“Compare her face with some that I shall,
And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.”
This quotation also uses the rhyming device to enforce its meaning. Romeo the “virtuous and well-govern’d youth” has probably learned to like girls through adolescence, as this is demonstrated through his rich and eloquent speech. He describes Juliet when he first sees her by saying,
“O she doth teach the torches to burn bright.
It seems she hangs upon the cheek on night
As a rich jewel in Ethiop’s ear”,
and again when Romeo serenades Juliet at her balcony,
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun
Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon.”
Romeo has shown that he has a wide vocabulary and can use metaphors, which make the play ‘good’ and more interesting to watch.
Alliteration also enhances the play as it gives it a more powerful ‘push’ in what the characters are saying. Juliet uses alliteration quite frequently to express her feelings, such as in “That I must love a loathed enemy” and,
“It is too rash, too unadvis’d too sudden.”
The latter quote also having repetition to enforce its meaning. Alliteration makes the play more suited for English students, as it helps them improve, thus making it ‘good’.
The role of juxtaposition adds a tone of confusion to the play considering that its function is to draw attention by putting two totally different things side-by-side. An example is when Romeo utters, “More light and light more dark and dark our woes.” Another example is when the Prince states, “That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.” Heaven is obviously not associated with killing and therefore draws attention. There is also a variation of juxtaposition in Romeo and Juliet. It concerns the love between Juliet and Romeo; and, Paris and Juliet. This one way or another forms a love triangle.
All of the above literary terms make ‘Romeo and Juliet’ more of a ‘good’ thing to read, as it increases one’s English ability.
There is not much ‘badness’; as in unruly in society; in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ except for the civil disorder that arises every so often. Drug use in the film is another aspect, as well as the use of guns instead of swords.
Civil disorder between the Capulet and Mountague is already in place as the introduction (of both the play and film) states, “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny.” There is no apparent reason to why the two families are at ‘feud’, however in the film it might be because of ownership of corporations. This disorder is by some means or other ‘bad’ for society because in the modern world we aim for peaceful civilisation.
The drug usage in the film relates to the ‘modern’ method of relieving stress or pain. Nonetheless, the play is strongly based on taking ‘elixirs’ to either mock one’s death or to kill one’s self. Romeo also being able to obtain the deathly liquor from an apothecary, reflects on the easy access today’s society has to drugs. This is obviously detrimental, but nevertheless part of the story. Similarly, the usage of guns is also ‘bad’, as it promotes guns. Baz Luhrmann, the director of the film, has furthermore added a tint of Renaissance to it by engraving the names of different types of swords used, such as ‘Sword 9mm’, ‘Dagger 9mm’ and ‘Rapier 9mm’.
In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet is more of a good thing to either read as a script or watch as a film, rather than a bad thing to criticise exhaustively. All of the mentioned elements should have justified this, as Romeo and Juliet is a well-written play and deserves acknowledgement.
