The Rise and Fall of Juliet and Her Romeo

There is no story quite as well-known as that of Romeo and Juliet (2007) and its playwright, William Shakespeare. Each line was placed intentionally, twists in the plot were well versed and foreshadowed, and each word was meaningful to the story and the development of the characters. Shakespeare had the unquestionable ability to take a story and, using techniques like imagery, metaphors and foreshadowing, was able to transform this narrative into a dramatic piece of literature. Dramas reenact stories with dialogue, soliloquies, asides and gestures, Shakespeare works with these different mediums to turn the story of Romeo and Juliet into a tragedy. Act III Scene III of Romeo and Juliet play a critical role in the progression of the narrative through the use of placement, construction and figurative language.

In Act III Scene III of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo has sought out his confidant, Friar Laurence, after the death of Tybalt and is concerned about what fate is going to befall him. The Friar informs him that he has been banished from Verona, and should be thankful that he is not being sentenced to death. Romeo, however, is more upset that he will have to leave the love of his life, Juliet and that he would rather die than be without her. As they are discussing the situation, Juliet’s nurse, and confidant, arrives to inform Romeo that Juliet still loves him. In this scene the Friar creates a plan to bring the two lovers back together and protect Romeo. At the end of the scene Romeo is preparing to visit Juliet to consummate their marriage and then go to Mantua, the city to which he was banished (3.3.1-174).

The function of this scene between Romeo, Friar and the Nurse, is to address the conflict that Romeo and Juliet now face ...

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...ene was precisely placed and written to accomplish those goals of a dramatic tragedy. It provided insight as to what was going to happen next and how the characters were reacting to the plot development. While there are stories that take a similar approach to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet none can come quite as close to the dramatic tragedy that unfolds, whether on stage or in literature, “For never was a story of more woe/ Than this of Juliet and her Romeo” (5.3.9-10).

Works Cited

Levin, Harry. "Form and Formality in Romeo and Juliet." Shakespeare Quartly. 11.1 (1960): 3- 11. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. Web.

Shakespeare, William, David Bevington, and David Scott Kastan. Romeo And Juliet. New York: Bantam Books, 2007.

Toole, William B. "The Nurse's "Vast Irrelevance": Thematic Foreshadowing in "Romeo and Juliet"." South Atlantic Bulletin. 45.1 (1980): 21-30. Print.