Romeo and Juliet: Love and Hate

Romeo & Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most recognised tragic plays. As we all know, the two main characters Romeo and Juliet perish at the end, but what makes this play so dramatic? To explore the dramatic devices of this timeless classic, one must focus on the heart of this play which is undoubtedly Act 3 Scene 1 and In this essay I will explain why Act 3 Scene 1 is a very important scene in Romeo & Juliet; showing how it starts with bawdy comedy and then it sinks into tragedy after Mercutio`s death. This is seen through the language which becomes darker after this scene and also the weather gets worse as the situation worsens, which is also known as pathetic fallacy. This scene also changes certain characters’ Characteristics, e.g. Romeo becomes more violent and vengeful after this scene.

The whole story its self is a dramatic irony; we the reader already know what will happen but when we read the play we have a superior idea in what is about to happen. For example in Act 3 scene 1, Romeo tries to tell Tybalt how much he care for him but Tybalt can't understand not knowing that Romeo and Tybalt's cousin Juliet have just got married and In the same scene Romeo gets in trouble for both Tybalt's death and Mercutio's death when Tybalt took Mercutio's life but us as a reader know the story from all perspective making us feel empowered.

Act 3 Scene 1 starts of with a sense of unceasing tension, which gradually builds up throughout the scene. One of the other techniques that Shakespeare used is pathetic fallacy to portray the events of the upcoming fight. Benvolio says, “For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring”. The particular repetition off the word “hot “combined with the use of personification, creates tension immediat...

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...r revenge, which Romeo gladly takes up in his anger and wrath. The intelligently used stagecraft written by Shakespeare’s is simple, so that it gives space for the actors to improvise, in turn making certain parts of the scene inactivating and thrilling and open to interpretation. Yet we must not forget the scene is also a tragedy in itself, we have lost our beloved Mercutio, yet strangely, I’d like to think that in his grave, he has the last laugh, as a Romeo and Juliet perish at the end, “with a curse on both their houses”. This play presents two main causes of social decay; the loss of authority in society and the manipulation of religion to hide guilt. Through the juxtaposition of love and hate and Shakespeare’s conveys that, love is too fragile to survive in a society overridden by hatred and violence and Shakespeare conveys all of this in just ACT 3 SCENE 1.