Romeo and Juliet Love Essay Example For Students

Romeo and Juliet : Love Essay Romeo and Juliet is a love tragedy based in a patriarchal society where male dominance and rape is highly over rated. Romeo and Juliet engage in a forbidden relationship over the high tension and feud between their bickering families which Shakespeare exacerbates throughout the play. Despite the family feud, the pair decide to let their perpetual love conquer all. Shakespeare immediately alerts the audience of the catastrophic storyline with his use of oxymorons which he includes in the prologue, where universal imagery is found; Two Star-crossed lovers This hints the young couple feeling trapped and desperate to be free to love one another. The stars in this quote signifies their love, the tension and the feud being darkness surrounding them, but as stars twinkle in the black night this proves their love is enduring in spite of the situation. In Act 1, scene 1 straight away we are immersed in the fight scenes accompanied by the violent action which would have entertained the groundings. Push Montagues men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall I will cut off their heads, their maidenheads This refers to the serving men taking the Montague maids virginities. The quote also shows violence and power. Put up your swords, you know not what you do Do you bite your thumb at us sir? Some other quotes showing how much the two families despise one another which meant even risking their own lives just to show how courageous one was. We also know that the two families liked winding each other up which would stir up more fights therefore entertainment for the audience. When Romeo and Juliet meet, Shakespeare uses a strand of extended religious imagery and thoughts to emphasize the quality of their love. The speech, although split between them is in sonnet form, a form of love poetry common in Shakespeares time, this includes petrachan sounds that sonnets base on. He also shows love, sexual awareness and activity through use of language as the female parts in Shakespeares time would have been portrayed by only men. Shakespeare makes the language both romantic and sexual. He also juxtaposes the scene. Religious lexical sets- Shrine Pilgrims Palmers Saints Faith Prayers Tresspass Shakespeare uses the idea of hands as a symbol of love, again it is a Religious imagery as hands are used as a sign of prayer. Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which is mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers kiss Have saints lips, and holy palmers too? Ay pilgrims lips that they must use for prayer O then dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair Saints do not move, though grant for prayers sake In Act 2, scene 3 when Romeo stands outside of Juliets balcony he talks about Juliet in universal imagery, this verse has five iambs which underpin natural speech. Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou, her maid, art far more fair than she The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night Romeo compares Juliet as if she was the sun, stars and heavens which again Shakespeare uses imagery to tell the audience how much Romeo is in love with her as the characters were played by men. Juliet then talks to herself in soft, heavenly imagery showing innocence and love. The balcony scene, Act 3, scene 2 is an echo of the universal imagery in the prologue. Juliets eyes likened to the stars by Romeo: Moon Stars Sea As glorious to this night, being oer my head, as a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondring eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him, when he bestrides the lazy puffing clouds, and sails upon the bosom of the air Juliets parents have arranged a marriage for Juliet and County Paris. Arranged marriages in Shakespeares time were a familiar feature in dynamic powerful families. Her parents think that it is because of her cousin, Tybalts death that she is upset. Arranged marriages were a view of societys view of love. Marry, that marry is the very theme I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter, Juliet, How stands your dispositions to be married? Juliet is distraught by the idea of the arranged marriage. Ere he that he should be husband comes to woo. I pray to tell my lord and father, madam, I will not marry yet, and when I do I swear It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, Rather than Paris. These are news indeed! O bid me leap than marry Paris Juliet tells Lady Capulet, her mother how much she doesnt want to marry Paris and uses Romeo as an example to show her how much she loathes him as he murdered Tybalt. The audience know this is not true and that Juliet is trying to make her parents understand how much she despises the idea of marrying Paris. Discuss how Shakespeare orchestrates the outcome of this scene EssayDove-feathered raven, wolvish-ravening lamb! Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical! Then, dreadful trumpet, sound the general doom Juliet nemonstrates with the nurse as she begins to wish shame on Romeo: Blistered by thy tongue For such a wish! he was not born to shame: Upon his brow shame is ashamed to sit; For tis a throne where honour may be crowned Sole monarch of the unniversal earth. O what a beast was I chide at him! At the beginning of Act 3, scene 2 we see Juliet alone awaiting her newly wedded husband with great eagerness. She likens her love and longing Romeo to the night. Cut him up into little stars And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun. The use of univeral imagery is used again to show us how She likens her love and longing Romeo to the night. Although Tybalt is dead, Juliet still remains faithful to her husband by standing by his side and defending him even though he murdered her cousin. This shows how strong her love is for Romeo. Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband? Ah, poor my lord, what a tongue shall smooth thy name, When I, why three-hours wife, have mangled it? But wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin? That villain cousin would have killed my husband. Back, foolish tears, back to your native spring, Your tributary drops belong to woe, Which you mistaking offer up to offer In Act 4, scene 3 we see Juliet and Paris in Friar Lawrences cell talking about the wedding. Paris doesnt know about Juliets affair with Romeo. Juliet goes along with the wedding. That may be, sir, when I may be a wife Juliets responses are full of double meaning that only the audience know what Juliet is talking about. After Paris leaves, Juliet seeks help from Friar Lawrence who gives her the potion to make it look like shes dead. O bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, From off the battlements of any tower, Or walk in thievish ways, or bid me lurk, Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears, Or hide me nightly in a charnel-house, Oercovered quite with dead mens rattling bones, With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls; Or bid me go onto a new-made grave Shakespeare adds dreadful imagery to Juliets speech, this is a distortion of natural imagery which Juliet would rather do than marry Paris. The dreadful imagery echoes the end result when she takes the potion. Act 4, scene 3 when Juliet is saying her goodbyes before she takes the potion we see Juliet frightened as she thinks about what will happen if this plan was to go wrong. As in a vault, an ancient receptacle, Where for this many hundred years the bones Of all my buried ancestors are packed, Where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth Juliet uses violent imagery which underpins her desperation to be with Romeo and an un-natural death. Act 5, scene 3 we are opened to the scene where Paris is grieving Juliets death. As Juliet has taken the potion everyone thinks shes dead and was put in the vault with her ancestors. When Romeo enters in search of Juliet Paris stops Romeo and they both fight for Juliets love. Romeo murders Paris, when Romeo finally sees Juliet in her vault he takes the imagery a step further by using opposite imagery which he echoes with sorrow. A dateless engrossing Death! Come, bitter conduct, come unsavoury guide! The dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark! Heres to my love! O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die When Juliet wakes up from her sleep she finds Romeo dead and stabs herself with Romeos dagger. Juliets direct speech is shorter than Romeos as Juliet feels guilty and is in grief, both emotionally and physically. Poison I see hath been his timeless end. O churl, I drunk all and left no friendly drop To help me after? I will kiss thy lips As Friar Lawrence tells Juliet the watch is coming she stabs herself before they ask her why shes still alive and whats been going on, Juliet does this to save herself and to be with her husband, Romeo. Yeah, noise? Then Ill be brief. O happy dagger, This is thy sheath; there rust and let me die. Love triumphs in the end because the two families are united. So although Romeo and Juliet have to die, love wins in the end-in an odd way. The Capulets and Montagues learn to re-unite because of the tragic death that the feud brought. Both County Paris and Romeo die because of Juliet and she kills herself because Romeo is dead. Go hence to have more talk of these sad things, Some shall be pardoned, and some punished: For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo