“Welcome gentlemen! Ladies that have their toes unplagued with corns will walk a bout with you. Ah my mistresses, which of you all will now deny to dance? She that makes dainty, she I’ll swear hath corns”
This forces the ladies to dance because they wont want people to think that they have corns on their feet.
Romeo is taken aback by Juliet’s stunning beauty
“O she doth teach the torches to burn bright”
Romeo hails Juliets “radiant beauty” showing that he is a passionate person. He also changes the women that he fancies at rapid speed. An example of this is when he used to have feelings for Rosaline earlier in the play quickly transferring his feelings to Juliet. He completely forgets about Rosaline when he first sets eyes on Juliet.
“ Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night”
It is evident that Romeo doesn’t have a real idea of what love is. This is perhaps because of his tender age.
William Shakespeare uses imagery to improve the romantic atmosphere. Romeo compares Juliet to “a rich jewel in Ethiop’s ear” (Line 45). Ethiop is meant to be a black person; a jewel would shine more brightly against darker skin. He also compares her to a beautiful white dove amongst ugly crows.
“Shows a snowy dove trooping with crows”
Juliet’s beauty stands out from the rest of the partygoers. Romeo treats Juliet as if she is some sort of saintly figure where her beauty should be worshipped, saying, “Touching hers, make blessed my rude hand”
Tybalt is furious that Romeo has intruded on his uncle’s party. He treats this as an insult if Romeo has come to the ball to deliberately wind up the Capulets. This infuriates him so much that he wants to fight Romeo and orders a servant to fetch him his sword.
“Fetch me my rapier, boy”
This is an example of Tybalt’s fiery and temperamental side.
After the events at the ball Tybalt holds a grudge against Romeo.
“I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, now seemingly sweet, convert to bitt’rest gall”
Tybalt shows his hate and anger of the Montague’s in this statement. He trys to start a brawl with Romeo, when Romeo’s friend Mercutio intervines to defend his friend. This leads to Mercutio being killed. Romeo is distraught avenges this by slaying Tybalt. The prince of Verona banishes Romeo from the city instead of executing him saying “Mercy but murders”. A plan to make Juliet seem dead is concocted by the Friar to make Juliet seem dead to avoid her wedding to Paris. Romeo doesn’t receive a warning letter in time and kills himself because he cannot do without Juliet. Juliet soon awakes to find her lover dead. She commits suicide because she is so heartbroken.
Shakespeare makes the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet romantic because they use poetic language as if in a sonnet. Romeo uses the imagery of a pilgrim approaching a saint’s shrine.
“This holy shrine…my lips to blushing pilgrims”
Romeo and Juliet are shocked when they find out each other’s names. Shakespeare gives us a hint that the relationship will end in tragedy when Juliet predicts, “If he (Romeo) be married, my grave is likely to be my wedding bed”. She means that if she is married to the prince that she would commit suicide.
I think the reason Romeo and Juliet fall in love so quickly is because they are made for each other.
The scene is both romantic and exciting for the audience
