Analysis of Romeo's and Juliet's Exchange

Adam Swallow

Key –: Courtly – try to woo a woman with poetry.

Arranged – you make plans for it.

Spontaneous – you don’t plan it but do it because you feel like.

Shakespeare explains 3 types of love, Courtly, arranged and spontaneous and even more. Love is one of the powerful emotions known by the human being. The most renown play Romeo + Juliet and has found it’s place in history. Shakespeare packs a great deal of meaning into each line. You can read Romeo + Juliet to find out about Elizabethan life, but in them you will also see reflected back at you the unchanging aspects of humanity. It seems as if Shakespeare looked for things that wouldn’t change like love, power, honour, friendship and loyalty. We see love: at first sight, which is one-sided and between young lovers. We also see love in old ages between members of one family and lost and found again. The modern reader will face certain difficulties in Romeo and Juliet. These difficulties consist not so much in the strength of the words or the structure of the sentence. The names Romeo and Juliet have come to epitomize passionate young love; so successful was Shakespeare in creating these characters through the power of poetry. Romeo and Juliet’s love caused complications, both Romeo and Juliet should have married someone their father approved of. If they married someone who had money they would gain a lot of power. But they broke the rules of their upper class, Romeo had changed and had a different attitude and behaviour and was out of character. Romeo and Juliet followed their hearts and not their heads and by following their hearts it lead to death. Romeo is down in the dumps and he has only come to the ball to see Roséline. Juliet is waiting for Paris and she is hoping he is going to be attractive and her husband.

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Romeo catches the eye of Juliet and then straight away he sees beauty and then says, “What ladies that which clothes enrich, the hand of yonder knight enrich is an attraction” so straight away Romeo is in love. His thoughts are kept very quiet, “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright.” Which means he feels that she is outstanding. Romeo then goes on to, “beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.” His images are of light and radiance and passion. Romeo then decides to see where she is going so then he can make his move. In Shakespeare’s time young girls were in a position to respond in kind. I think Romeo is hopelessly in love, but he has no idea that his identity is discovered and really he is in danger. The Elizabethan’s were extremely paranoid about balance. The ball allows Romeo and Juliet to touch physically and this would not have been allowed in other circumstances. Juliet’s freedom of movement would have been severely limited. His greeting is very sensitive and secure and we thought it would be ‘courtly’. “if I preface with my unworthiest hand” I think this means he feels that she is something special and he worships her. Romeo’s language seems to be very religious as he says things like, “Holy shrine”, “gentle sin”. This is where he speaks his heart, which is a gentle tender moment. Romeo realises her, “Blushing”. Juliet’s response is very hole hearted; she feels he is a saint. They both worship each other. They seem as if the party doesn’t exist. Romeo kisses her “thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged” They talk in innocence. Their passion is natural, their bodies’ young and their hearts true. Juliet is happy that she has been kissed. “The brightness of her cheek would shame most stars.” He feels she is out of reach. Romeo is on the earth, but the bushes “O that I were a glove upon that hand, that might touch that cheek”, hide him She is in a quandary, her world has been turned upside down. If Romeo was not a Montague he would be welcome. They both are young but engaged in the thrill in it. Romeo here, he exalts the power of love. “My life is my foes debt” says Romeo. Juliet’s response – “Too early seen unknown, and known too late.” She has forgotten all about Paris and that she has passed her heart to Romeo. Romeo is a grave danger, he is unprotected alone and he is seen as an intruder on Capulet property. Romeo ignores this danger. Nightfalls and a traditional time for love, the moon and stars shine bright. At night dreams take place. The young couple are willing to take matters further. Romeo sees Juliet. “What light through yonder window breaks?” The use of hyperboles indicates the totality of his enrapture. Romeo compares to shiny celestial bodies.