Shakespeare's Language and the Main Characters' Views About Love
The language of Shakespeare's characters within Romeo and Juliet is
entirely different between each character. The characters' language
provides the reader, occasionally subtle, but present information of
their experiences and views of love.
At the start of the play, in Act 1 Scene 1, there is a theme of
mystery, as none of the Montagues, as well as Mercutio, can appreciate
the meaning of Romeo's sadness and solitariness. He is disorientated
and gloomy. The reason, we soon find out, is because he has been
rejected by a girl called Rosaline. This event is similar to Paris'
impassionate conventional love for Juliet, but it is more
self-indulgently melancholy: perhaps it is because we never meet
Rosaline and only view Romeo's feelings directed more at himself than
the supposed target of his affections. In my opinion, Romeo only
believes that he is in love, but is actually only in love with the
idea of being in love. His eloquent and flamboyant metaphorical
language shows that he is able to find words to describe her and is
not over-awed by her, resulting in a loss for words. He describes her
as "saint-seducing", and beautiful and witty. He doesn't think he will
ever forget her, "thou canst not teach me to forget" and he thinks
there is nobody as wise or as fair. However, she is "uncharmed from
love's weak childish bow." Here, there is a hint that Romeo could be
aware that his love is weak and childish. He uses numerous oxymorons
to emphasise his emotions and feelings about the love and hate between
the two families, "Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate."
Romeo ...
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...Romeo and Juliet happy without thinking enough about what is
right. Juliet is terrifyingly committed to what is right in a way that
shames the older people. The Nurse in Act 3 Scene 5, attempts to
persuade Juliet to marry Paris, "Romeo is banished"…"I think it best
you married with the county. O he's a lovely gentleman." As a
representative of Christian love, Friar Lawrence tries hard, but never
solves the conflict between Christian teaching and worldly desires.
Both the language of love and the language of death play important
roles in the tragedy. They cooperate with light and dark imagery to
make the play the masterpiece it is, a play of paradoxes and
oxymorons, good and evil, neither one whole without the other. For
without love there would be nothing to lose, and without death there
would be no way to lose it.
As soon as we open act 1 scene 1, we immediately see the theme of the
to be a quite romantic person, as, to start with, he is in love with
project of the play, of which is touched upon in Act One. It is this
the main theme of the play. With out this scene in the play I don’t
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the views of love held by the character Romeo contrast sharply with the views of Mercutio. Romeo's character seems to suffer from a type of manic depression. He is in love with his sadness, quickly enraptured and easily crushed again on a passionate roller coaster of emotion. Mercutio, by contrast is much more practical and level headed. His perceptions are clear and quick, characterized by precise thought and careful evaluation. Romeo, true to his character begins his appearance in the play by wallowing in his depression over Rosaline who does not return his love:
The first scene of a play usually sets up the basic themes and situations that the remainder will work with. In Shakespeare’s play King Lear, the very first scene presents many of the play's basic themes and images. The recurrent imagery of human senses and of "nothing," the distortion of familial and social ties, the gradual dissolution of Lear's kingship, all make their first appearances in the first lines of Shakespeare's play.
The play is structured so that the climax, or rather the main premise of the play, appears near the beginning; al...
Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 34, No. 2, Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama (Spring, 1994), pp. 341-356 Published by: Rice University http://www.jstor.org/stable/450905
Norman Maclean once said “All there is to thinking is seeing something noticeable, which makes you see something you weren’t noticing, which makes you see something that isn’t even visible”. This is how people think about Shakespeare and see what is noticeable. If they looked long enough then they will see what is not visible to most; language and how it affects his writing. William Shakespeare in the story The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet achieves the effect of contrast through personification, antithesis, and dramatic irony to bring out the love and the hate, and the good and the bad.
Act I begins with a festival known as Lupercalia. As the scene opens, a sense of mood is provided. That is very fitting for this act because it is the exposition. The exposition is expected to provide background information, as well as “expose” the mood. Not only is the mood exposed, but so are the feelings of the people. Learning the peoples feeling’s gives a big clue on what actions are to expect from them. Also, knowing how people feel toward an upcoming action in the play, gives a better understanding of what they may do.
the play is not solely about love but also a lot of hatred is involved
themes is Love. There can be many facets of love found in the play. It
In the first scene of Act one there is the servants Sampson and Gregory talking about sexual love. As they both talk about taking girls virginity. They both sound arrogant as they talk as if it is through experience. To them the thoughts of taking a girl’s virginity seems a joking matter.
marry a Christian, "I shall be saved by my husband; he hath made me //
Shakespeare’s plays are very drastic with how he ties love into them. Shakespeare always adds comedy or tragedy to any romance that might be taking place. For example in Twelfth Night, As You like It and Romeo and Juliet there is romance but he also puts comedy in there so love is not that easy. In the play Othello he makes it into a tragedy which makes the love even harder to take place. Shakespeare has always found a way to make love as complicated as he can which leads me to believe that he feels that you must work for love and it should not be handed to you. Love is already complicated, but when Shakespeare is involved he makes sure at least two things come around that can make it harder for those who are in love to actually stay in love.