friar Lawrence, the nurse, and the apothecary.